Shot at Dawn: Executions in the Great War

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Over 300 men in the forces of the British Empire were executed for various crimes, mostly desertion, during the Great War. In today's episode we visit the sites associated with many of those executions in the Ypres Salient in the town of Poperinge.
#history #ww1

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26 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 62

@richeybaumann1755 Месяц назад

This video hits just as hard the second time as it did when I first watched it on Vlogging Through History. The stories of these men are important and shouldn't be forgotten. I can't even imagine being a loyal soldier who has fought bravely and courageously, to be murdered by your own government for the crime of having PTSD, or for the crime of being human and feeling grief over the loss of a brother. Douglas Haig, for all the good he did, is guilty of the deaths of these men, and his legacy should never be remembered without mentioning the blood on his hands. He had the chance to do the right thing, and he decided that the lives of men mean nothing in the face of making a point.

@nikolaslarson6891 Месяц назад

As a humanitarian MD during several military conflicts over the years I can only compliment you for your excellent video. A subject treated with great sensibility. PTSD is unfortunately still taboo among the military.

@davidgray3821 Месяц назад

As a comparison, since 1865 the US Army has executed only one soldier for desertion. That was in January of 1945. The soldier was given a dishonorable discharge, shot by firing squad, and buried in unconsecrated ground with only a number to mark the grave.

@annettaharris9269 25 дней назад

@@davidgray3821 what was his name?

@davidgray3821 25 дней назад

@@annettaharris9269 His name was Eddie Slovik. The execution was controversial at the time and remains so today.

@jacobweddell2438 Месяц назад

Amazing tribute, may they all rest in peace.

@kitsune303 Месяц назад

A solemn and disturbing subject gracefully presented.

@PeterSSheehy Месяц назад

In reference to Australia you are partly right. The Governor General would have commuted the death sentence as Commander in Chief of the Defence force of Australia. However the GG must follow the advice given by the Prime Minister and/ or the Executive Council. The Prime Minister for much of the war was Billy Hughes refused to allow the death sentence and Kitchener was appalled. The reason Hughes gave was that Australia had a voluntary defence force and so he believed that solders being executed would reduce enlistments. Plus he wanted to introduce conscription which added a further reason not to allow executions. So it was the Prime Ministers decision of which the GG was bound to follow.

@carlbirtles4518 Месяц назад

Douglas Haig wrote on the appeal papers of one deserter; “How can we ever win if this plea is allowed?”.

@anthonyeaton5153 Месяц назад

Carl, please supply your source for that quote.

@seanlander9321 21 день назад

Australia never sank to the level of barbarity to execute its soldiers. Their enlistment was voluntary, they were paid six times the British wage, and despite suffering the highest casualty rate of the Allies they kept turning up for more. That’s what an advanced democracy is about, not punitive and backward as the Europeans were.

@FilipDePreter Месяц назад

Touchy and difficult subject. Well doen Chris.

@antonavila4723 Месяц назад

Executions in the British Army are grossly overblown and a zombie trope that just won't go away. And there is little to no evidence of the much culturally depicted field/out-of-hand execution of soldiers either despite voluminous records and documentation generated by Western Front units every day. 300 plus executions from thousands of sentences out of literally millions of men who served. The myth does a disservice to the memory of every man who put on a British or Dominion uniform, even the men who were actually executed. Thanks for tackling the subject Chris, it's one that doesn't get addressed as often as it should.

@anthonyeaton5153 Месяц назад

A succinct and much needed explanation. Well said.

@yellyman5483 Месяц назад

There are no one who has claimed that the executions produced national mourning in the British population, so i don`t understand why you see the need to belittle the significance of the ones who was executed. 300 souls lost their life to this, and for them, and for their families it was a terrible tragedy. When we look back on these executions i think we can all agree that none of these people would have been executed today. This is a tragic part of history. God bless their souls.

@antonavila4723 Месяц назад

@@yellyman5483 I have not made the suggestion you claim I have and if you think I'm belittling anyone, you need, with respect, to re-read what has been written, and use your reading comprehension skills on that text, not what you think the text may be so that you may better rail against it. If anything, I've made it quite clear that the shrill emotive hyperbole often surrounding this issue is what demeans those men the most, including those who were executed. The tragedy of their deaths is exceeded only by the tragedy of those who insist on weaponising their deaths to pursue an ideological agenda.

