Comparing WW1 Helmet Designs I OUT OF THE TRENCHES

Start Your Free Trial For The Great Courses Plus*: ow.ly/nwrx309wTya
It's time for the Chair of Wisdom again and this week Indy compares World War 1 helmet designs and we talk about the discrimination of Germans in the US during WW1.
*The Great Courses Plus is currently available to watch through a web browser to almost anyone in the world and optimized for the US market. The Great Courses Plus is currently working to both optimize the product globally and accept credit card payments globally.
» HOW CAN I SUPPORT YOUR CHANNEL?
You can support us by sharing our videos with your friends and spreading the word about our work.You can also support us financially on Patreon: / thegreatwar
You can also buy our merchandise in our online shop: shop.spreadshir...
Patreon is a platform for creators like us, that enables us to get monthly financial support from the community in exchange for cool perks.
» WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WORLD WAR I AND WHERE ELSE CAN I FIND YOU?
We’re offering background knowledge, news, a glimpse behind the scenes and much more on:
reddit: bit.ly/TheGreat...
Facebook: bit.ly/WW1FB
Twitter: bit.ly/WW1Series
Instagram: bit.ly/ZpMYPL
» CAN I EMBED YOUR VIDEOS ON MY WEBSITE?
Of course, you can embed our videos on your website. We are happy if you show our channel to your friends, fellow students, classmates, professors, teachers or neighbours. Or just share our videos on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit etc.
We are also happy to get your feedback, criticism or ideas in the comments. If you have interesting historical questions, just post them and we will answer in our OUT OF THE TRENCHES videos. You can find a selection of answers to the most frequently asked questions here: bit.ly/OOtrenches
» CAN I SHOW YOUR VIDEOS IN CLASS?
Of course! Tell your teachers or professors about our channel and our videos. We’re happy if we can contribute with our videos. If you are a teacher and have questions about our show, you can get in contact with us on one of our social media presences.
» WHAT ARE YOUR SOURCES?
Videos: British Pathé
Pictures: Mostly Picture Alliance
Background Map: d-maps.com/cart...
Literature (excerpt):
Gilbert, Martin. The First World War. A Complete History, Holt Paperbacks, 2004.
Hart, Peter. The Great War. A Combat History of the First World War, Oxford University Press, 2013.
Hart, Peter. The Great War. 1914-1918, Profile Books, 2013.
Stone, Norman. World War One. A Short History, Penguin, 2008.
Keegan, John. The First World War, Vintage, 2000.
Hastings, Max. Catastrophe 1914. Europe Goes To War, Knopf, 2013.
Hirschfeld, Gerhard. Enzyklopädie Erster Weltkrieg, Schöningh Paderborn, 2004
Michalka, Wolfgang. Der Erste Weltkrieg. Wirkung, Wahrnehmung, Analyse, Seehamer Verlag GmbH, 2000
Leonhard, Jörn. Die Büchse der Pandora: Geschichte des Ersten Weltkrieges, C.H. Beck, 2014
If you want to buy some of the books we use or recommend during our show, check out our Amazon Store: bit.ly/AmazonTGW
NOTE: This store uses affiliate links which grant us a commission if you buy a product there.
» WHAT IS “THE GREAT WAR” PROJECT?
THE GREAT WAR covers the events exactly 100 years ago: The story of World War I in realtime. Featuring: The unique archive material of British Pathé. Indy Neidell takes you on a journey into the past to show you what really happened and how it all could spiral into more than four years of dire war. Subscribe to our channel and don’t miss our new episodes every Thursday.
» WHO IS REPLYING TO MY COMMENTS? AND WHO IS BEHIND THIS PROJECT?
Most of the comments are written by our social media manager Florian. He is posting links, facts and backstage material on our social media channels. But from time to time, Indy reads and answers comments with his personal account, too.
The Team responsible for THE GREAT WAR is even bigger:
- CREDITS -
Presented by : Indiana Neidell
Written by: Indiana Neidell
Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Director of Photography: Toni Steller
Sound: Toni Steller
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: www.above-zero.com
Editing: Toni Steller
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Research by: Indiana Neidell
Fact checking: Markus Linke
The Great War Theme composed by Karim Theilgaard: bit.ly/karimyt
A Mediakraft Networks Original Channel
Based on a concept by Spartacus Olsson
Author: Indiana Neidell
Visual Concept: Astrid Deinhard-Olsson & David van Stephold
Executive Producer: Spartacus Olsson
Producer: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Social Media Manager: Florian Wittig
Contains licenced Material by British Pathé
All rights reserved - © Mediakraft Networks GmbH, 2017

