Soldier of Heaven - Mountain Warfare in WW1 - Sabaton History 108 [Official]
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ม.ค. 2022
- The war in the Alps between the Italians and the Austro-Hungarians added new dimensions to the fighting in the Great War since mountain warfare has its own unique set of challenges and dangers. What sort of men were doing the fighting here? And how did they cope with it? How did the survivors survive? Let's take a look.
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Can you imagine fighting in the mountains during the Great War? I wonder, if you had to choose between the high Alps, the western front trenches, being in a submarine crew, or fighting in the deserts of the middle east... which would you choose?
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Given a choice, aviation is the only decision if you ask me
I love the alps so maybe
@@2011SoxMD36 aviaten yes
Too claustrophobic for a submarine, so I'd say the Alps.
I'll take the desert.
I can never get enough of Sabaton history.
Making music.. telling it's history... Just keeping to facts. No matter the side.
Absolutely 10/10
Thanks a lot
Agreed. They're my favourite history programme.
Welcome to the club.
It's amazing how Sabaton manages to shed light on some of the lesser known fronts and battles of the war. Despite being interested in military history and the history of WW1, this is the first time I've ever heard of the Alpine Front and the battle for Blood Mountain. The song is wonderful, by the way, and thanks for bringing some attention to this lesser known story.
The fronts in Italy in Greece in the Caucasus mountains and in Mesopotamia are often forgotten when talking about the first world war and if it had not been for the fame of Lawrence of arabia the front in Egypt would probably also had been forgotten
There where also several fronts in Africa and some minor battles in Asia and the Pacific ocean and those are also very little known most people when they think of the first world war just think of the westen and maybe the easten front but there is a reason why its called the first world war there were battles all across the globe even naval battles off the coast of south america
I never knew this battlefield existed!
Mate if you're really interested in ww1 you should've already heard about Italian front...
@@ReZel80657 sorry slovenian at that time austrianhungary fight in there
I was rushed to the emergency room last month and as I awaited for emergency brain surgery to remove a brain tumor that caused a brain hemorrhage I decided play Soldier of Heaven over and over again. I just found the song comforting to listen to.
Luckily they were able to operate the same day and the surgery went off without a hitch. I was feeling so good after the surgery I played Unkillable Soldier the next day on my Birthday. You feel pretty damn invincible after all that. I'm pretty much back up and running now like nothing had happened.
My great-grandfather fought in the Alps and was left for dead under a pile of corpses. By sheer luck he was found still alive by a relative and nursed back to "health". He died relatively young after the war, because of the lingering physical and mental scars.
What side?
I live in northern Italy, sometimes I climbed on those mountains and the feeling you get is really strange.
You see kilometers of trenches dug into hard rock, thousands of meters high and you can’t even imagine how it felt to those soldiers.
I also visited a mountain ( I can’t remember the name) where a whole summit has been blown up by the mine war.
If you live nearby I highly suggest you to make a trip there, it’s truly amazing.
maybe the Lagazuoi, the top was mined and blown up to destroy the Austrian positions there
@@DonPatrono yup, it was definitely the Lagazuoi, thanks
Which region are these trenches located?
@@littlenapoleon1321 it depends, I visited them in the Veneto region, but you can find them in Friuli Venezia Giulia and Trentino
@@littlenapoleon1321 Trust me inf you want to visit those places you should go to Monte grappa in Veneto and in the Carso mountains in Friuli-Venezia Giulia near Trieste
Nothing better than to start my day with a new Sabaton History episode
Agree
*except a new sabaton song*
@@Tank-pl9hb That is also true
@@Tank-pl9hb although late. Why not both?
Another story about the battles in the Alps, the highest battle until the 1999 was in 1918 the Battle of San Matteo at 3678m. The Italians attacked the Austro-Hungarians by CLIMBING the mountain, it was an easy attack because that side wasn't fortified. Nobody expected someone so mad to really climb.
The captain that guided the mission was killed by falling after the ice below him broke during the battle.
what battle surpassed it in altitude?
@@acediadekay3793 the Siachen conflict, fought on the glacier between India and Pakistan, they passed 5000m
But what about the Battle of Mount Elbrus during WW2? That was around 5000 meters high.
