The Great War Channel on Youtube

[Bryndis]

For those who are interested in WWI!
There is an awesome channel on Youtube that follows the war every week (it will end in 2018 I guess)
It has a lot of footage, trivia and so on.

Here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar/featured

Sorry if it has been posted before or doesn't belong here at all.

[TimM]

Thanks for the link.

[edubs31]

I think I saw this a while back but had forgotten about it. Thanks for reminding us of it Bryndis. It does look very interesting!

[JamesAPrattIII]

Having watched most of the episodes I think they are party informative, partly funny, partly juvenile, and partly in need of some better historical research:


I can also say I sometimes get tired of seeing the same film footage and photos again and again.

I think the Romanovholics on this site will find it interesting it seems in one week the Russian army is losing badly and the next week the Russian army is wining. Some people might want to log on and defend Nicholas II on the section on him. I would like to make some posts and corrections but I have some gremlin problems and can't seem to log in.

Some major historical gaffs:
episode 40 Galipoli most of the film clips look like they are from a post WW I movie.

Some of the pictures and film clips of ships are from the post WW I period.

episode 41: The Lusitania didn't have enough lifeboats. It did. 6000 Turkish troops drowned when their transport was torpedoed and sunk by a British submarine. Some histories  of the galipoli campaign as late as the 1960s mention this incident .It didn't happen. The book the Ottoman Steam navy 1928-1923 has the largest loss of life in WW I at sea being 250 killed when the transport Bandurma was sunk by the british Submarine E11 on 28 may 1915. 

episode 55: In the failed German attacks on the Gulf of Riga it mentions the Germans losing 2 Cruisers and 8 torpedo boats vs one Russian gunboat. Real according to the Russian Fleet 1914-1917:  german losses: minesweepers T52, T58 and T46 and the destroyer/torpedo boat S31 sunk by mines the destroyer/torpedo boat V99 sunk by the Russian destroyer Novik and mines. The light cruiser Thetis and destroyer S144 damaged by mines. The battle Cruiser Moltke damaged by a torpedo from the Briyish submarine E1.
Russian Losses Gunboat Sivic sunk German Battleship posen, Gunboat Koreec wrecked when it ran ground,merchant ship Dagmag sunk by the Destroyer/torpedo boat V29 and the battleship Slava damaged by german Battleships.
Note the germans refered to their destroyers as torpedo boats.

episode 34 the speaker talks as Russian armored divisions reality the Russians had some armored car platoons or automotive machine gun platoons with 3 or 4 armored cars. In 1916 the platoons were mostly renamed sections and formed into armored automotive Divizions not divisions. of 2 to 5 sections or platoons. Divizion is what the Russians sometimes refered to as battalions there artillery had artillery division not battalion.

I hope this is of interest and use.

[JamesAPrattIII]

more errata:

Week 62: The German 6th not 8th army held Vimy Ridge. The 8th army was in Russia. Loos is pronounced Loss. The unit that went into the battle of Loos kicking a football was the London Irish Rifles and this football is in their regimental museum

Sometime back in this series it was mentioned that Russian chief of staff General A.N. Yanushkevich ordered the large scale deportations of jews and others. In reality it was Grand Duke Nicholas N who was the driving force behind all the deportations

[JamesAPrattIII]

Week 69 mention British Submarine arriving in the Baltic in reality they first got there in October 1914.  It looks like they were off by a year.

As for the Billy Bishop episode No one has been able to find anything on the German airfield he says he shot up and received the Victoria Cross for. Like no German casualties, no records  no eyewitness accounts ect.

[JamesAPrattIII]

Week 75 mentions 2 million Russian refugees the real number is 3 million.

Week 74 mentions the Germans giving Alexander Parvus One million roubles to stir up trouble in Russia. They mention German efforts to cause trouble on the Russian home front in earlier episodes. Which are true.

[Kalafrana]

I have read more than once that Billy Bishop's entire fighting record is in doubt for lack of corroboration. By contrast, the records of other fighter pilots on both sides are pretty accurate, with the exception of a certain Hermann Goring.

Ann

[TimM]

By contrast, the records of other fighter pilots on both sides are pretty accurate, with the exception of a certain Hermann Goring.

Now why do you suppose that is?   

[Kalafrana]

A couple of years ago I got my father a biography of Goring up to 1919 as a birthday present. Unfortunately I cannot remember the author or title, but he was an American and a member of thCross and Cockade Society, so James may be able to help there. It was a very judicious book, but it is clear that Goring's tendency to self-promotion developed early.

Ann

[JamesAPrattIII]

The book is "Herman goring Fighter Ace" by Peter Kilduff I  have read it and its a very fine book. I should point out the Goring doesn't come out as a very likeable man even then. Kilduff latest book is a Bio of Billy Bishop believe it or not. One thing I should point out is the victory confirmation system used by the RFC/RNAS/RAF and the US was very lax compared to the Germans and French. One result is some times some bad over claiming by the British and US on some occations See the book "Bloody April Black September"  for starters.

[Kalafrana]

James

Many thanks. I thought you might know. The seeds of the future Goring were certainly there.

A book about Bishop sounds interesting, and could tell us how Bishop's record got so overblown. If Mr Kilduff wants to continue on the theme of controversial figures, he might try Robert Ritter von Greim next.

Ann

[JamesAPrattIII]

Ann

Glad to be of help. Knowing Kilduff he or someone else might do a bio of Griem one day. He has written bios of other German aces including Manfred Von Richtofen and Berthod, as well as other books on WW I aviation and more than a few articles.

I would also like to point out that Chris Shores who wrote Bloody April Black September has a number of other books on air combat dealing with who shot down who. Lets say some Aces claims are fairly accurate and some aces claims  are not so accurate to put it mildly. the sites: thearodrome.com that deals with WWI and 12oclockhigh.net that deals with WWII and other wars are the places to go to ask questions about aces claims and scores.

[TimM]

The book is "Herman goring Fighter Ace" by Peter Kilduff I  have read it and its a very fine book. I should point out the Goring doesn't come out as a very likeable man even then.

I'm not surprised, considering Goring willingly threw in his lot with Adolf Hitler, knowing full well what Hitler was all about.

[JamesAPrattIII]

I believe it was Goring's mother that said he will be a very great good man or a very great bad man.  Kilduff's book and other works have pointed out Goring was a very intelligent man with a very high IQ. Kilduff, who I have met a few times over the years said that normally when he writes a bio of someone he comes away liking the man in Goring's case he didn't even like him during this period. Kilduff speaks and reads German like a native, can read the old German of the period and is old enough to have interviewed a number of German airmen from WW I. His research is usually excellent.