Archdukes, Cynicism, and World War I: Crash Course World History #36

[@FishFreaks16]

Our homework is to watch this and answer questions, our teacher has a crush on John Green. And in Biology our teacher has us watch Hank Green. My school is obsessed with the Greens.

[@규현찾으러수만리]

huh my social studies teacher shows Crash Course to the 7th graders but not us. The 7th graders are lucky. They get to watch John go on about how the American Revolution made the nation get ruled by fat white males to getting ruled by fat white males while we're stuck writing essays on Woodrow Wilson. humph I wish MY teachers would assign it for homework or show it to us in class. you are lucky. :P

[@balloutswerve8905]

Ayo

[@balloutswerve8905]

I have a question

[@sharon-clare_bear3438]

oh really? All the same except add that our English teacher loved all of John Greens books. We read at least two John Green books a year, and then "preformed" them like plays.

[@dragonmark101]

One of my favorite stories in history comes from World War I. The Christmas Truce, an unofficial ceasefire on Christmas, where soldiers from each side came out of the trenches and sang songs, exchanged gifts, and even played soccer.

[@xthe_nojx5820]

Derik Irelan I almost didn't believe that story when I first heard it as a kid. I couldn't reconcile that Island of Civility in the Ocean of Overwhelming Horror that Attrition Warfare was described as. Honestly, even two decades later with what Perspective age has granted me, I still can't. It's one thing to kill a Faceless, Dehumanized Other, but after sharing Fellowship, song, smokes and sport, you're killing _people_ again. Possibly even the man who shared his last cigarette with you just the Night before. It truly is one of the saddest things I have ever heard.

[@lapisleafuli1817]

xThe_noJx actually the men that participated in it often refused to fight after that so they were transfered out and replaced. which is almost worse considering that the leaders of both armies saw their men refusing to fight and their response was to just get fresh men instead of talking things over.

[@Tfugtsgvufexv]

Derik Irelan they never played soccer it’s a myth

[@sgtjohnson49]

@@Tfugtsgvufexv I've heard that the whole thing was a myth, but I've also heard the opposite.

[@slickeditz5170]

Derik Irelan the next day they continued fighting as if the never knew each other

[@vc15ist]

One of the biggest outcomes of WW1 was, like you briefly mentioned, the fall of the Ottoman empire and the re-shaping of middle east and its new borders by the British/French. This was monumental when you consider that a lot of the turmoil in the 20th and 21st century middle east can be traced back to this event. I feel you really glossed over this and it should have deserved a mention.

[@forzaa867]

Poor Ottomans

[@kuax27]

Habib Tannazi poor naziviets

[@matthewthomas3636]

You left out the major contributions of Australia in WW1. The highest paid troops, the highest casualties %, the only volunteer army, shot down the Red Baron. Australia also gained its first and only colony after WW1. I love the work your team does here, it's a great service to the people of our time. Thank you so much for all of the episodes your team has made.

[@spencerabdo5144]

"Then declared war on France because, you know, France!" Perfect.

[@salliehogan7726]

Ahaha who’s here rn due to the corona virus so your history teacher sent you these videos to watch as your assignment for the week.

[@miserum7932]

More liek ery day, amirite honors?

[@bri._.ch3ese]

Ahaha

[@kenleylopresti858]

yep

[@GigawattGhost]

you know it

[@khaizuus]

I'm here for a project on trench life so yeah :") Honors..

[@joeyneumann5948]

Canada just was happy to be invited lol

[@HayabusaPaul]

Joey neumann Canada had no choice as they were a Dominion of the British Empire.

[@chadc437]

HayabusaPaul That's not correct as Britain was in no position to force the Canadians to help. They absolutely could have just said "No" and sent no men or supplies. They didn't give up what the people of other nations did but many Canadian families had their lives changed forever by their participation in that war. As an American, I sometimes make jokes about Canadian participation in conflicts but when being serious I'm aware of the fact that they've been there with us giving lives and fighting hard far more often that not.

[@HayabusaPaul]

Cheatin Chad Westminster decided foreign policy for all British dominions. Is wasn't until 1931 that the dominions of the British Empire were given the freedom to decide their foreign policy through the Statute of Westminster. The decision to join the war effort was easy for many Canadians because they considered themselves British subjects at that time.

[@chadc437]

HayabusaPaul I understand what you're saying. What I'm saying is that there is a difference between deciding policy and enforcing it. Britains inability to enforce that policy means the Canadians went willingly .That was the point I was trying to make.

[@wildgoatcrete9038]

Have a good Day

[@nogravity60]

"what is heroism when you are sitting in a trench waiting to be blown up" my thoughts exactly on modern wars!

[@jaridkeen123]

I would argue that the killing of the prince is not what lead to war since. 1) They didnt declare war until a month later 2) his uncle didnt like him and it also cemented his rule and benefited him. Instead i would argue the Austrians were looking to just start a fight and found this excuse valid.

[@chillizora]

Jarid Gaming hey jarid- that price better archduke was fircly against war with serbia out of fear russia will attac. So he was dead and cd not advise against it!! He planned one big german -austrian united power. The big austrian monarchi was made up of 15 ethnities which was shaky and that old man franz josef didnt want any change and thought best fighting serbia to controll rebellion .Noone ever saw that massmasakre comming, it turned out to be with 40 million death tolls making ground for an even worse event:ww2. Three outdated monarchies. The world wd look completely but completely different today. Maybe even no communism wd have happened. The middle east wd not be in this constellation. Then the US holds its hand upon everything to their linking

[@Touchgoldoden]

To John Green, I adore your novels and the fact that you give your time to help knowledge people about history on KZbin. You are a great inspiration!

[@elephantwarrior53]

The February Revolution was in March.

