Verdun! On ne passe pas but you're in Fort Vaux and the Germans are breaking through 

It's crazy just how apocalyptic WW1 actually was. Imagine staring out at the front lines, no grass, no trees, only mud, barbed wire, and corpses. Every day and night, you are bombarded with dozens of shells per minute, sometimes hundreds at a single time.

"Almost out ammo, no water, but at least there still mouse that can be cook"

THEY SHALL NOT PASS

The most beautiful one so far, in its own tragic and epic way. God bless you, Jormüngandr

Imagine your an 18 year old boy, fresh from the farm, missing your mother deeply, and your home. Fighting for your life, and the fate of your country everyday for months straight. If you're lucky enough to survive the horrendous war, you'll have shell shock and PTSD to haunt you for the rest of your life.

My great grandfather was at Verdun during the first days of the german offensive. He loose many men, was injuried 3 times, but managed to stop them where he was. He was decorated after that and continued the war until the end. Then he fought the germans again during the Battle of France, and after the defeat joined the Resistance and after the Liberation he founded the french syndicate Force Ouvrière. He died at 105 years old. He was just at the beginning a random burgundian farmer.

There’s something so unsettling about these videos. The dissonance between the cheery and triumphant music and the artillery shells raining down are so scary to imagine. It paints a picture in your head of a large group of soldiers huddled up in a giant corridor, singing to take their minds off of the shelling… of the chaos that is about to begin

Idea: Silent night, Holy night but it’s Christmas 1914 and you’re wondering out in No Man’s Land with other Soldiers

This song, if you understand its lyrics, takes a way different tone from the one it's supposed to have. This takes the cliche vision of French resistance at Verdun and contrasts it to real Verdun. While I enjoy this song as art, I can never really ignore its message of defiance and patriotism when contrasted to the truth of it. Verdun was hell. A nightmare which lasted almost a full year. Brutal fighting for mere meters of ground. Thousands upon thousands of artillery shells changing the landscape of the region forever. A stubborn fight of two hateful countries that failed to understand that this conflict was sending a generation, if not multiple, to their end in conditions most cannot even imagine. The French soldiers did not sing the Marseillaise as they faced down hordes of barbaric Germans coming to pillage their homes. They were just young men sent to kill and be killed by other young men. They weren't all that different, aside from their birthplaces and sometimes (not even always) language. Sold into this war by the very same promise which fills this song: heroïsm and patriotism. Over 700 000 people either died or were wounded in Verdun. Thousands more were traumatised by it. Please, forget them not. Neither French or Germans. Or the million others who were victims of the First World War, the following, or the many wars before and after them.

This one... Hits different. It sounds like a funeral, and the soldiers are mourning the loss of a comrade while trying to keep their spirits up. But as it goes on, you get the realization that this is not a funeral for a fallen ally. It's a funeral for everyone. They're screwed and they know it. And to hit that home, the music doesn't just fade at the end, it stops. It stops as the sounds of rocks are heard moving, and the bombardment becomes louder. Feels like you just listened to the last moments of everyone there, as the sounds imply that everyone was either blown up or buried at the end. Just... Damn. The Allies leadership were so hesitant to go to war two decades later, but after this, their actions make much more sense. This war really was so horrible that they desperately wanted it to be the last one ever, against all reason and evidence to the contrary.

The grenade spam.... oh my god the grenade spam on that map is something i still wake-up in cold sweat after dreaming about.

"Swords of Iraq" but you're on Highway 80 and the A-10s are coming.

"Le chant de l'oignon" but you are in the old guard in Waterloo, and the old guard do not surrend

Idea, Men of Harlech for the Rourkes drift thing.

Ah Verdun. My grandfather visited the site only two years after the war ended. He wrote, 13 years later when he started a war journal, that it still smelled of gunpowder, medal, and blood. It was, to say the least, literally hell. Millions of shells fired in less than one year. The village destroyed, hundreds of thousands dead, thousands more shell shocked, injured or missing. We must not forget what war was, and we should be thankful of what it is now. “Hell is called the place for sinners to go. I know half of the men who fought here weren’t sinners, and yet the went through a hell worse than hell. What kind of person, no matter their culture, feel like this was good. I have regret for even fighting for the Germans, but it would be worse to not aid the call of a brother. Now that that demented man has taken power, I can only fear what may come. Nevertheless I will fight against it with whatever means I can. God bless Germany, and God save Germany” - My Grandfather, past the 1934 year entry.