@@radegastov1570 I'm not aware of any ground fight on the top of the mountain, only in the area
@@maledetto1221 There was, I even have a video if you want to see it. German soldiers were occupying top of mount Elbrus, they made numerous expeditions to reach the top and encountered no people there. However after some time group of red army soldiers went up the hill and wanted to get it back. However the germans well positioned and equipped killed lot of them and only few were able to run away. I am not sure if there were any german losses, what was the size of the men here etc., since there are very little sources on this if any at all.
I like this song as it’s a mystery, what happened to this soldier? What did he go through? How exactly did he die? Freezing? Was he shot? Die of wounds from artillery? The song has mystery to it and it’s amazing!
Probably was overwhelmed and killed by an avalanche (in December 1916 alone, several thousands soldiers were killed by the avalanche)
The song itself says, White Friday
They died from an avalanche. White Friday, which happened on a Wednesday (I’m still confused as to why it is named White Friday), was the day a couple avalanches buried hundreds of soldiers on both sides.
I'd hate fighting in the mountains, being buried by artillery and avalanche, to die 3 days later.
@@howardbaxter2514 it was called white Friday because that's when the message got reported to Italy.
"Horribly battered from the flying debris"
With a bruised nose for extra effect
My hungarian great-grandfather died in the sixth battle of Isonzo serving in the Kaiserjäger's Alpine company.
Respect.
Bruh, my boi Hannibal really crossed these mountains in ancient time with elephants
Also same thing happened. Half of his army got buried under the avalanche i think
Me: A new Sabaton video. Awesome. I sure hope it isn't as emotionally devastating as The Christmas Truce.
Sabaton: [Sad mountain noises]
I hade a teacher who’s grate grandfather fought up there, my teacher gave me advice on keeping warmth during the cold carried down from his grandfather. Salut to the soldiers still up there keeping their watch.
Thank you for this! I've been waiting to hear the history behind the song, which i absolutely love! I did a little of my own research but your explanation as always brings it to life. I can't imagine how awful the conditions were. I also have no idea where I would rather be in battle, it was all so terrible. I am so thankful to have lived in relatively peaceful times, especially as I have 2 sons who are now young men of what would be fighting age.
Indy and Sabaton have done so much to completely change my understanding of the Great War.
Indy's channel "The Great War" does an amazing job showing the Alpine Front in detail. Great series you all should check out to learn more about the insanity of it all.
By any chance do you know if there was a special episode on it? Like others, I find a new interest in the subject. :)
@@panachevitz Here's the link to his on-location special:
th-cam.com/video/oTn5aTy38lk/w-d-xo.html
@@calebitterman Awesome! Thanks!
Not all soldiers in the ranks of Austro-Hungarian elite Alpine troops (Landesschützen, later Kaiserschützen) were from Tyrol and other mountain regions. A young Polish philology student from Lwów (Lviv, Lemberg, Leopolis, whatever) Stanisław Maczek, somehow found himself in the k.k. Landesschützen-Regiment „Bozen“ Nr. II, fighting on the Italian Front and achieving the rank of lieutenant. He is better known as arguably the best Polish commander of WW2, leading the Polish 1st Armoured Division (also, as a bartender in Edinburgh).
PS Speaking about _The Warriors_ being kinda based in history, as I understand, the whole plot of the movie is one big homage to/adaptation of the Anabasis, with New York gangs instead of the Greeks and Persians.
Yes the Warriors was based on Anabasis
Sabaton: going to release an album
Sabaton history: Business is Booming
I already see the Meme:
Sabaton History after Inventing Sabaton:🤑🤑💰💰💰
Great historical pictures in the ice and snow. Really must have been a hell in the ice...! Thank you so much for another great episode of Sabaton history! Was waiting for this!
12 battles of the Isonzo. Makes the Western Front look like a napoleonic war of movement.
It's because the Italians considered every push as a separate battle, but all 12 battles combined caused roughly the same casualties of the Somme alone, advancing further on a more difficult terrain.
The eleventh battle alone captured almost 9km of ground.
After 1914 the Italian front moved more than the western front. The border in plain between Italy and the Austrian Empire was signed by the Isonzo river, so every battle was a battle of the Isonzo, regardless of the precise location.
Battles on the Italian front tended to be brief and fierce affairs. They didn't last more than a week before the supplies were depleted and the battle had to be stopped. From that standpoint, battles like that of the Somme or Verdun, with months of slow struggle, all with about the same intensity, and so clearly no possibilities of breaktrough, seemed like madness.