[@elephantwarrior53]

The October Revolution was in November

[@shanecorrigan8524]

+Elephant Warrior thank you

[@tiahr1939]

+Elephant Warrior not in my history book.. it says the night of 24-25 October..

[@asneakychicken322]

+Elephant Warrior that's just because they were using the Julian calendar, from the frame of reference of our Gregorian calendar they did happen in the months they're named after

[@tiahr1939]

Aaron Brougham oooh okay, thanks

[@abu-hureraali4531]

My moustache was great right

[@prestonfladwood5693]

I agree

[@sondrevatland2720]

Kaiser Franz Joseph I did you make a channel just for this??

[@abu-hureraali4531]

no

[@timboraymon5302]

sondre vatland

[@coletakkish4389]

Kaiser Franz Joseph I Your mustache was probably the only great things about the beginning of the 20th century

[@samrevlej9331]

1:43 "... and then declared war on France because, you know... France!" Franco-German relations 1756-1945 summed up.

[@00qverlord40]

honestly I'm from Canada and I'm watching these to study for my history exam which is all about how Canada was "really involved in the war and won the battle of vimy ridge and had so much to do with the RCAF" but honestly "just happy to be invited" pretty much sums it up. Good job Mr. Green.

[@Alb410]

Canada played an important role, however, Canada was also part of Britain at the time so people considered them as british troops until the end of the war, so we are not talked about too much.

[@00qverlord40]

that's true but you can't deny the RCAF was pretty badass tbh

[@FarFigSchitter]

@@Alb410 actually we were independent by then, we just still had very strong to Britain after independence. the war actually helped us form a global identity aside from being "basically the British" which is some silver lining

[@PennyDreadful1]

Didn't a ton of Canadians die in the famous battle of Ypres(Paschendale). I'd say you were quite active. I also heard that the post war celebrations in Canada was pretty intense. Dangerous even.

[@dmrrider1]

"...Because... You know... France..." Love it. keep up up the good work guys

[@victortisme]

I'm french and it was awesome

[@ZEtruckipu]

victortisme even if it wasn't historicaly accurate at all

[@victortisme]

BECAUSE it was absolutely inaccurate !! x)

[@dawncast5881]

Speaking of literature changing the noble outlook on war: In Flanders fields the poppies blow... Between the crosses, row on row. They mark our place, and in the skies the larks still bravely singing, fly. We are the dead. Short Days ago we lived, saw dawn, felt sunsets glow... For all men who lay below those crosses.

[@briangamespc4791]

Dawncast written by a Canadian Doctor John McCrae. Canada saw the worst battles of the war.

[@wout4yt]

Dawncast "This story is neither an accusation nor a confession and least of all not an adventure, for death is not an adventure, to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men, who even though they may have escaped the shells, were destroyed by war", from All Quiet at the Western Front. Written by Remarque. BTw why is he so down on Belgium, what did we do?

[@briangamespc4791]

From Guelph?

[@Mateo-mg4jw]

+Dawncast I suggest reading The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway

[@HaloFTW55]

I dislike that poem. Anthem Of The Doomed Youth is far better.

[@SeeWitch]

Love the open letter to alcohol: "if you need to get drunk to do a thing, you probably shouldn't do that thing."

[@ownser1]

Don't mind me, just brushing up on my WW1 History for Battlefield 1

[@caboose1one]

same

[@richardgalassi1380]

lol yes

[@RajatSaxena97]

yess!!

[@mrfootfxtish9430]

ownser1 lol me too

[@Sethdial2207]

a year later and I got half my knowledge of WWI from this and Battlefield one so... yay

[@macciato22]

Thank you for bringing Hemingway into this! I'm an English Lit major and I've been watching ALL of crashcourse world history to brush up on my knowledge in other fields, but it made me so happy that you mentioned him and the Lost Generation. I actually wrote my BA thesis on them so this just made my day. Yay literature!

[@thingsthatgobomb]

who here is some student that got bored and wanted to look at the comments?

[@octo-shadow8008]

That student was me

[@solvemproblerstudios5889]

Yeah... with The Corona Virus, I don’t have much else to do other than APWH.

[@dunzek943]

You

[@heist2556]

Me, also en taro Zeratul. :)

[@KingKuso]

This is my assignment.

[@roberttobias547]

World War 1 interestingly enough sparked the nationalist movements of Turkey, Australia, and New Zealand all in the same place. As the British tried to invade the Ottaman empire through the Dardanelles' in an attempt to reach Istanbul by sea the Ottoman forces (led by Ataturk) held back the allied forces. While the British mostly hung out in the back of the action, they sent waves of Aussie and Kiwi soldiers. So, people with no history of animosity were told to kill each other, and after the war all 3 were able to say "no more of that!"

[@lechevaliermalfet1]

so you saying that the 1/5 battalion of the Norfolk's hang back. oh it was the Wiltshires who were in a battle unarmed.

[@bullrun2772]

I disagree but the heck

[@TheImpiroGirl]

I'm taking History High Level as a part of my IB Diploma (High School) and I just love how your videos are supplementing what I'm learning. It's really awesome to make connections across the different material - textbooks, videos, assignments - I hadn't really analysed the degree to which WWI paced the way for the Russian revolution. So thank you very much John and the rest of the crew as Crash Course I am so very happy with what you have created for us!

[@joshyan1458]

Man, everybody HATED each other.

[@shiney94]

and the leaders of europe were all COUSINS!!

[@Ariminua]

ShineyM The monarchs at least.

[@Druguzu]

They still hate each other.

[@Ariminua]

Especially recently with the rise of all the right wing groups in Europe.

[@FoAmY99]

Ariminua Lets ask why are all these ultra-right groups gaining prominence again? Because of Europe's desire for socialist societies coupled with the EU taking more power away from the individual nations, have created economies on the verge of collapse and governments too impotent to enact policy that might help the economy out. Therefore you get ultra-nationalists who are disenfranchised and angry that nothing is being done. Same here in the US to a lesser extent, mainly because we haven't become as socialist as Europe has. Nonetheless, these issues today are reminiscent of the problems that caused the world wars in the first place.