Battle of the bulge but your behind enemy lines and you can hear the Panzerlied song coming through the the snow while hearing gun fire in the background.

My God you did it, I literally made the request the day I found your channel. Thank you for your hard work and I hope you get more subs.

While I listen to this song I just become sad. I cannot imagine the despair.

A song to greet death with a smile, the French really know how to make rallying chant

Nothing will ever match the French’s determination and fighting spirit and the will to keep fighting even though the odds are stacked against you I always thought that the French “surrendering” jokes were dumb

"Здравствуй мама..." but your squad surrounded in Grozny.

This song makes me cry. It is really emotional. Keep up the good work!

"le chant du depart" but your group are Surrounded by English Canon at the Last Minute of Waterloo

This gives me some intense flashbacks from the days I was playing Verdun. A good game, it was as if yesterday that it was launched (that was actually 6 years ago), I've been with it ever since it was just a free game on Kongregate. I remember when they added Fort Douaumont and the German specialist troops, with a realistic gore model. The sound of the machineguns, the characteristic crack and clank of the bolt action rifles, the screams, the howling of artillery, the terrible sound of the Wechselapparat... that game nailed WW1 atmosphere like no other.

Lookin' out my back door but you're having flashbacks about Vietnam

Thank you so much for a such brillant tribute to my country. The '' Great War '' was so terriblr and useless, such a shame so many brave men died in there. Merci beaucoup, paix 🕊 et amitié entre les peuples européens.

I read Louis Barthas’ book and he fought in the battle of Verdun, even though he didn’t fight in Fort Vaux he still fought for survival, which for every soldier in Verdun was the only thing in their minds, Barthas and every soldier who fought in the nightmarish hell of Verdun deserved to be remembered for fighting and putting up with the conditions of that hell and being ordered to do so, in the end they did not let them pass.

“Just don’t tell mom I’m in Chechnya” but you’re in Grozny and your BMP-2 is taking small arms fire

“It’s a Long Way to Mukumbura” but you’re being transported by helicopter to respond to reported ZANU/ZAPU insurgent activity

"The Tanks Rattled in the Fields" but you're a Soviet tanker trapped in your burning tank with your crew as the battle rages outside

This one sends chills down my spine every time. The difference between the meaning of the song, and then the events happening always hit me like a truck. Thanks for making this one man.

Am I alone who did sing and almost cry on this song? Vive la France

Despite WWII is the bloodiest war in History, I think that WWI it's a lot darker than WWII, just imagine being stuck in a trench waiting to climb over the top and get killed for nothing. If you read about no man's land stories from veterans, you will find a darker war than WWII.

i lost 7 member of my family in 1WW... As a french it"s take me in my belly !

It is over my friends You have done your duty, all of your duty Thank you. *- Commander Raynal* addressing his men after the surrender of Fort Vaux

“La Leggenda del Piave” But your fighting the Austrians in the battle of monte grappa.

my great grandfather was sent to Verdun last before he was declared MIA. We can't know for sure because they keep finding bodies. Maybe soon they'll ID one of them and say "yep, that's him" Maybe they already have and we haven't heard about it When you go there it feels really strange. It's all nice and green with beautiful trees but you can tell it's been bombed beyond recognition. And you walk around thinking "how many bodies and bombs are down there right under my feet?"

*THEY SHALL NOT PASS* The main target for the German army during the battle of Verdun was not to capture the city itself, but the line of heights near the River Meuse known as the "Cotes de Meuse". Since antiquity, those heights had been a strategic stronghold, dominating the whole region. The Germans were initially able to cross the Meuse and drive the French out of their positions on the west bank, even advancing so far as capturing Fort Douaumont, but the battle for the heights further north soon became a living nightmare for the troops on both sides. Camouflaged machine-gun nests and relentless shellfire from French 75mm field guns tore deep holes into the advancing German infantry columns, at the same time as German flamethrower units and heavy howitzers smashed into the fortified French positions. Hills like Cote 304 and Mort Homme, the "Dead man's hill", became lasting synonyms for the truly unbelievable slaughter there, as the Germans tried to wrestle the heights from the French defenders by sheer force. Only after a 36-hour bombardment from 500 artillery guns (9th April 1916) were the Germans able to rout the broken French lines and take the two hills. The fighting on the hilltops was perhaps the worst of the entire war, with soldiers dying of thirst, and the wounded drowning in the mud. Battlefield 1 Codex Entry "VERDUN HEIGHTS"

« Si j’avance, suivez-moi ; si je meurs, vengez-moi ; si je recule, tuez-moi. »

I watch quite a few of this, but this one feels different to a terrifying degree.

