WW1 Battle of the Somme 1916 (The Pals Battalions)

[spiritofremembrance]

Beautifully done - we are sharing on our website

[Grimmest117]

Actually that phrase may predate WWI. It is thought that General Andrew Jackson is thought to have coined the phrase immediately after the Battle Of New Orleans, Jackson wasn't exactly dazzled by British General Packinham's battle plan, which was to march straght at the American entrenchments over hundreda of yards of open ground., Napoleon is also credited with the lines origi at the Battle of Waterloo, when observing the Charge of The Scott's Greys.

[Grimmest117]

The Somme was not nescesary. Haig's original plan was to attack further north into Belgium with the intention of hitting the Germans in a much less well prepaerd sector of the front. The opperation would have caused the Germans much more difficulty in shifting troops and materials much further north then they had to. Haig scrapped this plan at the insistance of the French. Paschendale was fought solely because Haig felt he had to have a victory in 1916, Haig admitted this in his own diary.

[johnnyapplezz]

i had a great grand uncle who was killed at the somme, dont know much about him because no one really talks about it. he was kinda forgotten because he was seen as a traitor for joining the british army. mainly because ireland was going through some "house cleaning" that year. his brothers fought in the war for independance and then again in the civil war. i wonder how he would of faired in in those wars if he didnt join the british army. war is a disease, death is the cure.

[cumbas]

/watch?v=HPiCRg7c3EU

[cumbas]

/watch?v=HPiCRg7c3EU

[bingcro]

poor lads ive visited the battle ground and its so moving. i went to see my uncle thomas grave poor man was killed onemonth to the day of the war ending 11.10.18 R.I.P uncle

[Sidslotm]

Very moving and well put together.

[QPhilms]

-cont-

The numbers are easy to be seen.

Stalin and Mao would not have come to power, that's over 150 million dead in their own countries, by their own hands. 18 million in WWI, 35 million in WWII.

Glorifying Napoleanic tactics are seen at the Alamo, Cold Harbor, and countless other slaughters world-wide.

The Russian revolution brought into being Vietnam, Pol Pot, Afghanistan, the Iran/Iraq War.

Half a billion dead

History repeats itself.

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."

[QPhilms]

Napolean is largely to blame for all this, a gruesome cycle of wars and glorified tactics that resulted in over ...

500 million dead.

Alistair Horne, in his seminal trilogy 'The Fall of Paris', 'The Price of Glory' and 'To Lose a Battle' traces this titanic struggle over Europe between 1870 and 1945.

Curiously, Hitler said it best in his awful book Mein Kampf : "then and only then, will it be possible to bring to a close the perpetual and so fruitless struggle between ourselves and France."

[5872steve]

Dubbed the war 2 end all wars. What a stupid statement to make.But lets give some respect to the those who made the ultimate sacrifice for thier countries. As they still do today.

[ACDCisMYlyf]

my great grandfather won a millitary cross, he was part of he 17th battalion

[NZdodobird]

@ACDCisMYlyf

My grandfather was in the Pals at the Battle of the Somme. He was of only few men who survived from his town. He came to America but, according my Dad, suffered many nights with nightmares and woke screaming aloud. My Grandfather died at an early age from a heart attack. He wrote an anti war book on his experiences but never printed it.

[leam9bull9]

You might be interested in this statement.

"Britain had ended the First World War ... with the best-trained, best-equipped and best-commanded army in her history": (Major General Julian Thompson, former commanding officer, 3rd Commando Brigade, 1982 Falklands campaign)

There were donkeys, certainly. They are called politicians. They that took us into a terrible war, took too long to get the British economy onto a war footing and led us into all manner of minor and irrelevant campaigns.

[burnleyfan11965]

lovely vid,some of my ancestors fought in the Accrington pals,my Grandads cousin died on 1st July 1916 age just 20.Haig and his useless fellow generals said 2all the Germans are dead from our barrage,you can stroll across there".Haig never gave a fuck for ordinary Tommys,he was a product of the then rigid class system.