The most underrated front of WW1
Wow! I home school my kids and they soak in war history through the music and the stories. Amazing work all around with Sabaton and the history channel.
With that little song just before the history segment, I think it’s safe to say that the ”The War to End all Wars” soundtrack will be a thing
I've been looking forward to the Sabaton History episode on Soldier of Heaven since the song came out. I have to admit that I had never heard anything about Alpine/High Mountain fighting until the song came out. I'm kind of surprised that zero mention was made about White Friday, unless it is being saved for a Part 2. Well done guys!
If the rest of the album is going to be as deep and as amazing as Christmas Truce and Soldier of Heaven, we've got another absolute banger on our hands :D
That picture of the Austro-Hungarian soldier aiming his rifle in the Alps is one of the most badass pictures I have ever seen.
Ladies and gentlemen of the TG team and Sabaton. I want to give my warmest thanks for using facts and never taking a side,while demonizing the other, your valiant efforts of history presentation and preservation made me use an unbiased view and use of cold facts when in historical conversations. Once again thank you ladies and gentlemen.
Yesterday was a really snowy day here in Athens. I really felt like the concept of Soldier of Heaven.
seeing that message on the stone in the end of the video, hit me even harder than the already tragic topic in the first 20 minutes of the video... it's always chilling to hear the storys from back then in WWI as this war was much more "personal" than just "push a button and count how many enemies you hit" nowadays...
Thanks for this rather non-popular topic of the first world war, it came immediately to my mind after hearing/seeing the song for the first time, as I'm from the eastern part of Austria and immediately though "let me guess: combats in the alps ? - Biiingooo..."
Soldier of Heaven Is the second song of Sabaton about Italy and seeing a Song about my country, about the war we fought, fill me with a lot of Honor. I goes to the alpines trenches and i saw 1km of rocks and fortification. Sooooooo interesting
Oddio, ti dispiacerebbe dirmi quale altra canzone hanno scritto sull'Italia? Me la sono persa, pensavo fosse questa la prima.
I love how the cinematic quality is that of major cable networks, however, the wealth of knowledge and information far exceeds the major networks. This is by far my favorite channel! Thank you for another great episode!
Another amazing video! Just found this channel maybe 1.5 months ago, Sabaton maybe 2 months ago, and been loving both. Just got caught up on all previous Sabaton History videos,. Now I'm going to start watching some of the TimeGhost and WWII channel videos.
Be sure to not miss The Great War, then you can join the classic "Was Conrad or Luigi the most incompetent man of all time" debates
Just commenting to give the same advice as Aliasalpha. Go though The Great War channel first; it's awesome and you'll learn so much. I also discovered this channel late (Sep 2020) and did kind of what you're planning. If you're done here, I'd suggest you check TGW, then the Time Ghost's Between 2 Wars series, and then WW2.
Welcome to the club of Indy marathonists! (And get a comfy chair for your pc :P)
Pvt: "Sir we are having trouble taking the peak of that mountain"
Officer: "You know what, F*** that mountain! Lets just get rid of it. Where do we keep the nitro gel?"
I've been in Italy 3 times in summer on vacations with family ( 2002, 2003 and 2004). Experience of standing in 30+ celsius degree heat while surrounderd on all sides by snow coverd mountains in not that great distance is just strange...
Indy has now put the idea of a Sabaton music video where they Batman climb up something.
I’m honestly curious to see Sabaton make a song about the Tuskegee airmen. Because I feel with the research they do for a song it would be great in history and for music to listen too.
I just did a marching band show about them
Men in the Alps 1915: It's just -35 degrees Celsius. We can carry on through meters of snow and dig hole into the ice.
Men nowadays: There is one centimeter of snow and it's -5 degrees. This is an emergency situation!
I do freeze in 10 C :D
I grew up in Wisconsin. I hear the sky is falling news reports of a few inches of snow in New York. I think what wimps as kids we pushed cars in worse weather.
@@nancyjanzen5676 I live near Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. We have had a total of 4 ft of snow this winter. 2 snowfalls a week for the past month and a half it seems.
@@nancyjanzen5676 so true.
Thank you. I was waiting for this episode impatiently. Heard about The Blood Mountain, but only veagly. Choosing the Battlefield; I'm anti war, but, if I had to I'll go where The Polish Legion went.