As a french, i could tell one thing the conception of what is ww1 for french people and for anglo saxon are totaly different on the internet, for the french it is dust, resilience, the effort and the sacrifice of a entire people to defend is own right to exist, and for anglo saxon is just like, christmas night with the germans (never happen with french btw) and having a lot and a lot of representation of anglo saxon pov in the popular culture to show how it was bad to cover 10 percent of the western front when the 90 other were held by the poilus.

To have the real experience : Put the sound 100 times louder Sleep only a few hours if not at all And don't forget to eat just some bread and soup Oh also think about your lost friends and your wife in your village or working in the cities sometimes

"Westerwaldlied" but you're hiding in a shell crater from the eternal charge of the Russians at Operation Bagration, watching as your comrades on land fall to the ground with bloodcurdling screams and your comrades in the air dive helplessly to the ground in their burning, smoldering aircraft

We Go on the Wide Fields but you're an Emigree ROA fighter during the Prague Uprising.

I have an idea: "Always look on the bright side of life from Monty Python's Life of Brian, but you are a sailor on the sinking HMS Sheffield waiting to be rescued".

Hearing the sound of the relentless artillery fire ... it's hard to even fathom the sheer amount of firepower unleashed just at Verdun, let alone the entire Western Front. How human life endured that to even render resistance to one-another is baffling to the odds.

“ils ne passeront pas ! oh merde tant pis, abandonne le fort.” - A Dehydrated French Soldier

The Ink Spots: Maybe But you are ambushed by Super Mutants close to Diamond City (fallout4)

I read The Price of Glory at the beginning of the pandemic. What happened at Verdun was the height of mechanized slaughter. Franz Marc, the artist, wrote about the horses he saw killed and maimed on the battlefield. He himself was a casualty. His art is fantastic and it's terrible he died there.

Erika but you're running out of ammo for your MG42

The amount of severity, truth, and respect you give these awful battles and events while also delivering minimum glamorization is appreciated. There is no hell created in the mind that isn't eclipsed by the shadow of war, and no amount of blood has ever been spilled that will soak into the muddy earth deeper than the blood of the young men of WWI. Never forget their deaths, for they are already in vain.

"by 1917, the french army were even conscripting common right prisoners to reforge all the regiments that were melted into Verdun's furnace"

Marechal nous volia but you're a Captain trying to scuttle the _Dunkerque_ before the Germans manage to board it.

Earlier this year I visited Verdun, I live maybe 1h and a half south of it and I went to it by the "sacred way" (la voie sacré, the main logistical road for the french during the battle) Coming at the top of the hill of Douaumont ossuary and seeing rows upon rows of white crosses was a chilling experience, more so than Omaha since the earth is still scared to this day by the intense bombardments that took place here for months...

“It’s been an honor sir”

Long live the memory of my great grand fathers who lives through those horrors. I wish I could tell them how proud of them I am. No more fraticidal war.

Just in case you want to sing with all these merry french lads, here's the lyrics: Un aigle noir a plané sur la ville Il a juré d'être victorieux De tous côtés, les corbeaux se faufilent Dans les sillons et dans les chemins creux Mais tout à coup, le coq gaulois claironne "Cocorico, debout petits soldats" Le soleil luit, partout le canon tonne Jeunes héros, voici le grand combat Et Verdun, la victorieuse Pousse un cri que portent là-bas Les échos des bords de la Meuse Halte là, on ne passe pas Plus de morgue, plus d'arrogance Fuyez barbares et laquais C'est ici la porte de France Et vous ne passerez jamais Les ennemis s'avancent avec rage Énorme flot d'un vivant océan Semant la mort partout sur son passage Ivres de bruit, de carnage et de sang Ils vont passer quand, relevant la tête Un officier dans un suprême effort Quoique mourant, crie "à la baïonnette Hardi les gars, debout, debout les morts" Et Verdun, la victorieuse Pousse un cri que portent là-bas Les échos des bords de la Meuse Halte là, on ne passe pas Plus de morgue, plus d'arrogance Fuyez barbares et laquais C'est ici la porte de France Et vous ne passerez jamais

"I have a gun", but your unit has retreated into the Sihang Warehouse in order to make a last stand against the IJA during the Battle of Shanghai.