@yellyman5483 Месяц назад

@@antonavila4723 I have not seen any attempts to weaponize their deaths to pursuit any agenda. If you`re facing execution i don`t really think you give a damn about anything else than the fact that you are going to be legally killed by the government. There is of course also an emotional side to this. Especially to the loved ones, but also for the condemn. I think society needs to recognize that state sanction killings is a very complex and emotional issue.

@antonavila4723 Месяц назад

@@yellyman5483 Glad you don't come across it. I see it frequently. All the best.

@robertthomas1717 Месяц назад

They were tough times, my Grandad was once accused of deserting, by a Red Cap who as my Grandad said was drunk as a Lord. A bottle of Johnny Walker red label in one hand and a Webley service revolver in the other. At the time he was taking a cart load of shells from a ammunition dump to a battery, my that red cap must have been three sheets to the wind.

@UKsoldier45 Месяц назад

There will be some very sad cases here. Do remember however some executions were for murder. Remember also the millions of our soldiers who were frightened to death but may have thought about deserting BUT loyally did their duty and huge numbers were killed or wounded. My grandfather was wounded out WW1. Think also of how many courts martials could have imposed the death penalty but didn't!!

@craigevans6156 Месяц назад

An incredibly moving account of this aspect of WW1

@ArthurSanford3706 27 дней назад

War is hell

@anthonyeaton5153 Месяц назад

37 of those shot were for murder.

@jackdorsey4850 Месяц назад

Deserison usually means he abandons his unit in battle walking away from a work party is AWOL wow their strict

@catmus1506 Месяц назад

I wonder if the referring to the Australian Governor General was a result of the Boer War. Cough… Harry Morant?

@daviddixon286 Месяц назад

Breaker Morant ,good film with Edward Woodward and Brian Brown

@anthonyeaton5153 Месяц назад

Knew it wouldn't take long to bring Breaker Morant into it.

@seanlander9321 21 день назад

Well, technically Morant enlisted as a colonial because Australia wasn’t a country then.

@anthonyeaton5153 Месяц назад

Its difficult to believe that blank rounds would be in the front line area.

@H4CK61 Месяц назад

They were used on rifle grenades.

@anthonyeaton5153 Месяц назад

@@H4CK61 Thank you for that clarification👍

@johnallen7807 Месяц назад

Easy enough to remove the bullet from the round.

@alanholck7995 Месяц назад

Retired LtCol here. This will likely be an unpopular opinion, but desertion in battle is something that cannot and will not be tolerated.

@kravin74 Месяц назад

Good evening sir. My first cousin recently retired as a general in the U S Army, Jeffrey Paul Van. I can trace my family military history back to the revolutionary war and know where that grave is. Cornelius Whittington Amite County Mississippi if you want to Google it. My grandfather on my dad's side is buried at Barrancas military cemetery in Pensacola Florida and on his tombstone reads, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Gives me chills to say that every time because I am so proud of him. Have a lot more military family history but I don't want to take your time I was wanting to ask a question about your comment. Is it not allowed because it spreads fear through to the rest of the men about to fight? I can see where that would be a bad thing for everyone on that side. Thank you for your service. I hope you have a good night and many good days to come.

@alanholck7995 Месяц назад

I should add that a proper court martial, with adequate legal counsel for the accused should always be held.

@catmus1506 Месяц назад

No offence, but your military service would have been a heck of a lot different to these people, especially as a professional officer. Desertion? Sheer terror, PTSD (shell shock), young teenagers conned into an adventure of a lifetime etc. False advertising from a general staff who gave no thoughts to the wellbeing of “the meat in the grinder.” Once again, I’m not being horrible to you, but the scenarios these poor people went through could most probably not be imagined by us in the modern era.

@dennis2376 Месяц назад

Remember the punishment was not necessarily about the person shot, but to all soldiers that this could happen to you if you do not follow the law.

@andysherwood Месяц назад

Meanwhile people like you are hiding 50 miles back from the front line.

@angloaust1575 21 день назад

No win situation shot by enemy and own side Thought only the russians Did it Wouldn't happen in vietnam war ...officers were fragged!

@terrysmith9362 Месяц назад

Cowardice needs to be dealt with. Cowards let down their colleagues

@anthonyeaton5153 Месяц назад

Cowardice is a natural and immediate reaction to fear. Desertion is a planned process to runaway. That is why there were many more men shot for desertion than for cowardice. It is on record that several men who were shot for desertion had been given a second chance but deserted yet again.

@terrysmith9362 Месяц назад

@@anthonyeaton5153 quite right. Interestingly the guys in the front line were the biggest supporters of harsh punishments