[lordflanderwell]

the accrington pals were in group of 4 battalions,brigade?they were with 2 barnsley pals and 1 sheffield pals battalions.(all york and lancaster regiment)

[cogidubnus1953]

Haig was not, by far, the worst... but for much of the war, you are correct ... donkeys led by lions... there were exceptions too, which you fail to list...perhaps you are fortunate that US commanders did not make ANY strategic decisions in this particular conflict....

But into the same category, you must add many WW2 commanders who failed to learn , particularly the american ones...the US daytime bombing farce is a classic example...

[cogidubnus1953]

Still fighting the last battle but one, without learning the lessons of the last conflict is not uncommon...and certainly not confined to the British Army in WWl

[Grimmest117]

The Somme, Paschendale, Gallipoli, Feel free to stop me when the list grows too long. It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to fight beside British Soldiers. No bloody Yank holds the British Tommy in higher esteem than I do. Unlike most of my country, I daily remember the great debt America owes to Churchill, and every RAF, Royal Navy, Royal Marine, British Tommy, and British Civilian who suffered so much.

... But I won't accept excuses for Haig's conduct in WWI.

[BS1965able]

@Grimmest117 I believe Haig was way out of his depth.

[ss3cleric]

@Grimmest117 Thank you very much for your kind sentiments. I would like to likewise pay tribute to many of your own brave soldiers who died in my region in the Pacific in WWII. My Grandfather (2/48 Inf Bt A.I.F) always spoke with great affection when he recounted the honesty and integrity of the US Marines and Army he knew. God bless the United States of America Lest we forget.

[jed371]

@Grimmest117 Gallipoli was a fiasco, but Somme, Paschendale were both nessecary to defeat Germany

[Grimmest117]

I have nothing but respect, and admiration for all those British, and Common Wealth troops who gave so much, and suffered so much. Now that being said, I think these people who seemed bound and determined to "Salvage" dear old Haig's reputation are doing those brave men a disservice. The collapse of German society had more to do with the allied battlefield successes in 1918 than any great development in tactics. And yes, on occaision us Yanks were guilty of using the same suicidal tactics.

[Grimmest117]

WWI wasn't the first war where the Defence held the advantage. You may not have noticed it, but most of Europe is dotted with castles from bygone eras. Seems to me that those piles of rock were a serious endorsement of the defensive strategy.

Did Sandhurst bother to teach the costly lessons the American's learned in the American Civil War?

Also the British can look at there own history; The Battle of New Oleans, Roarke's Drift, Laing's Nek, just to name a few.

[Grimmest117]

You're wrong brother. Many British Generals were fools, Haig being the biggest fool of the lot. It took Him 2 years to figure out that frontal assaults against modern dug in weapons with mutual support and interlocking fires was a bad plan? Are you serious? Why don't you go to some of the graveyards and ask the ghost of all those brave tommys what they thought of Haig's leadership.The fact is the Haig was criminally incompetent, and too damn thick headed to admit it. God bless all British Tommys

[mig25pd]

Ok. So if British Generals were 'fools' you will be able to point to the Generals of other Armies who overcame trench warfare. German? Austrian? French? And in 1918 American Divisions were pushed up against German Army in the Argonne in a replay of 1916 with the same result. If Haig was 'the greatest fool', name the British General who pursued a radically different strategy. Gough? Plummer? Rawlinson? They all had to learn - the private soldier and the General and everyone in between.

[Grimmest117]

WW I was the last War in which horses were used? A you serious? Check your facts. The Nazis depended heavily on the horses. The Nazis used horses to haul supply wagons, chow wagons, and the majority of their artillery. There were also 2 SS Cavalry divisions. The Germans, and the Soviets both used Cossacks to great effect. The first war civilians were target? Again check your facts. Civilians were comming up on the short end of war for 1000s of years. Read some history Harborguy.

[kennny732]

general haig routinly blamed the troops and their commanders for his bad decisions

[voodooguy55]

Poor buggers,

[IraqiVet38]

Grimm You are Right. Your comments ,are:(Sadly) "Dead On" It took 10,000 lives to make a general. "Tommy "did For Queen and Country. His "Betters" took care of thier selves! For It's tommy this an' tommy that an Tommy 'ows yer Soul? An AMERICAN who cares.

[matthuggybear]

makes my hairs stand on end.