This is now my favorite way to experience songs like this. It makes it that much more meaningful. Thank you.

“Le boudin” but you are a legion paratrooper surrounded by the viet Minh at outpost Eliane in dien bien phu.

My Great-Great Grand Father actually defended the Fort de Vaux, i'm so proud and I love this video

“Just don’t tell mom I’m Chechnya” but you are the first convoy in Grozny and your BTR is on fire

I can just say bravo, I feel like I'm in the trench like my ancestors. I have some goosebump. Thanks !

Fuck, I'm literally crying with this song it's too fucking powerful.

This pleases me

It's almost like the ghosts of fallen defenders are still at the trenches singing this, urging their living comrades on.

I watch these and cry thinking the world will be like this soon. God have mercy on our souls

so much suffering that needs to be portrayed so we remember and learn from it

i just realized that we have failed our veterans that crying sound touched me

"We'll Fight for Uncle Sam" but you're in the Fightin' 69th charging down the Bloody Lane at Antietam

Keep up these vids pal, appreciate the hard work you put in all of them because they are gold.👏🏼💯

RU-vid finally gives me a good recommandation

I legit started tearing up halfway through this video.

"We're only playing leap frog" from oh what a lovely war. But the war isn't lovely anymore.

This channel is a vibe on it's own.

Óro Sé do Bheatha Bhaile but you're an Irish Volunteer in the burning GPO during the Easter Rising in 1916

Men of Harlech but you’re outnumbered and waiting for the Zulus to attack

*Soldiers singing somberly while their position is slowly overrun by the enemy* RU-vid: haha funny skyrim moment

"Falklands war song" But your platoon is suffering from an Argentine Ambush on your way to the Battle of Wireless Ridge.

Whichever side we may favor, we can't deny both came out heroes. The ghosts of the French soldiers still helping their living comrades to hold the crumbling line are such ❤

youtube says this is skyrim

If anyone asked me what war i would never want to participate in, no matter side.. it would be hands down WW1. For a brief period in human history, we created the closest resemblence to hell on earth.

Brings me to the days of BF1, specifically one time at 2 AM of so where we were playing on Fort de Vaux on Operations and I was playing as the French. That specific operation itself lasted for about two hours with the Germans making very little progress, in the end I believe the French won that match

0:27 The french soldiers screams fuck, flamethrower! Thanks for adding that, it’s a nice touch

Great gameplay of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

The Regiment Lives On, but you're in a dusty old bar remembering battles won and brothers lost to the commies.

2500 years of Roman Legacy, 2000 years of Christianity, and 200 years of Englightment, thrown away for the sake of what? What was it all for? What's the price of a mile?

So glad you used my suggestion!

The French fired 10 Million rounds of Artillery during this battle. The facts and figures behind Verdun are positively stunning. May those brave souls rest in peace.

I once was inside Fort Vaux during a school trip. I would shit myself when i suddenly hear SCP 096 crying somewhere down there.

Definitely the best one yet.

This is excellent! This is one I'll be sharing with the gang in the Great War RP I'm currently GMing. I love sending them ambient sound effects that are particularly mood inducing.

As a Canadian history student with heavy nationalistic bias, the bravest men of the war held verdun

These just cut so deep....It makes you almost feel the feelings these men felt...It's sad to think the ones who died wouldn't ever see their family or children again...But God knew what he was doing and im sure he blessed these men's souls

‘La Marseillaise’ but you are on the chopping block for no reason at all

163 000 morts, 216 000 blessés. Drapeau blanc qu'ils disent...

Actually the song kinda makes the whole situation less deppressing

Thanks man. Looked forward to it

“Chant de l’onion” but your in a hold out bunker in the maginot Line after the French armistice.

Can't believe that 1 day ago (11/11/2022) but 102 years ago ww1 ended and with 30m casualties. Respect for everyone who fought on ww1.