[@woobyvr9654]

"Hearing is pretty important in battle" yes until you loose it

[@Cybonator]

You never hear the bullet that kills you

[@avnrulz]

If it gets 'loose' can you catch it again or will you just 'lose' it?

[@avnrulz]

As those struck by the bullet that kills them are dead, it is hard to prove or disprove that statement. Kind of a Schroedinger's cat situation.

[@gazzmilsom]

As rifle bullets move faster than sound the first sound you would hear would be the bullet impacting your body, then the sonic boom (loud crack) it made coming towards you and then the sound of it being fired (the bang). So you might hear it before you die but you will never hear it coming unless its been shot from a very long way away and has slowed down to bellow the sound barrier.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

If it hits you in the head, perhaps. Hits elsewhere might not kill you instantaneously.

[@imverystupid6907]

the British helmets are also good for eating soup

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Not really, there was a cloth liner in them to stop them being too uncomfortable to wear but this stopped it being used as a kitchen utensil, unless you were really desperate.

[@thurin84]

with an attached liner with an asbestos liner pad not so much.........

[@Geckoman-eb9hg]

Just like the German and Adrian Helmet really. And even then no one would do that.

[@kingy463]

On rainy days

[@554darren]

yea wouldn't use those german tho because you will lose your soup

[@michealohaodha9351]

Quick correction, the French Adrian helmet insignia was not based on the division but on the arm of service (flaming grenade for infantry, hunting horn for light infantry, crossed cannons for artillery etc).

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Some British helmets had an arm of service symbol stamped on the front. The Royal Artillery memorial actually shows a helmet with a crossed cannon stamp. The Italians stencilled unit numbers on the front of their Adrians but this was more superficial than actually altering the metal.

[@GaviRG1]

Michéal Ó hAodha shush

[@josipperic169]

So basically austro-hungarians used the same helmets as germans, italians same as french and americans same as brits?

[@arisukak]

No, the Austro-Hungarian helmet was based on the German one, but wasn't exactly the same. Though, I'm sure Germany also supplied them Helmets. The Italian helmet was based on the French Adrian, but was made in two pieces instead of 4. The shell was all one piece instead of on the French one where the front and back visors were separate pieces. The Americans bought 400,000 helmets from the British and when they made their M1917 helmet a few changes were made but was basically the same design. The Americans actually wanted another design that was unique to them as a matter of national pride, BUT the designs they chose (from a French artist) turned out to be impossible to stamp out and so that idea was scrapped and the British were more than happy to supply them with helmets fast, which is what they needed.

[@TheGreatWar]

+Mr. Gica the Austro-Hungarian variant is called Berndorfer Helmet

[@stevekaczynski3793]

I think the A-H forces also used the German version, in addition to the Berndorfer.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Some American soldiers, particularly the segregated African-American troops, wore the Adrian helmet.

[@jackthunderbolt4307]

pretty much

[@hamptonsmith4678]

Why is the Stalhelm so beautiful

[@thatanoynomousdude8082]

lol ikr

[@bluehernandez3594]

@@thatanoynomousdude8082 agreed

[@TGentong]

Because the neck protection design?

[@hypernoid0178]

Hang on, got get myself a *_liberty sandwich_* and some *_freedom fries_* for lunch. Great episode by the way!!

[@phileas007]

You can't get a liberty burger There was only the option of a liberty sandwich, with liberty cabbage that is... Strangely they didn't rename the Wiener Schnitzl or the Kebab.