[@luvkirby4ever]

My little brother (who is 8 years younger than me) came home from school today and told me that we watched this in class today. I'm so happy :D

[@Tomasscarpatti]

So I just wanted to watch SOME parts of SOME videos of this list and ended up watching a lot of them entirely, I'm just really enjoying it

[@jennamarcus4283]

Wow. I remember watching this shortly after it came out when I was in high school. Now in my third year of college, having taken classes in history, literature, art history and political science, these words and pictures have so much more depth. I can't imagine how devastating, somber, and terrifying these times must have been for those that endured them. Thank you, John, for these incredible videos and for keeping history alive.

[@eunicepoon8314]

"You just named 3 of our favourite things" Yeah, peace, land, bread...wait where's vodka?

[@Corristo89]

Before WW1 began the major European powers had pretty much made sure that almost any spark would set off the powderkeg. Russia for instance covered the aggressive expansion of Serbia and forged an alliance with France, which would ensure France's military support, even if they weren't even involved or attacked. Germany and Great Britain were involved in an arms race at sea, though that is largely exagurated since Germany could never match Britain's ship building capacities and never posed a threat. If anything it was Great Britain and France who were keen on a war with Germany. France wanted to win territory back lost after the war from 1870-1871 and Great Britain wanted to depose an economic competitor. Remember, Germany was an industrial powerhouse and outstripped the Entente in terms of production numbers and often technical innovations. I mean science in Germany was going gangbusters, with many Nobel Prizes going to German scientists. Also Germany wasn't involved in the banking system ruled from London and had achieved large parts of its growth without British credit. The conflict started rather locally in the Balcans but Russia essentially escalated things when they mobilized ALL of their forces, since plans for a partial mobilization against Austria didn't exist. So Germany felt threatened and responded in kind. Germany was largely made out as the culprit after the war, which just doesn't hold water anymore. Germany wasn't any more militaristic than France or Britain and emperor Wilhelm II., for all his tough talk, didn't really want war nor was he a warmonger. Germany just made the mistake of declaring war on France first and invading Belgium, which had declared itself neutral. History is really written by the victor...

[@nickj.648]

Very true. Plus by the end of the war Russia couldn't have been held accountable anyway. If they had, say, fought with Germany but the war started anyway, since the government had switched from Imperial to Socialist and then to Communist.

[@DAmuffinMANcan]

Britain had no intention of war, and it only became unfriendly with Germany because the Kaiser continuously insulted Britain and went out of his way to be uncooperative. I don't blame the Germans for the war, in fact, I hardly do at all. But they brought Britain into it and pretty much set our Empire onto the path of decline, and for that, they should receive full blame for. German ambitions single handedly destroyed the greatest Empire in world history, and badly turned the world balance of power. We went from a century of Pax Britannica and unrivalled prosperity, to a century of war, chaos, an out of control global population, and Europe taking a backseat to emerging rivals. This is undeniable.

[@danpt2000]

***** The reason why Germany and Italy formed the Axis in WW1, is mainly because they were comparatively late comers to the Imperial Colonialism game, unlike Spain, Portugal, France and the British, the Italians and Germans didn't possess much foreign colonies. I guess the Germans, Italians said, Fuck It, we'll just take Europe for ourselves.

[@sloznisrbi2319]

Serbian "agressive expansion" are you joking where do you learn history? Serbia just freed itself from Ottoman empire in 1912 and then another power wanted dominance over Balkans that is Austria.Serbia paid highest price in WW1 look at the casualties PERCENTAGES !

[@sandibenedum4413]

Corristo89 Great synopsis, thanks!

[@TheSmithDorian]

There seems to be a lot of debate about the contribution of the American Army to the allied victory in World War 1 here. It can be summed up in 3 words; small, late ineffective. The US formally joined the war on 6 April 1917 with a Declaration of War on Germany. Initially this was big morale boost to the British Empire and French forces who had been slogging it out in since Aug 1914. However, the US was so slow in mobilizing, training and preparing its army for battle readiness that it only ended up fighting in a single offensive action in Sept/Oct 1918 on a small section of the Western Front. The war was over by the next month (Nov 1918). It played no significant part in defending against the massive German Spring Offensive in 1918 and wasn't involved in any material way at the critical points of the British Empire and French 100 days Offensive that effectively forced the German surrender. . Nor did Germany change or speed up any of its plans due to concerns over future American troop numbers. Germany launched its Spring Offensive - Operation Michael - as soon as it possibly could and it would have done so at exactly the same time whether the US had been in the war or not. The time restraint on Germany wasn't the US Army but the British naval blockade of its ports. Britain had maintained this since the start of the war and by early 1918 the German population was literally starving to death. This caused massive civil unrest in Germany with the Monarchy and government being on the point of collapse by early 1918. It actually did collapse later that year. On top of that was the fact that the German Army had simply reached the limit of its endurance.When its Spring Offensive had failed to decisively breach the Allied lines by June /July 1918, the German Army was an exhausted and spent force. Hungry and war weary, it's resistance began to crumble in the face of the Allied counter offensive. Once the Allies had breached Germany's Hindenburg Line of defenses, surrender was inevitable and on 11 Nov 1918 the armistice formally ending hostilities became effective. . While all this was going on, America had continued to send fresh troops to France - with thousands arriving every day. The result was that at the end of the war only about half the troops that it had sent over actually fought in combat. The other half simply arrived too late. This may not have been a bad thing though as the casualty rates in battle for the inexperienced American soldiers was pretty high. . America could have put troops in the field earlier than it did, had it not been for the actions of its Commanding Officer, Jack Pershing, who insisted on engaging only when American troops could form an independent autonomous army in the field. Pershing was an honorable man as an individual but he was way out of his depth when it came to prosecuting war on the huge scale of WW1. His experience had been gained largely on horseback campaigns against the American Indians and the Mexicans. In WW1 he had to command over a million men in an apocalyptic war zone where death and destruction on an industrial scale were ever present.

