Pal's Battalions were made up of troops that were recruited from the same area. It was a recruiting tool that put new soldiers in battalions with peers who joined with them. The major issue that resulted from this (particularly from the Somme) was that when these units were wiped out in the battle an entire village or town just lost a generation of it's young men in a single day.
The pals battalions enlisted in 1914, they were working pals, friends. Many of them first thought at the Somme in 1916. There were pals battalions that were all killed within minutes of going over the top.
The key symbolic value of verdun was that during the franco prussian war, verdun didnt surrender until after the war was over, in spite of being besieged, so its a symbol or resistance against the germans. Losing the town that the germans couldnt break before would be terrible for french morale.
Hey, it's considered an iconic battle in Britain, and the consensus is it was a tragic waste of life and a poor showing for Douglas Haig and the leadership. I've visited the battlefield and felt a strong emotional connection, having read some of the diaries and poetry from the soldiers
Which in my opinion wasn't fair to Haig he did genuinely care about those troops under his command but there was nothing he or anyone could have done trench warfare was just extremely brutal to overcome.
You will probably find that many soldiers who served in 1914 and survived the war were wounded early on. I have always had an interest in WW1, and it was not until researching my family tree that I found out my great grandfather took part in the Somme offensive with two of his brothers. They were in the attack on the 7th July, on the positions at Mametz Wood, his two brothers were both wounded that day, but luckily they all survived the war. Regarding colonial troops taking part on the 1st July, to my knowledge the only overseas troops were the Newfoundland Regiment. Of course as the battle developed Australian, South African and New Zealanders were also committed. The tragedy is that at the end of the war, old men sat around a table, negotiated, and signed a piece of paper to end it all, after all that bloodshed.
For something that was glossed over. The schwaben redoubt. The area around thiepval was one of the worst places during the opening day, especially because the frontal assault was by pals battalions. After the failure of the first wave, officers on the ground asked rawlinson to redirect the next waves from attacking thiepval head on, to attacking via the captured redoubt since the northern side of thiepval was more lightly defended and the dash would be shorter. THe german counterattack was also delayed by poor communication. Sadly, as per british doctrine, such a serious divergence from the battleplan wasnt permitted and the second and third waves were ordered against the front of the defences, as the degree to which the first wave failed wasnt properly conveyed and high command thought increased pressure would get the job done, when in fact the attack had completely stalled and the remaining forces were completley pinned down in no mans land. Changes in organisation to give generals on the front line more flexibility to change tactics if opportunity presented itself was one of the key changes made throughout the battle, it made it a requirement to have more higher ranking officers close to the action to coordinate and have the authority to make such decisions, leading to a lot of officer deaths in battle, contrary to myth of lions led by donkeys. Edit. Extr bit of info, just as its slightly tragic, like how the danger of machine guns was known by the british before the war due to their devastating use by colonial forces but the lessons werent learned, the creeping barage tactic was developed and introduced during the 2nd boer war but due to the serious financial difficulties of refitting the army in peace time, like how they didnt have enough machine guns, not enough heavier guns were procured, meaning the artillery didnt get the training prior to the first world war to perform large scale creeping barrages until it became clear it was needed.
My Great Uncle, Charles John Wicks 2nd Batt. Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) Service Number: 17859, died on the 1st day of the Battle of the Somme. He was just 18 years old.
One of the strange things about the Great War is that many of us who were born after the Second World War somehow feel _emotionally_ closer to the first conflict. I know always have - and have never been able to explain it satisfactorily. Or the tears I have to suppress, when seeing those smiling Tommies marching (in many cases) to their deaths.
Pals battalions were large groups of men who often knew each other all joining up together and they were all put in the same batallion. It was a great recuriting tool and many higher ups thought it would cause those batllions to fight harder knowing they were defending their friends. Unfrotunatly, it led to deverstation to various small towns and villages as the most of their young men could be wiped out in one battle. Which is what happened in some cases.
The historian A J P Taylors BBC series The Great War 1964 is a fantastic series . The episode on the Somme is for me the most definitive documentary on the events of this battle from all sides who took part. My Grand father who was a sergeant in WW1 refused to watch it as the memories 50 years later were very raw still . The only thing he spoke of was finding a piece of bright green cheese as supplies hadnt reached them for 5 days . He said it was the best bit of cheese he had ever tasted.
My paternal great great grandfather served from 1914 to 1918 and served at the Somme. He was In the Royal London regiment. He also served at Passchendaele. My maternal great great grandfather served from 1915 to 1917. He was at Gallipoli from 1915 to 1916, he then served at the Somme, his regiment the Royal Dublin fusiliers were completely destroyed and he had to join another unit. He also served at Passchendaele, he was injured during that battle and missed the rest of the war.