You would have to be insane if you read up on The Great War without developing a anti war mentality.
Such a waste of human life.
Sabaton history video means I'm gonna learn me something new today.
That's part of the point Sweyn!
I appreciate you guys so much. This is a great song, it's not my favorite, but after this history lesson, it's one of my favorite stories. I've never been to the Alps but I live in the Andes and I can't imagine how difficult it is to survive in those conditions
As a hungarian thank you guys for covering something from the italian front of the Great War!
A new history lesson from Sabaton History?! Wow! What a great way to start the day!
I’ve been looking forward to this video ever since the song came out! Thanks, Sabaton History! 😁
Thanks to you guys, I would have never heard of this battle until this song came
Thank you for this amazing song! I've waited for years now for a song about what happened around my hometown. Not many people are aware of this story which is an important chapter in the history lessons in our schools!
I needed this today so much.
Thank you for making awesome music, finding special tales to sing about and making interessting and cool videos about it. Indy, I hope you are better now and your nose did heal.
Awsome video to an Awsome song. Now I'm spiraling down yet another rabbit hole trying to find all the info about this subject. I call that the Sabaton effect. And I thank you for that.
Thanks again guys. Another one that hits you in the feels. Indy your supposed to slide feet first, it's safer.
Funny. I'm in Northern Italy right now(Saló) and crossed the Swiss mountains to do so. I noticed the Chapels and churches, but never did I get any impression that there may have been a war fought on those mountain ranges.
It's also incredibly sad but poetic that those who died protecting/assaulting those lines may now guard them forever.
Jeez, I had no idea of this part of the war, all they talked about in school was the Flandres and Verdun and places like that. Thanks for giving me this bit of knowledge too. Cheers / B.
Very cool, makes me think about Hannibal crossing the Alps in winter with an entire army including war elephants.
Indie: Nothing is light hearted.
Also Indie: plays the Unkillable Soldier in such an over the top way, it's fucking brilliant!
Yet a part of the history of WW1 not talked about. Thanks to Sabaton, for all the new listeners,an future historians.
Once I was in Slovenia and I have visited one of the battlefields near Festung Kluje it's near Isonzo where the Austro Hungarian 21st regiment from Čáslav (where I live) in novadays Czech republic fought. On the hilltop there is Festung (fort) Hermann, which was gunned by Italians. About 30 305 and 280 mm shells hit the fort, untill today you can find giant shrapnells stuck in walls, but only one shell penetrated. It was so well constructed that only 5 men lost their lives due to the shelling before they left the fort. But still going through the tunnel and seeing the shell scared hilltop hundred years after it happened was shocking.
Hej från Finland! I can not believe I haven't found Sabaton before! I don't know how that is even possible since I have always loved heavy music and war history. This is such a winning combination: your awesome songs and the less known stories about humanity in the mids of war. I need to correct my error and dive into this rabbit hole. Thank you! Tack så mycket! ❤
I always love the funny edits, like Indy 'climbing' the mountain.
No matter how much I hear it I still cannot believe fighting happened between mountains, nothing ever makes it believable.
But it happened.
I still am struggling to picture what did fighting look like, for example on a massive mountain peak with differing heights, where would the two sides be placed?
The defending side would nest near the peaks with machine guns and snipers, that attacking side would be climbing around the peak with ropes, it really wasn't an even fight.. The surprise factor was the key to many of the successful attacks, which took place during the night, even scarier
Also, there's recounts of peaks that were captured just with a handful of experienced climbers, who would climb silently during the night and stab the defenders in their sleep. Stealth was the best option for attackers, as they were an easy target from the peak above.
@@scubbasan So these fights weren't actually charges on a grand scale like the Western Front? That is very interesting.
@@icantthinkofaname7293 Grand scale charges wouldn't be possible on those steep mountain slopes :) Up there it was a very technical, smaller scale warfare, where mountain expertise was key. Both sides had elite mountain troops who were trained specifically for that kind of warfare, not the average cannon fodder soldiers.
@@scubbasan but then what did the average soldier do? Just guard?
Absolutely love this channel! Thank you.
Any veteran who pulled guard duty, myself included, can appreciate this song.
Gotta love this channel! Everytime I hear a new Sabaton song I wonder about the story behind. Here it all is! Thank you very much guys!