[@raqFarha]

"especially in the Ottoman empire where 2mil of the 3mil killed were non-combatants" i think you miss-pronounced "Armenian Genocide" there, buddy

[@CaptainGameFreak]

At 8:50 , The February Revolution did happen in February, but not really in Russia`s books. They had a calender 13 days ahead (So it happened in March) the Western Calender, although, they did adopt the Western Calender the following year.

[@felipesalvatierra805]

Did anyone see the Kill Bill reference at 6:45?

[@princessrose1019]

Yes

[@mortyjames5897]

READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind. Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!---An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime... Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,--- My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori. -Wilfred Owen The Latin at the end means "it is a sweet and seemly thing to die for one's country". Wilfred Owen died two weeks before the end of the war.

[@ryanfriedman4329]

Two of my great grandfathers served for the U.S. Army during the First World War and both of them survived, which is why I'm alive.

[@nickmoore6381]

My great grandfather served as well and is why i'm alive.

[@alba489_]

My great grandfather served for the German army and survived, that's why I'm alive.

[@anthony-brianhanna1455]

Good job man !

[@kaboomerty1638]

my great grandpa was a nazi in ww2, he is still alive

[@anthony-brianhanna1455]

That's so good to hear

[@GiftedContractor]

While by the Russian calendars you're correct, by our calendar the February revolution actually happened in March, and the October Revolution happened in November

[@lauradoestheastro]

I work abroad as a TA teaching English as a second language to high schoolers. Since I'm often asked to teach specific topics related to literature or history and also asked to do show videos to keep the students interested, Crash Course is my go-to. The best part is that there's closed captioning so even though John talks way too fast for a non-native speaker to understand, they can kind of follow along. I've noticed, though, that there are a bunch of little jokes inserted into the captions. Example from this one: "That defined Hemingway's worldview. [that and a whole lot of boozing] And it also defines ours [less the boozing]." Very cute. But the reason people use closed captioning (usually) is because for some reason, they can't hear or understand the spoken words. And it's confusing for my students because they think they missed something. So I have to pause and explain to them that the bracketed words aren't actually said, they're a joke that someone added in later. And in this case I also have to explain to them what "booze" means because they've never heard that word, all while the teacher I'm supposed to be assisting gives me skeptical looks. I think it's great that there are captions on the videos. But I would just like for the people who do them to give some thought to the people who will actually need to use the captions and just transcribe the video without editorializing.

[@nathenhutchison6182]

Well, they should have a very firm grasp of what "skoodilypooping" means by now.

[@jacobpeterson9502]

“WWI was a war fought for no reason. It was just insane.” -Dr. Elizabeth Clement

[@chillizora]

Jacob Peterson it was hooorrendes and out came a more horrendes war. So because of one shot 100 millions died, communism ran over the eastern countries and an incountable amount of cultural heritage was lost, plus the middle east got busted up as well.

[@mysteriosmustard]

Canada did a lot of during ww1

[@steampunkbatmangame7137]

+bes loeq yay we did a lot what a prick

[@181snake]

Not really, our heyday was ww2 through something like 1 Canadian died out of every 11 and we took vimy ridge, also India did a lot.

[@garykimbrel3713]

+Mysteriousmustard yeah I was disappointed he didn't mention the Newfoundland men killed, many of them at the Somme. They basically lost an entire generation of young men, which was a big reason they couldn't survive as an independent commonwealth and had to join Canada as a province in the 40's. Fantastic place and people though.

[@juliankirby9880]

+Gary Kimbrel Have you seen the youtube channel the great war? Indie, Flo and the team be spreading the love to all soldiers of WW1, the leadership, no so much.

[@macdom24]

+Gary Kimbrel Remember this is a 11 minute program. He skipped over ALOT.

[@generalnawaki]

as a Canadian, HEY!...thanks for mentioning us :) we were in WW2 as well! Italy wouldnt have been taken so quickly weren't it for us!

[@jules6887]

thanks for this series, I have my first ever AP exam tomorrow (AP World History) and these videos have really helped me to review without dying of boredom!

[@michaelames7086]

Might I point out that the February and October Revolutions actually took place in March and November respectively.

[@michaelames7086]

Right, but Russia now uses the Gregorian calendar. If they were to look back using this new calendar, the revolutions took place on the wring months. Plus, it's just silly to think that they were off on naming their revolutions. :P

[@mandrson]

Thank you! I thought I was going mad that nobody else said that!

[@shaistaali3]

Michael Ames

[@lemonjelloguy1]

War, war never changes.

[@lemonjelloguy1]

mikkel larsen it was only a joke

[@qtAlexx_YT]

Technically, you're right. In my opinion, war always has the same outcome. Weather some wins or loses, many lives are lost and the World is changed. But war.....never changes

[@salomonlevin8288]

As those in fallout say: war... War never changes

[@emsbrelopez0711]

@@lemonjelloguy1 I like fallout

[@kahlgahdinah]

actually Canada wasn't to happy to be invited. We were kinda pissed that we were thrown into the war without ANYONE telling us before hand. Our own Prime Minister didn't know about his country's declaration of war until he read about it in the morning paper

[@RainbowCrystalSky]

that was a pun :p

[@davidvidmar3736]

Why did you put a picture of WW2 german Wehrmacht infantry 7:25 into the WW1 episode? You can clearly see the german eagle on the right brest part of the uniforms, as well as the insignia in the collars (so called collar tabs), as well as the K98 munition pouches.