My great great uncle was in The 1st Battalion Middlesex Regiment The Diehards on 24th August 1916 his trench called Montauban Alley Trench outside the village of Montauban was shelled he and several others were wounded two days later he died from his wounds he was 19 years old and is buried in Dernancourt Communal Cemetery and Extension.
My Grandfather joined the Northants Regiment in 1912, his brother was already a soldier, he never spoke much about his experiences to my dad but told him he heard the artillery shell that killed his brother, I only found out recently my great uncle was killed on thec16th November 1916 and a plaque is in the war cemetery at Thiepval, his body was never recovered. Never got to meet my grandad he died in his 60's after suffering from long term bowel issues due to being gassed at one point...
My great grandfather was a Gordon highlander who was in a pals battalion he lasted from loos then the somme in the second month then arras then finally was wounded and gassed at passiondale and sent home I know he was proud of what he did. He never spoke about it much but we know he was proud and hated being called a lamb led to slaughter different way of thinking I met him as a small kid and he always scared me a little
Believe it or not but French commanders when they heard the Germans where going to attack Verdun almost let the Germans take it because they didn't consider it a strategic military target but they ultimately defended Verdun because public opinion would have been pissed.
The majority of British troops that were killed in the Somme came from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. You almost got it right but not quite. The Somme is remembered mostly in Northern Ireland where many Ulstermen lost their lives. 💂♂️💂♂️💂♂️💂♂️🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
The Pals battalions were units comprised of men from same cities, towns, company’s etc; they were all volunteers who would fight with their friends from their homes...the Somme decimated these battalions so badly that whole communities were devoid of males of fighting age. After the battle of the Somme the British army was re-organised so that such a tragedy would never happen again.
Pals Battalions are men who worked in the same factory or were from the same town etc etc. There were a Battalion that had a unit that were soldiers that were professional footballers from the same football club. Many Pals Battalions were wiped off the face of the earth were no one ever saw the UK ever again or there loved ones. 💂♂️💂♂️💂♂️💂♂️🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
I am 72 years old and my dad was over 50 when i was born which is why my father was in WW1 as a sergeant in the Lancashire Fusiliers,he was gassed but clearly survived . I was 6 when my father died and he never spoke to me about the war, only my older brother but i believe it now quite rare for someone to say that there father was in WW1 usually people say their grandfather was in WW1
In South Africa I was once thought about this battle however only the part that the South African 1st brigade played in the battle it was only thought once and for about half an hour and then never brought up again. It's also the battle where the South African 1st brigade lost the most men in both wars the brigade took part in (ww1 and ww2) it's also the only place where whe have an cemetery outside of South Africa. In South Africa both wars are thought as white men wars where the whites only army went to go fight and die
@Cegeshmost of the people groups where under an European empire (Britsh empire) or Republic (France) or kingdom (Italy) or in the Soviet Union the only non European nations that fought where the Japanese and their empire and the Siamese who was forced in by the Japanese and Ethiopia who was invaded by the Italians in hopes to make it a colonial possession but failed and was liberated by the British Nigerian brigade and the britsh 1st South African brigade and South America and Latin America joined th UN that was founded in the last 5 months of the war and declared war on Germany with the exception of Brazil who had been at war since late 1942 and had a division in Italy fighting the Germans
If the French were so better how & why did they need the British help in masses in the 1st & 2nd world wars, the 2nd world war they hardly held out the germans at all & De Gaul evacuated to London & the germans marched down the main roads clearly in France & through Paris !! They certainly met their end at Wateloo in 1815 ! & many other battles..That's why we had the biggest navy & army in the world which in turn created the British empire....which was known as the biggest empire in the world ... 👌 😁😁
Pal's Battalions were made up of troops that were recruited from the same area. It was a recruiting tool that put new soldiers in battalions with peers who joined with them. The major issue that resulted from this (particularly from the Somme) was that when these units were wiped out in the battle an entire village or town just lost a generation of it's young men in a single day.
Fun fact famous author JRR Tolkien actually participated in the battle of the Somme
Weren't the Dead Marshes based on the trenches?
The pals battalions enlisted in 1914, they were working pals, friends. Many of them first thought at the Somme in 1916. There were pals battalions that were all killed within minutes of going over the top.
The key symbolic value of verdun was that during the franco prussian war, verdun didnt surrender until after the war was over, in spite of being besieged, so its a symbol or resistance against the germans.
Losing the town that the germans couldnt break before would be terrible for french morale.
