Forgotten History: The Capture of Fort Douaumont 

ShrimpsTonic lmao

No, it's free real estate

Apparently if you just walk in it's all yours

[Closes door]

@@bullettestdummy8433 [Locks door]

@Gilgamesh [Eats lunch]

I suppose there's a first for everything

Now that's a Darwin award right there. Nearly 700 casualties, Jesus >.>

what happend on 8 May nobody knows exactly. Dr. Hallauer, who was on duty in the fort made up this story: - Soldiers were heating there coffee using powder of german handgranades (which was forbidden, but often done) - Flamethrower fuel took fire (Dr. Hallauer was informed about the smell of fuel allready the day before) - Black smoke and soot covered faces an hands of soldiers - Soldiers runnig off the place were seen by other germans: "Alert! The Blacks are coming!" - Throwing of handgranades against the "Blacks" ( probably these handgranades ignitet all other explosivs) - Two heavy explosions followed (a stock of 155 french shells and a handgranade depot near by) - about 700 soldiers were killed, some were brought outside and laid down in shellcraters - due to heavy fire outside the fort, they decided to burry the dead inside , in two ammunition bunkers.

@@seibelsteinIs it fake rigth? I can’t believe in it.

@@ordennuevo469 well, one thing is clear: it was an inside explosion, not a juge granade from outside. The report from Dr. Hallauer is (for example) written in German Werth's Book: "Verdun, die Schacht und der Mythos"

Lmao imagine one dude just taking a whole fort 😂😂😂😂😂

Dude you misspelled your name. It's spelled cock

Propoganda came of age in the Great War. The German's made a lot of fuss, particullaly aimed at a certain Neuteral country across the water,

Of course the brits had clipped the non-entente telegram cables so very little german PR reached the US.

Plus one spoiled stomach.

*"it was a tight squeeze, but eventually they made it in with precise squad formations"*

@@DIEGhostfish Quite useful when the pipes go through your house. The one in Cornwall. Telstar was piped through Cornwall as well. Nice to see it moving across the sky.

Demon_Turtle89 Yeah, really! 🤣

Reminds me of the outrageously blunderous Operation Biting where British commandos had to steal radar technology from the Germans in WWII. TIK has a great video on it.

I believe it was this “victory” which ironically opened up an exposed flank, which cost the Germans heavily in casualties.

Yes, but the battle to retake the fort, was no laughing matter.

Phil Smith douaumont is at verdun..

kazm1936 yes, thank you I know that well... but that’s not the only one around Verdun.

SonsOfLorgar so true! And there’s plenty that were kept in good condition and could be open to visit too. I haven’t check them for a while now, but I know they were.

SonsOfLorgar yes! But we weren’t thinking about that when we were kids... but now I realize how dangerous it actually was. I heard of someone from my local shooting club here that actually has died while exploring them, apparently caught in a place lacking enough oxygen. He was apparently wearing a detector but couldn’t get in back in the surface fast enough and felt unconscious and was found couple days later. He was always going in weird places with a metal detector trying to find some old ammunition, cases and other war leftovers. He was the kind of guy that everyone was leaving the range when he was starting to shoot because he was always trying to shoot some old and rusty ammo he found in forests or bunkers, etc... we were always scared it would blow in his face, we always thought he would be gone that way... so at least, he was doing what he likes when he dies. But still, that’s indeed very dangerous and would only recommend to visit the ones that are kept in condition and open to public. There’s still plenty that are good and worth to visit. There’s a “troops” bunker not too far from my home that have been completely renovated by a group of history fans, they even fixed the original electric generator and tried to kept it as real and correct as it should be. You can visit it for 5 bucks or so when they do some annual open doors days... I did it like 10 years ago and it was great. Not a big fort, so it’s a quick visit but it’s nice to see it.

Where did you live?

We can probably sneak in a wooden rabbit as a gift!

Chapter III: Fighting Each Other.

"The story of the brave soldier Kunz"

I can imagine the hilarious scenes already 😁

Well, there is Blackadder

Get a gun. Try it. Join us. We have free candy.

I can just imagine him walking into the Hall of food, sitting down, eat some chicken and literally say that

My HS funded a trip to a truck factory. Basically an hour and a half listening how to apply to work at a truck factory. Pretty sure our school got payed to do it.

Spc Madoule Human nature. The goal is at least some of us learn and pass on lest we all forget and repeat the mistakes of the past.

To you it's historic, to others it's 'Where I live'. History and we live here! Still causing problems on the Western Front.

Max: The English are the same, but then so are the American's , the German's the Austrian's the Dutch and the Belgians. 'WE' are wholly good guys! 'THEY are wholly bad guys!