[@shanearnold7781]

I can't believe you never discussed the Armenian Genocide. I still respect you guys, but come on, it's a pretty significant issue.

[@ravenwing199]

+Shane Arnold Irrelevant to the topic + easy way to get hate = never touch it with a ten foot long pole.

[@shanearnold7781]

+XxRavenwing19xX It ties into WWI with the collapse of the Ottomans though

[@shanearnold7781]

+χρονης κ. And there were the Assyrian and Greek Genocides as well, all carried out by the ottomans but no mention here :(

[@oguzhanomeroglu6125]

Yeah it is a pity he didn't mention Turks killed by Russian-backed Armenian gangs.

[@abilaiabdrahmanov5976]

Armenians also wanted to make a big revolution against Turkey, so turkish do it earlier and fight against them.

[@PotatoeIsland]

Why must you make fun of Canada have you heard of vimy ridge and Ypres?!

[@youngfly9146]

genuinine desire to learn about history bought ne here ✊

[@wworsey954]

whoever writes the subtitles is a gift

[@LukesEnglishPodcast]

Great video and very informative, but I didn't really appreciate the little jokes, which just came across as slightly inappropriate here. I mean, a picture of the Ninja Turtles when talking about "shelling", which killed hundreds of thousands of men in terrifyingly brutal ways? Humour is a good way to deal with serious things, but the humour has to be genuinely funny. An ironic reference to the Stallone film "Over The Top" is just not funny enough when talking about the millions of men who literally walked over the top of trenches towards certain death.

[@LisaGumerman]

I'm guessing you don't watch many videos by the Greens ...

[@SirPlotALot]

The jokes are meant to keep high school students interested and awake when teachers use this to supplement their class material. Besides, he's pretty serious about death and fear when he does show the turtles...

[@LukesEnglishPodcast]

I know why the jokes are added and the Green brothers are great at keeping students engaged with humour. I get all that. I just felt that some of the jokes weren't really appropriate considering the darkness of those events in the war. Just my opinion.

[@davidjairala69]

Poking fun at a war that ended nearly a century ago, and you act like it's too soon? Haha, that's kinda funny

[@LukesEnglishPodcast]

Where I'm from we still remember the war with some solemnity, considering the millions of our countrymen who died so needlessly. I think it's fine to laugh at just about anything, but the jokes have to be pretty damn good to match the events of WW1.

[@Pelloutier]

04:10 "In France, 13,3% of the male population between the age of 15 and 49 died in the war" That is why some ignorants should think twice before calling an entire population "cowards" without knowing anything about it. They're insulting the memories of soldiers, often young men, who perished in a tragic war, serving the capitalist interests of governements that didn't have any care for human life, but demonstrating an immense bravery and a courage that shall never, ever be insulted by anyone.

[@MarieAliceMinassian]

2-3 million people in the Ottoman Empire were not killed as part of the 1st World War, they were victims of the genocide conducted by that nation, most of the victims were Armenians and Greeks. Being killed during a war and being a victim of a genocide are two very different things.

[@dhcamper]

I'm a Canadian, a British Columbian, and a Vancouverite. I have a History 12 test in 2 days on The Inter-War Period, Defined as: anything of Geo-Political Significance that happened between the end of WW1 and Beginning of WW2. Some minor inaccuracies in the vid gave me a few problems. Granted, this video was helpful, for lack of a few things which may be mentioned in your other video's but all the same… 1) Russian Revolution(s), which are named after months, are based on the Russian Orthodox Calendar and not the modurn one we used today (Roman Catholic Church Calendar), hence, October Revolution Did not start in October, etc. I know because I got that one wrong on our last test. Comment may be misplaced but again, Russian Revolution & Subsequent Civil War (if you've got a video for that would be very helpful). No mention of The Czech Legion, which was promised an Independent country for Czechs (aka Czechoslovakia) in exchange for fighting on behalf of the Whites against the Reds in the Russian Civil War. There's also no mention of The American Intervention in The Russian Civil War. I don't remember all the details, only skimmed our 5 roughly 400 pg. textbooks. The gist of it was that during the Russian Civil War, approximately 2000 US troops were sent to fight on behalf of the whites. They occupied some port in Northern Russia for the duration, and achieved nothing. Many froze; dying of disease/cold. Those who survived were either captured and left to fates unknown, escaped, or returned to the United States.

[@shiney94]

As far as i know britain would get in the war regardless of whether belgium was involved or not; they wanted to make sure that the dominant team in the world war did not take over britain later on.

[@GavinAyling]

The only reason Britain got involved in the war was because of a treaty Britain had to protect Belgium from the other Great Powers. If you think that Britain may have got involved otherwise, you may be right, but we cannot know.

[@shiney94]

Oh ok. I see

[@xJProductionsx]

Great Britain was bound by a treaty with Belgium. If Belgium was invaded , which would bring it out of its neutrality, Great Britain had to help or something.

[@Templedelagloire]

' did not take over britain later on' Not exactly. It was more that they didn't want another nation to rival the british empire. British and german contempories before WWI knew that germany could not take Britain or her colonies for one reason - the navy. The Royal navy would stop any ship that would head to britain or her colonies. However, if Germany managed to make huge territorial gains on the continent, it wouldn't be long before the german navy would rival britain's.

[@GavinAyling]

Templedelagloire True. Also, Belgium's ports would allow a large navy to be within easy striking distance of England. Britain's navy would typically be spread around the Empire so a German naval presence in the Channel would not be welcome.

[@honest_wlodziu]

While listing good results of World War I, you should mention Poland. Poland regained its independence at the end of World War I, in 1918, after 123 years.