Hey, it's considered an iconic battle in Britain, and the consensus is it was a tragic waste of life and a poor showing for Douglas Haig and the leadership. I've visited the battlefield and felt a strong emotional connection, having read some of the diaries and poetry from the soldiers
Which in my opinion wasn't fair to Haig he did genuinely care about those troops under his command but there was nothing he or anyone could have done trench warfare was just extremely brutal to overcome.
You will probably find that many soldiers who served in 1914 and survived the war were wounded early on.
I have always had an interest in WW1, and it was not until researching my family tree that I found out my great grandfather took part in the Somme offensive with two of his brothers. They were in the attack on the 7th July, on the positions at Mametz Wood, his two brothers were both wounded that day, but luckily they all survived the war.
Regarding colonial troops taking part on the 1st July, to my knowledge the only overseas troops were the Newfoundland Regiment. Of course as the battle developed Australian, South African and New Zealanders were also committed.
The tragedy is that at the end of the war, old men sat around a table, negotiated, and signed a piece of paper to end it all, after all that bloodshed.
For something that was glossed over. The schwaben redoubt. The area around thiepval was one of the worst places during the opening day, especially because the frontal assault was by pals battalions. After the failure of the first wave, officers on the ground asked rawlinson to redirect the next waves from attacking thiepval head on, to attacking via the captured redoubt since the northern side of thiepval was more lightly defended and the dash would be shorter. THe german counterattack was also delayed by poor communication.
Sadly, as per british doctrine, such a serious divergence from the battleplan wasnt permitted and the second and third waves were ordered against the front of the defences, as the degree to which the first wave failed wasnt properly conveyed and high command thought increased pressure would get the job done, when in fact the attack had completely stalled and the remaining forces were completley pinned down in no mans land.
Changes in organisation to give generals on the front line more flexibility to change tactics if opportunity presented itself was one of the key changes made throughout the battle, it made it a requirement to have more higher ranking officers close to the action to coordinate and have the authority to make such decisions, leading to a lot of officer deaths in battle, contrary to myth of lions led by donkeys.
Edit. Extr bit of info, just as its slightly tragic, like how the danger of machine guns was known by the british before the war due to their devastating use by colonial forces but the lessons werent learned, the creeping barage tactic was developed and introduced during the 2nd boer war but due to the serious financial difficulties of refitting the army in peace time, like how they didnt have enough machine guns, not enough heavier guns were procured, meaning the artillery didnt get the training prior to the first world war to perform large scale creeping barrages until it became clear it was needed.
My Great Uncle, Charles John Wicks 2nd Batt. Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) Service Number: 17859, died on the 1st day of the Battle of the Somme. He was just 18 years old.
One of the strange things about the Great War is that many of us who were born after the Second World War somehow feel _emotionally_ closer to the first conflict. I know always have - and have never been able to explain it satisfactorily. Or the tears I have to suppress, when seeing those smiling Tommies marching (in many cases) to their deaths.
Pals battalions were large groups of men who often knew each other all joining up together and they were all put in the same batallion. It was a great recuriting tool and many higher ups thought it would cause those batllions to fight harder knowing they were defending their friends. Unfrotunatly, it led to deverstation to various small towns and villages as the most of their young men could be wiped out in one battle. Which is what happened in some cases.
The historian A J P Taylors BBC series The Great War 1964 is a fantastic series .
The episode on the Somme is for me the most definitive documentary on the events of this battle from all sides who took part.
My Grand father who was a sergeant in WW1 refused to watch it as the memories 50 years later were very raw still .
The only thing he spoke of was finding a piece of bright green cheese as supplies hadnt reached them for 5 days .
He said it was the best bit of cheese he had ever tasted.
My paternal great great grandfather served from 1914 to 1918 and served at the Somme. He was In the Royal London regiment. He also served at Passchendaele. My maternal great great grandfather served from 1915 to 1917. He was at Gallipoli from 1915 to 1916, he then served at the Somme, his regiment the Royal Dublin fusiliers were completely destroyed and he had to join another unit. He also served at Passchendaele, he was injured during that battle and missed the rest of the war.
God, almighty... they saw some horrible actions.
4:30 about your question for a french, it was 2 weeks in Verdun
Apparently the life expectancy of a soldier in the trenches of WW1 was about six weeks
My great great uncle was in The 1st Battalion Middlesex Regiment The Diehards on 24th August 1916 his trench called Montauban Alley Trench outside the village of Montauban was shelled he and several others were wounded two days later he died from his wounds he was 19 years old and is buried in Dernancourt Communal Cemetery and Extension.