[@moosemaimer]

Maybe a frankfur-I MEAN HOT DOG

[@MistaTofMaine]

lol I member going to places when the whole "freedom" fry thing was going on I wouldn't buy any fries called that, I only buy French fries.

[@erraticonteuse]

The thing I remember most about the freedom fries thing was that when the Capitol cafeteria first changed the menu, one Congressman was asked first thing in the morning if he'd been down there yet, and he was like, "No, I had breakfast at home, and I'm not a hobbit, I don't have second breakfast." 😂

[@TheMonseniorMelcacho]

A liberty dog did you mean.

[@danm936]

I live near Marne Michigan and there's a race track called the Berlin Raceway and I'd always wondered where they came up with that name. But now I know that the town was called Berlin amazing what you learn great Channel

[@nineteenfourtyfour1]

There's a Berlin baptist church too. That and the fairgrounds are older than the war and they didn't change them for whatever reason.

[@elikaminski9054]

I go to Berlin Raceway on most Saturdays I had always wondered that too

[@troymilks7342]

It's been many years since I've been in the Methodist church there by the on ramp, but they had a plaque inside that gave a brief history of this.

[@illiminatieoverlordgurglek140]

2:27 In theory, yes. But consider what happens when a big explosion goes off right by you. Your instinct is to put your head down. Which would then expose your neck to shards of metal. Interestingly the Romans already figured this out and added a relatively large back 'fin' to their helmets that protected the neck and part of the shoulder as the soldier instinctively turned his head away from the incoming blow.

[@ZKP314]

So *that's* why the Centurion Helmets look like that.

[@CArchivist]

The Anti-German sentiment in America during WWI also devastated German culture in the U.S. Prior to the war, like the Irish, or the Polish, or the Jewish communities, or like any ethnic group, there were numerous German newspapers, restaurants, associations, and the like, that literally disappeared by the early 1920s. Much ethnic humor in things like comic strips were pervasively borrowing from German ethnic culture prior to 1920 had been gutted from the national consciousness afterwards. The Katzenjammer Kids were even renamed the The Shenanigan Kids for a time. What was once a large and visible ethnic community by WWII was completely submerged into the larger U.S. culture. This happened so quickly and thoroughly, that a significant number of those of German descent in the U.S. today do not know they are of German ancestry.

[@fritzkuhne2055]

this is against everything the US stands for, there needs to be a investigation about this time. the places named back to their original, people getting their real names back. this would be real freedom

[@conveyor2]

Only recently I obtained my long form birth certificate, filled in by my mother 60 years ago. Her side of the family was of German descent (via a few centuries in Russia) but under "racial origin" she wrote: Dutch. The negative overtones of German and Russian were too much.

[@bingobongo1615]

It showed how much the US elites were of British decent and looked down upon other nationalities.

[@mann8557]

CArchivist Whenever I say I am proud to be of German ancestry I get some weird looks.

[@siervodedios5952]

Not to mention the anti-Russian sentiments in the U.S. as a result of the Soviet Union and the Cold War.

[@tommy-er6hh]

It was not only the German-American who were harassed, the Dutch, Danes, Norwegians and Swedes were watch and bothered also, because "they sounded German" to ignorant others. I learned that even the church services were watched, and they were told to speak English if they were speaking one of those languages.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Jews often have or had German or German-sounding names, and in Britain it was hard to disentangle anti-German feeling from anti-Semitism in WW1. Sometimes names were changed - Rosenberg might become Rose or Ross, for example.

[@marshja56]

My grandmother was born in the US but from a German-American family. She was a teenager during WW1. I once asked her if she was treated badly during the war due to her German heritage. She got a funny look and just said yes, but nothing more. My grandfather later told me she had been bullied at school for years because of this and did not like to talk about it. The whole family had been mistreated.

[@conveyor2]

It's funny how the same people so riled by the very word "German" even today are completely okay with "Austrian"!