[@notaenclaveremant1185]

Then nazies

[@marius4iasi]

The end of WW1 meant the birth or consolidation of the eastern european nations. So i wouldn't say that it brought nothing good. The last of the european inland empires fell, the ottomans, the habsurgs and the russians, though sadly the russian empire would make a comeback at the end of WW2 in its communist form. This is a very western look at the WW1. Eastern Europe deserves more attention from historians.

[@rachitaghose1663]

Look I'm not even learning about World War I in class. In fact, I never learned about it. I just wanted to be informed so I came here. Nice job +CrashCourse of keeping me interested in History and giving me a general overview

[@benk6737]

Today is the 100th anniversary of the assassination.

[@VRSVLVS]

The phrase "totalitarian communism" is like "Circular triangle". Why are misunderstandings about communism so commonplace, even among people who try to teach history?

[@tbdaemon]

I think it's a combination of reference points: we knew they were totalitarian and the Soviets called themselves communist; put them together and you get "totalitarian communist."

[@czarpeppers]

Yeah I certainly agree with that. Totalitarian communism is just totalitarianism, because the two ideologies are completely incompatible. I remember on my last high school history exam, there was the question "What were the two opposing ideas of the post-war world". It was multiple choice, and the answer I knew they were looking for was 'communism and democracy'. That's completely absurd! Communism and socialism ARE democracy. As Leon Trotsky said (not that I admire the Bolsheviks, quite the opposite) "Socialism requires democracy as the human body requires oxygen". Without democracy, socialism cannot exist. The Soviet Union was a collectivist bureaucracy, I think Lenin also coined the term 'state capitalism'. The correct answer should have been 'communism and capitalism', or more accurately 'socialism and capitalism'. I wish the west could finally get over this Cold War mentality.

[@czarpeppers]

I must thank you, that has to be the more admirable rebuff I have seen in a long time. It is something of a rare occurrence on here it seems. But as to your concern, I feel the need to clarify. I don't mean to speak of communism in a positive light, I believe that even the most basic definition is flawed. The idea of taking the thought-masturbation of a few intellectuals and stamping it on a people, and then expect that to be treated as a people's movement, it was bound to be abused. In regards to Leon Trotsky, I never said that he was my 'hero', I merely liked the quote. But I'm sorry, the idea that Trotsky would have been worse than Stalin? That is a bit absurd. Which is something that I'm sure we could have an extremely lively debate over, but it is rather beside the point. I believe in socialism, the idea in it's most basic form. That is that we should have democratic control over (at the risk of sound a bit Marx-y) the means of production. Not only should we have a say in the policies and laws of our governments, we should have a say in the one thing that has more influence on our lives than any other, the workplace. It isn't an idea that is hashed out by a handful of intellectual men, the end result ends up being whatever the people want it to be. Socialism is merely the tool that allows people to shape their own future. People don't matter, Trotsky doesn't matter. I may like something he said, but I don't think that because of that his words and actions should be the blueprint upon which socialism is constructed. I don't think it should be established through violent revolution. If revolution must happen, then let it be for democracy, not for socialism. Because one thing is for certain, socialism will never work unless it has the support of the majority of the population. That isn't something that is so far fetched either, Chile had a democratically elected socialist President, at least until being overthrown, by the CIA. I won't be able to proof read this, so I apologize if there are any mistakes. But to cover your points in conclusion. I'm just going to replace your inquiries about 'communism' for 'socialism', because as I said, you won't get any argument from me over communism, however I'm sure they will extend to socialism. Socialism and democracy: I think that socialism is nothing but the natural development of democracy. So I don't think it is unnatural, and plenty of elected socialist governments have existed over the past hundred years, it works perfectly fine with it. Leon Trotsky: I may have liked something he said, but I don't think that the man is important to the idea of socialism. I don't think people should be following Marx, or Trotsky, or Lenin, or anyone. The idea is simple enough, it doesn't need a man to embody it. The last paragraph wasn't your finest.

[@VRSVLVS]

Stephen Prevost Communism as far as I understand it IS democracy. In fact, it's the highest and most developed form of democracy, as it means the complete controll over the means of production by the producers (the workers) themselves. It is most evident that there was no socialism nor communism in the USSR and it's satellites, as the workers did not democratically control the means of production. Nor did they control anything else in fact. The conflict during the cold war was therefore not a conflict of ideologies. Rather, it was the all-to-familiar conflict between 2 powerblocks with imperialist intentions, fought out with hollow political rethoric to confuse and and misguide the working class at both sides of the iron curtain. To think that the USSR, the PRC or the DPRK have had anything to do with Marxist thinking is a grave misunderstanding of the political elites in power in those places. The Kremlin bosses actively were out to sabotage the project of communism world wide, to protect their own interests and privileges. I think another great misunderstanding is the relation that communism has towards the state. A communist society is a society without a state apparatus, thus the term "communist state" is utterly unintelligable. One of the main points on wich communists and anarchists differ is the role a state apparatus could take in the period of transition from a capitalist class society towards a classless communist society. A "socialist state", that is: a state apparatus under the direct control of the working class, functions to organise opposition to counter-revolutionairy tendencies (as the main function of any state apparatus is the organisation of violent force). Last thing, the idea that communism goes against human instincts is quite absurd and a product of the mindset that comes forth out of a (capitalist) class society, wich economically necessitates greed, chauvinism, etc. To the contrairy, if we want to look at "human nature", someting that is still poorly understood by psychologists and anthropologists, we can see that for the longest period of the existence of Homo Sapiens, we have lived in the classless, communistic societies of the stone age, in wich private property played a very minor role. If anyting, our human nature seems to lean more towards communist social relationships rather then the ones that predominate the world in our current age.

[@VRSVLVS]

***** You are so woefully ignorant about the subject that I'm not even gonna bother.

[@leahcotton5315]

"If you need to be drunk to do something... you should probably not do the thing." - John Green

[@hexx2211]

Is John by chance related to Hank Green from SciShow?