The life expectancy of the average British soldier was around 3 months, but a junior officers was 6 weeks
Yes, finally!!! I was waiting for this one for soooo long!!!
My Grandfather joined the Northants Regiment in 1912, his brother was already a soldier, he never spoke much about his experiences to my dad but told him he heard the artillery shell that killed his brother, I only found out recently my great uncle was killed on thec16th November 1916 and a plaque is in the war cemetery at Thiepval, his body was never recovered. Never got to meet my grandad he died in his 60's after suffering from long term bowel issues due to being gassed at one point...
My great grandfather was a Gordon highlander who was in a pals battalion he lasted from loos then the somme in the second month then arras then finally was wounded and gassed at passiondale and sent home I know he was proud of what he did. He never spoke about it much but we know he was proud and hated being called a lamb led to slaughter different way of thinking I met him as a small kid and he always scared me a little
Britain took the biggest hit at the Somme, around 420,000 casualties. The Commonwealth casualties were miniscule in comparison.
Believe it or not but French commanders when they heard the Germans where going to attack Verdun almost let the Germans take it because they didn't consider it a strategic military target but they ultimately defended Verdun because public opinion would have been pissed.
Watching this I’m thankful my maternal grandfather survived,came back,married my grandma gave birth to my mother and thereby produced me.
One only has to look at German Expressionist art following WWI to see how horrendous these battles were, and what soldiers on all sides endured.
WW1 soldier average life expectancy was 6 weeks...Such a waste of life
The majority of British troops that were killed in the Somme came from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. You almost got it right but not quite. The Somme is remembered mostly in Northern Ireland where many Ulstermen lost their lives. 💂♂️💂♂️💂♂️💂♂️🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
The Pals battalions were units comprised of men from same cities, towns, company’s etc; they were all volunteers who would fight with their friends from their homes...the Somme decimated these battalions so badly that whole communities were devoid of males of fighting age. After the battle of the Somme the British army was re-organised so that such a tragedy would never happen again.
Pals Battalions are men who worked in the same factory or were from the same town etc etc. There were a Battalion that had a unit that were soldiers that were professional footballers from the same football club. Many Pals Battalions were wiped off the face of the earth were no one ever saw the UK ever again or there loved ones. 💂♂️💂♂️💂♂️💂♂️🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
I think you could ask the Belgians who was the bad guys in world war 1!
I am 72 years old and my dad was over 50 when i was born which is why my father was in WW1 as a sergeant in the Lancashire Fusiliers,he was gassed but clearly survived . I was 6 when my father died and he never spoke to me about the war, only my older brother but i believe it now quite rare for someone to say that there father was in WW1 usually people say their grandfather was in WW1
In South Africa I was once thought about this battle however only the part that the South African 1st brigade played in the battle it was only thought once and for about half an hour and then never brought up again. It's also the battle where the South African 1st brigade lost the most men in both wars the brigade took part in (ww1 and ww2) it's also the only place where whe have an cemetery outside of South Africa. In South Africa both wars are thought as white men wars where the whites only army went to go fight and die
@Cegeshmost of the people groups where under an European empire (Britsh empire) or Republic (France) or kingdom (Italy) or in the Soviet Union the only non European nations that fought where the Japanese and their empire and the Siamese who was forced in by the Japanese and Ethiopia who was invaded by the Italians in hopes to make it a colonial possession but failed and was liberated by the British Nigerian brigade and the britsh 1st South African brigade and South America and Latin America joined th UN that was founded in the last 5 months of the war and declared war on Germany with the exception of Brazil who had been at war since late 1942 and had a division in Italy fighting the Germans
All they needed was a couple of M1 Abrams.
Why would we use that presuming we'd have Challenger 2's available?
@@JohnMacbeth Well I guess you could go that route as well, I'm not well versed in British military hardware.
@@gwolfe333 the challenger tanks are awesome. No loses to an enemy, the tank is a beast. Challenger 3 is due soon
Fun Fact Both the King n Kiser wer cousins
first and first like and loved the video
U sud Watch Blackadder Goes Forth v v movin n funny 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
British armies were always mediocre in history. British navy was however the best. French troops were far better in the fields.
Bollocks.
If the French were so better how & why did they need the British help in masses in the 1st & 2nd world wars, the 2nd world war they hardly held out the germans at all & De Gaul evacuated to London & the germans marched down the main roads clearly in France & through Paris !! They certainly met their end at Wateloo in 1815 ! & many other battles..That's why we had the biggest navy & army in the world which in turn created the British empire....which was known as the biggest empire in the world ... 👌 😁😁
🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
:)