[rablaw0001]

grimm u talk 1 load of shit

[lumbago12]

In what way?

[nattt23]

Going over the top with "Fuck the pope!"

No surrender, a boy about to die,

Screaming "Give 'em one for Shankill!"

[Grimmest117]

If the British Generals of WWI were as good as the common British soldier, the allies would have won the war in 1914. Unfortunately the common British Soldier was usually led bye idiot Generals who weren't fit to shine a private's boots. God Bless the British Tommy, and the soldiers of the Commonwealth for all that they suffered, and all that they gave. Always remember them, always honor them, and always thank them in your prayers. God Bless the United Kingdom. From a damn Yank...

[HarborGuy]

WW1 Had soldiers were not trained to face the new machines of war.....don't blame the Generals. As in WW11 Germany was way ahead of the world in arms. My God Poland still had a Calvary against tanks and airplanes......

[Grimmest117]

Harbor Guy are you serious? Your excuses for WWI generals is rediculous. How many soldiers have to die before the Generals finally figure out their "over the top" tactics weren't going to work? If I remember right,Haig took over in 1915, Hundreds of thousands of British and Commonwealth soldiers had already been cut down bye the Maxim guns. How can you defend these guys? They lead a generation or young men to slaughter, and were never held responsible for their incompetence. God Bless Britain!

[HarborGuy]

I am not defending anyone. The Germans were just ahead of the world at the time when it came to "modern" warfare........It was the first war that civilians were killed due to bombing, and other weapons.....It was the second greatest loss of life next the the American Civil War.

[helmuthoorn]

It took the French generals up to 1916 before they found out these ''tactics'' did not work. But not before the French soldiers at Verdun were starting a mutiny.

There commander Neuville was replaced by Petian, who ordered a defensive tactic and with that saved Verdun and probably the entire French victory.

[mig25pd]

In 1916 British Generals faced a new tactical environment where 'the defence' held the advantage and techniques to overcome the defence were not available.. They had an Army which had grown rapidly but was inexperienced and poorly trained. Two years later that same Army was transformed into an instrument that lead the defeat of the German Army in a spectacular series of victories. The Generals weren't perfect but they weren't fools either.

[canariojoe]

You are quite wrong: over 80% of the german "cavalry" and infantry transport was carried out on both horse and mule backs in germany. do your home work. danke.

[HarborGuy]

So black is white if you want it to be smart arse.....it was the last war that Horses were used. The Germans had most of Europe as in WW Two before the U.S. got involved...England sufferd great losses. Enough please the war is over, ok.

[ushrark]

germany used horses in ww2 only for a different purpose

[Schwertization]

@Grimmest117 "The British...they fight like lions." "Yes...but fortunately for Germany they're led by donkeys." (Discussion between Erich Ludendorff and one of his aides after the British failed to exploit a 50 mile gap in the German lines in World War One.)

[dave1949a1]

@Grimmest117 The Germans said that the British were LIONS led by Donkeys.

[rablaw0001]

legends

[breezeman199]

What a bunch of dupes. Betrayed by their government.

[lavagurly]

This is one of the vids that will help me with may ks3 exam

thanks a lot

[smitty010493]

thank u for this video, the world can learn from WW1 when there was no good or evil, and it was just everyones or nobodys fault, take it as you will, its just an old story of how men acted like children fighting over nothing, and countless men had paid for it

[frank234you]

Thank-you so much...the guns do still roar from 1914-1918....

[gobbiner]

Have the Guns ever STOPPED...

[Argyll1990]

Brilliant video mate

[rablaw0001]

good video.good to see u`r heros

[AgCCannonFodder]

Another great vid Gobbiner, thanks!

Pals Battalions, great recruiting idea, not a great idea to send them all over the top at the same time. Wipes out the youth of a town in a single day!

[gobbiner]

Sorry about the video quality, The video footage I used was poor.

[EwanMcGreggor]

sorry, what was the music used in this piece, the second bit, the not so happy bit. its used a lot but i dont know what it is called.

cheers

ewan

[gobbiner]

Hi Ewan the 2nd piece of music is called (Requiem For A Dream) its from the movie of the same title.

Regards Andy.