[@hexx2211]

***** Haha YES I knew it!

[@kazooboi8001]

+Frank Lampard Is Jesus are they twins??

[@TheAlrightOK]

Are twin brothers in any way abnormal?)

[@chatokun5655]

Sure. Using words normal and usual and the like suggests something that happens for a greater majority. Random sites searched seems to suggest twin rates at something ~1.5% overall, which suggests that yes, they are not a normal phenomenon, and are therefore abnormal. Abnormal isn't necessarily negative, we just think so because people do not like things that are different. The issue isn't they're abnormal, but that we find abnormal offensive.

[@mojog.4779]

the`re brothers

[@theMikeyDogg]

got deep with us there at the end

[@MrJerrimus]

Thank you very much, everyone at Crash Course, for this poignant and informative piece. I found it entirely appropriate and unbiased, and feel I am a better person today as a result of your hard work and dedication. Props.

[@frankreed7560]

There is an amazing extra credits series in this I highly recommend it.

[@krixig]

I think it should be mentioned that Germany attacked France because during the military build up between Germany and Russia, France passively whispered that itd probably throw a flying spin kick into Germany's back at the most inopportune moment. This was symptomatic of France's desperate attempts to alienate Germany from the European big kid's table that had occured since teutonic unification and industrialization. Prior to that, the German states had little going for them with few natural resources and some secular ideas about religion that put them at the sabre tip of a Swedish crusade. The Boxer Rebellion also put some of this isolation on display as Germany was frowned upon for not getting more involved despite its penchant for doling out high quality mercenaries to fight other nations' wars for them. Had Deutchland not been made into such a pariah, WW1 would likely have been a slugfest between Europe and Russia.

[@Grort]

+Krixig As I recall, it was the fear of a war on two fronts that led to German Invasion. And the British entering the war was due to the long held fear of Prussia/Germany having a territory nearby, a fear that was only realized in WWII. And on the French trying to alienate the Germans from the grand powers of Europe, it must also be noted that Germany had been trying the same thing: I seem to recall attempts by the Germans to secure an alliance with Russia, which faltered as the Russian Tsars ministers told him he could have Britain, or he could have Germany, but he could not have both (the last bit was from a documentary called something like "The Three Cousins" on the relationship between the monarchs of Russia, Germany and UK)

[@li5759]

DUDE I CANT BELIEVE YOU SNUCK A FRANZ FERDINAND BAND JOKE INTO THIS AND I DIDNT NOTICE UNTIL A FEW MONTHS AFTER I FIRST WATCHED WELL DONE JOHN GREEN

[@shanearnold7781]

I know, I just saw that and I don't know how I ever missed it

[@hacksorce123]

Hank Green is better.

[@delaney7435]

Hey kiddos. Who's ready to take their AP Test on the 16th! (Not me, please help)

[@mmmguava3647]

๔єlคภєy same man

[@drkw4ver]

meee (barely studied lol)

[@ximonite]

bruh just don’t take the AP test

[@delaneyhogue]

yuckers

[@coachchasecampbell]

Ha! Just noticed the Dunk Hunt gun on the hip of the American soldier in the Thought Bubble. Very nice touch you guys.

[@kristylam3143]

Awesome as always . Clear and informative thanks John Green :) Going to have an exam on ww1 this helped a lot in terms of helping me remember facts and to dig deeper. CrashCourse

[@jillianurbach1328]

hahaha! "quick aside" and the camera went to a side angle! I'm dying! XD

[@ArriSparks]

I now feel prepared for BF1

[@iancotham]

Yeah, with all those factions you can play. You know: The French, Russians, Serbians, Austrians, Belgians, Montenegrin, Greek...

[@Karpfy19]

Arri Sparks same

[@myopinionisstupidanddoesnt606]

Arri Sparks I've been playing it all day

[@nix4110]

Ian Cotham Shots fired

[@ArriSparks]

whose got. the majority tho? heh

[@davidsawyers8754]

I miss the antics of the 1st few seasons of your show. However this is still an excellent form of education on the history of Europe

What happened to the mongols? :(

[@MrCount84]

Look on your globe and see

[@MrComedyfunny]

My history teacher said Britain joined the war because France. I told him he was wrong and it was because of Belgium and he said no. I guess thats just public education now. Just sad to think all of those kids who will be and have been taught by him will never know that small detail.

[@vayshah]

I read that Franz Ferdinand was actually a much kinder man than his uncle and under his rule the Austro-Hungarian empire would treat Serbs and other Slavs much better than how they were being treated. Also, Ferdinand was actually visiting a hospital with patients who had been affected by the bombings that Princip's group had orchestrated when trying to kill Ferdinand. After that attack failed, Ferdinand's car broke down right in front of Princip and that's when Princip shot him. It's as if this war was destined to happen.

[@Lighthammer18]

He didn't care much for the slavs, not even the Hungarians. He did care about NOT going to war with Russia and wanted to make a slavic state under the empire. Whether that would be better or not is hard to say. Another thing to consider is that a lot of the nations desperately wanted a war, especially Germany and France. So it's very likely they would find some other excuse if Franz didn't get assassinated.

[@francescaellis1616]

I watch your videos under my desk in history class to avoid falling asleep. My teacher is so easy and so boreing.

[@ShamanMcLamie]

Despite all that map showing the difference between the Allies and Central Powers the Central Powers had superior forces and held the strategic advantage through most of the war. While stalemate and slaughter was happening on the French German border the Germans and Austrians were just rolling over the Balkans and Eastern Europe. I guess the Allies made some gains internationally and in the Middle East, but Germany was in a rather dominant position before the US entered.

[@nickj.648]

well besides the fact they were running out of food. But if Germany had kept the land that Russia had to abandon by the time of their peace treaty (Baltics, Poland, Bulgaria etc.) Food production wouldn't have been a problem on the western front for the Germans

[@Davidn1]

I mean if melting down lamp posts for metal is a dominant position, then yes, you are correct.