Good points, though I wouldn't call the Viet-Minh at Dien Bien Phu a mere "rag-tag of farmers", at this point it was practically a regular army. They outnumbered us not just by the numbers of troops in the field, they also had larger amounts of heavy artillery and even anti-aircraft guns which proved fatal to some of the bombers providing air support and to several of the transport planes dropping supplies and reinforcements for the defenders (including one cargo plane whose crew included two americans, the only US casualties of the conflict). Now to be fair, there were thousands of farmers who were 'recruited' by the Viet-Minh, and they proved instrumental since their job was to move all this artillery atop the steep forested hills overlooking the fortress and hide it in dugouts, effectively protecting it from counter-battery fire and bombing from our own artillery and air support.

Max The teaching of History in France is all about how France was shit. We never talk about Napoleon, the Sun King, or the fact that this country was basically Europe's main military and cultural power for 8 centuries. Where did you meet teachers who told you about how great France was? Because they just don't exist. Most old teachers are former 68ards, ie. anti-imperialist leftists. Most young teachers are self-loathing leftists.

More or less... I think in this case it was the one guy who has absolutely no idea where he is, cant read a map and ends up capturing the spawn points by chance...

Ever better he also gets free food.

Feiora That is literally the plot for an earlier episode of Red vs Blue

@@Feiora if you don't know where you are crawling through a French gun port you're probably legally handicapped. Just saying. EDIT: I'll also say simply locking French troops in their own mess hall was smart. Why deal with them by yourself when you can wait for extra manpower to smoke them out?

Cant tell you how many time I did that in 1942 and in the Forgotten Hope game.

I think not than the Douaumont french soldiers find this hilarious...

leneanderthalien You mean the 20 that were left there?

@@m4rkm4n there were roughly 60 professional soldiers in the fortification at the time lol. At the minimum, 56. men are confirmed to have been there. and anecdotally, there were just above 70, or 72

So, uh... yeah? lmfao 😂 For ONE 30-year old German nco to singlehandedly take the strongest military fortification in the world... seizing all the guns, rations, and ammunition stored inside. killing or taking captive all 60+ soldiers stationed within. Then putting his feet up, making like he owned the place, while eating their food, and drinking their wine; before finally delivering the entire stronghold, (with it's full complement intact,) to his high command, as a prize? And living on, to tell the tale, about it? Without suffering so much as a scratch? 😂 Yeah... I think most people would have to agree, That's pretty goddamn hilarious. Only being, y'know... just, Probably the most dominant one-sided win, by an individual, in all of military history? 😂😂😂 And certainly, across all *modern* military history. lol. Especially during wartime, as well~

I agree that front really was horrific, even by the standards at the time. Very little mentioned outside Italy and Austria.

The common enemy (cold et al) beat out the uncommon enemy (the opposition).

Cool!

Vennonetes imagine all the money wasted on outdated naval vessels that take 10 years to make

Mike Marion Indeed! I remember a stream by MHV and Justin where the British Admiralty followed strictly the "naval strategy is built strategy" maxim and avoided totally new policies (carriers etc...). Tough decisions!

But Douamont was part of a layered defence, so whilist it fell and one other, the rest held.

Mike: What about the French La Gloire. The worlds first ocean going Ironclad warship? Launched in 1859 the most powerful ship afloat. One year later in 1860 Britian launched HMS Warrior, La Gloire was obsolete, though a few years later both were ancient history when in 1872 HMS Thunderer the Royal Navies first Turret Ship was launched.

Vennonetes I think it was blue print for Armageddon that talked about how many ships were obsolete by the time they were finished building them.

I will remember that for me next trip, thanks!

Your welcome! I have spent every sumer in the Argonne-Verdun-St.Mihiel sector of the Wester front since 1989 so I do know a place or two well worth visiting! :) Butte de Vauquois between Argonne and Hill 304 is also worth a visit if you are interested in WWI mine warfare. And if you want to see some of the best perserved German trenches and dug-outs on the Western front a visit to Forêt d'Apremont between St.Mihiel and Apremont-la-Forêt is a must. Almost the entire German front line was constructed in concrete with concrete dug-outs every 50 - 100 meter with loads of concrete OP's, MG-posts and bunkers. Cheers! And keep up your great work with the channel! :)

Blackadder? Like the show with Rowan Atkinson?

@@andyb2028 Oui.

That would have been the Krupp Big Bertha . There wre also a number of 305mm Skoda heavy howitzers used.

Yes Tolkien was on the Western Front, but only for about seven weeks when he was invalided out with trench fever. Sam Gamgeee is refffered to in Tolkien's letters as being based on the Private soldiers and batmen he knew. Read up a bit of history of the Great war, then read Lord of the Rings again. You'll get a whole new insight. The only date and time mentioned , can recall exactaly at the monment, in the House farthest East, refers to the time Tolkien found out he wa sto be repatriated and the House is the base hospital he was in. Thjere are a number of odd d etails in the book that don't make sense, till you know about Tolkien's service, for instance why does Sam 'Want to see the Elephant'. What the hell does that have to do with anything else in the story? I could go on for hours so I'll do you a favour and stop.