Indy walking about this event takes me back to the days of The Great War, like I'm a college student (Which I am) returning to a high school class I took just to visit. How time flies.
every so often I just go on a sabaton history binge.
taking a uni course on history and its sucking all the passion out of it, so refreshing to binge some of this show.
entertaining all the way through and re ignites the passion
Sabaton History is fantastic! I really enjoyed the presentation of detail of the subject presented in the songs. Great work and a wonderful tribute to those that gave everything.
There's so many amazing parts of this war I've never knew about. Thanks Sabaton for always peaking my curiosity and driving me to keep learning.
White Friday, I'll take the
Stairway to Heaven
I'm sky high, when I die
I'll be immortal
Another amazing sabaton history video
god how much i have missed these episodes !!! best of the best !!!
Thank you for this. Interesting, and important. Thank you for all that you do.
Great story, would never had known about it. Thanks Sabaton, great song!
The Alpine front was one of the worst ones to be at in WW1
What a good way of waking up... with a new Sabaton History video. Keep up the great work, boys.
Besides great music, that was a great piece of history. Thank You.
Been waiting ages. Love this series
I love how down to earth sabaton is. Which is quite ironic considering the video and song
so educating!! great work!!
I recall a video, The Great War channel, iirc, that toured a part of the restored positions in the Alps. It was eye-opening to see the terrain and features.
(Edit: guess I was right, just commented before the end chat about that episode.)
This song is one of sabatons saddest yet best songs
Go check 'Minenwerfer - Alpenpässe', especiality the intro song 'Der Blutharsch'. Beautiful concept album about this front. Very melodic, yet still depicting the harshness of war.
th-cam.com/video/KljxIoJJwbY/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=BlackMetalPromotion
Awesome video you guys, keep up the good work.
Thanks for the video. I've really needed my sabaton history fix lately
I'm really glad he explained how he hurt his nose. That would have bothered me for a while if he hadn't!
Det är alltid intressant vad man lär sig. Jag skriver just nu en bok om ett folk i en snö öken, och jag har nu fått lite fler idéer om hur de levde och kan utvidga världen de bor i. Tack för inspirationen :D
This was fascinating.
I've never heard this history before. Absolutely amazing!
I've been waiting for this and it surprised me today
Thank you guys for these wonderful history lessons
Loving Sabaton History!! Great song. Great episode.
Starting my day right.
Listening to sabaton then looking up the corresponding sabaton history vid
It sounded perfect to us too 😎
It brings a tear to my eye thinking about these poor young men. They were sent to fight and die in a war that would see no meaningful advances for states which would not exist 50 year later, and they did it in the most horrible conditions you could imagine. It's so cruel and pointless, really drives home how we live in a fundamentally meaningless universe.
I come from that region. Thank you for finding this specific yet "exotic" capter of history. Keep up the good work, i like your videos!
Absolutely out standing
Just when waiting for WW1 Italian Front game: Isonzo! Great timing guys!
Indy likes the ‘The Warriors’? And here I didn’t think I could love him any more!! ❤️
Imagine taking a trip there, and accidentally following a ghost solider to where he was buried, probably wanting a proper burial. It’s creepy, and depressing to think about.
beauty from tragic circumstances, thanks Par and Sabaton
Love you guys ! Keep it up !
I love every single song of yours!!!!! The history Channel makes me love sabaton more :)
I was there for a Ski Vacation with my Family and I was on a Mount called Marmolada there is a Museum about it and let me say this Mount Marmolada is so Fucking high and I said to myself “They had so much guts to this Battle on the Mountains I would rather battle anywhere else then in the Mountains”
omg what an awesome episode, it's always good to learn new history! if you want a good book on mountain warfare i suggest you infantry attacks. that book surprised me on how much detailed it is.
btw i want to see the battle of tannenberg covered in a song, please take it as a suggestion!
I can’t think of any other time when a channel dedicated to history ( The Great War) has introduced me to a band I like, it’s usually a band that mentions a historical event, but this is a great mix.
I feel like there’s an amazing fictional story to be had here. Years in the life of a mountain soldier.
I love your channel keep up the great stuff!!!
6 months later and that Tree is still kicking indy's -ass- nose. That was one hell of a tree. He mentions in the Steel Commander vid he walked into a tree.