[@jamesjm08]

anyone else here for "#36: Crash Course World History Video Notes World War I"

[@MK-ce7ry]

I appreciated the hockey reference on "miracle". Funnily it is likely more Canadians got that then Americans.

[@King0rg]

My teacher told me to watch this, and I enjoyed it!

[@sergekeverian]

Hello John Green. Thank you very much your videos; I have learned so much watching them! I would like to comment on the section of this video (4:16) where you mention 2 million civilians that were killed in the Ottoman Empire. I believe you are referring to the millions of Armenians that were massacred by the Ottoman Turks. It would have been pertinent to mention that information, considering that it was the 2nd largest genocide in documented history, after the Holocaust. Keep up these great videos! S.

[@springlovinrose99]

"and canada who, of course, was just happy to be there" I love John Green

[@Medved-Yarik]

Canada reference is hilarious!

[@DW-uf5gu]

Thank you! We don't spend enough time on these issues in undergrad classes.

[@user-vw2jq3to5e]

9:04 WRONG!!! It actually happened in November.

[@ganderson4be]

Enna Silkov it's called the october revolution because the month was October in the Russian Orthodox calendar

[@user-vw2jq3to5e]

ganderson4be Yup. I wish John had clarified.

[@d13sel1990]

Enna Silkov the February revolution also occurred in March, because Russia

[@FolkeBernadotte2]

Thank you so much for NOT TALKING about the Armenian genocide in this episode. It's a sensitive issue, & very loaded with propaganda. Dr. Justin McCarthy did a great job analyzing the issue from a different perspective, but fanatics bash him all the time!

[@nonosh]

McCarthy is a fringe hack who is completely outweighed by the preponderant loads of evidence. Kindly return my grandparents' properties in Kahramanmaraş and Sivas.

[@IndigoEuphonium]

When you start with one, you do not simply stop.

[@christopherbecker6857]

This may have been my favorite episode

[@thegamelover21]

Exactly 100 years .-. goddamn is there still any soldiers from wwi that is alive today??

[@cuckoophendula8211]

Oh my gosh, playing Valiant Hearts yesterday made me want to read up on WWI today, and it just so happens to be the 100th anniversary? D:

[@adrianacalafate]

do the math, honey!!! How could any of those soldiers be alive after 100 years

[@thegamelover21]

Adriana Calafate I heard there are still a very few people alive that were born in the 19th century but idk lol

[@nashwinston1395]

I 〈3 SWAG GIRLS the last soldier who served in the war died in 2012. There maybe a few more but no one knows.

[@stuartwilson9059]

Nash Winston I 〈3 SWAG GIRLS Read up on Harry Patch. He was 111 when he died in 2009, and was the last surviving man who actually fought in the trenches of WWI. He was part of a machine gun crew. His book "The Last Fighting Tommy" is well worth reading.

[@lazerhornet794]

Anybody got the answers?

[@lizziemae9596]

"the dark, cruel, irony of this: you go to war to become a man and war takes away the organ often called 'your manhood' " OMFG I CANT BREATHE

[@haleymatheny5952]

Thanks! Got a WWI test tommorow and left my notes at home

[@johnferraro707]

um... you said that airplanes made their debut in WW1 but actually they made their debut in The Italo-Turkish war

[@momobone7305]

The more you know!

[@creamofthecrop4339]

debut in first major warfare

[@brandonsaravia3193]

Everyone pause at 1:09 doesn't that guy look like Shila buff

[@cocainecowboy1717]

+Brandon Saravia What?

[@NicoAssaf]

+thekirkbushman He means Shia LaBeouf.

[@thekillers1stfan]

+Brandon Saravia Let me re-enact what went through Gavrilo Princip's mind when shooting the Archduke of Austria-Hungary ahem.... JUST DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!

[@IXPrometheusXI]

Thinking of the rise of the modern military shooter, I have to wonder what allowed war to become romantic again in recent times.

[@YT_matt]

Propaganda

[@IXPrometheusXI]

My, it sure is brave in here.

[@jaysonbarton]

I don't think it is really, is it?

[@GavinAyling]

Military shooting computer games focus much more on the shooting than on the being shot. Depending upon the game, you can restart pretty soon and there's no blood or guts. I think that war games are a continuation of things like cowboys and indians, as played by children, and aren't a reflection on society's response to war.

[@emersongoo1224]

Taylor Bennett Extra Credits has a good video on this. Basically, propaganda. Not all military shooters do this (which is good), but having the antagonists of these games be Russians and Muslims and whatnot, there's something there that unsettles me quite a bit. However, I agree with Gayling in that it doesn't really represent a societal shift in the way we view war--I think we still carry the sentiments about it that we picked up from WWI--it's really just all playtime for little kids (who are playing these *M*-rated games, mind you) and it is not a bias rooted in a changing depiction of war from terrible to heroic, but in other biases that I should save for another post =P

[@jacobjohnston9160]

I love your guys' content, but you should totally have some sort of subtitle thing that is an aid in keeping track of dates and what not because you do talk extraordinarily fast. But I love you

[@ShinobuSakurazaka]

I would like to point that while we Americans did invent the machine gun thanks to Dr. Gatling the most popular machine guns were made by Maxim Vickers which were English.

[@alexanderpalm5262]

I just want to say that in the last episode John explained that Maxim were American but he moved to Britain and invented the Maxim machine gun.

[@yourmajesty1361]

Alexander Palm exactly

[@taxidermycactus8897]

I feel so bad for laughing a few times.....

[@j.marshall9587]

WWI started when a bloke called Archie Duke shot an ostrich 'cause he was hungry.

[@sadmansakib8343]

3:47 why isn't Bangladesh included?