[@Shadow.24772]

yea, goes to show how politics work, WW1 was all on austria( half joking ) yet germany got the brunt of the hate.

[@djavanalderromero]

@John Doe would you say being black is a problem or racism is?

[@Zebred2001]

Saw a German helmet from WW1 last year (2016) in a local museum here in western Canada. It still had the mud of the Somme on it and in that mud was the tracks made from the fingers of the last soldier to put it on.

[@kurthines8874]

When the Brits adopted the Brody helmet they noticed an increase of head injuries in their field hospitals. It finally dawned on them that they were seeing more head injuries because the helmets helped save the lives of men who would have suffered fatal head injuries without the helmets.

[@CahalMcgirr]

When the Irish Army sought steel helmets in the twenties following independence they compared the Adrian and the German helmets. They chose the German design and sought 5000 new helmets who were unable to produce and supply them under post Versailles treaty restrictions. The Army then approaches Vickers, England who produced a copy with minor differences , more slope to the vertical sides and steel similar to that which had been used in the Brodie helmet. While sufficient the Army considered it to be inferior , particularly in regard to the strength of the steel used, to the original German helmet they desired.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

During WW2 there was some sarcastic comment from the British about the Irish army wearing German helmets. Ironic if they looked German but were really British-made. But then again, propaganda ignores inconvenient truths.

[@Baamthe25th]

Wow, so the "Freedom Fries" incident wasn't a new thing.

[@ReformedSooner24]

SpyMonkey3D Nope

[@ronaldmacdonald8667]

I reckon the Brodie helm would've been a great helmet for that rainy environment, too. As it would act almost like a tiny umbrella.

[@Tomartyr]

The Stahlhelm is the helmet you want for yourself, the Brodie helmet is the one you want to equip your troops with.

[@choughed3072]

I don't want to sound disrespectful to any soldier who fought in the war, but you would have to be pretty low in the gene pool if you test a helmet against a bullet for the first time with your head still in it, how ever confident you are.

[@shellshockedgerman3947]

just me Could be because of pressure from other soldiers(betting valuable stuff if the steel helmets did stop bullets)

[@airborneshodan]

just me I would surmise that the command structure did not publicize these incidents to perpetuate the myth of invincibility of the new helmets which would be. critical to the frontal attacks during the war.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Peer pressure can get you killed.

[@genericpersonx333]

Well, to be fair, the actual occurrence of this is not as high as you might think from the way Indy said it. It is true many soldiers overestimated their new helmets and paid dearly for it, but we are talking a fairly small percentage of a very large number of men. There were well over 10,000,000 men under arms in 1916 when these helmets came out, so even if only just one in ten-thousand thought they could stop bullets, that is a big number of incidents to report.

[@RocketHarry865]

well they couldn't protect from direct bullet hits but they certainly save many lives from shrapnel and glancing shots

[@alarmmclock4460]

My mother’s side came from Austria in the 1870s. They changed there name from Zahn to (get this) Zon. They were ostracized (or in this case Austro-cized) and didn’t really live as regular citizens until the 30s. Then WW2 came around and again were Austro-cized.

[@hisdukeness3037]

My grandfather and great grandfather/grandmother got out of Germany before ww1 by way of the marshal islands before ending up in USA. My grandfather joined the us army and was in France I still have his trench art and hand drawn maps of the front lines he was at

[@deepscuba7384]

Hi Indy & Crew, My great-grandfather changed his last name from "Kiel" to "Kill"... which became my mother's maiden name. As a farmer in south central Kansas, he did receive a metal made from a melted down German cannon for his crop production during WW I. He was a pretty tough old goat! Great program! Thanks!

[@Seygem]

Can we expect season 2 in 2039?

[@Seygem]

oh, guess i missed htat. :c

[@blaze_0077]

Why not make a season 2 with World War 2?

[@vengefulhippe8058]

Blaze_007 Lol, I think that's what he meant when he said season 2 in 2039. This channel started 100 years after the start of the Great War; season 2 in 2039 means 100 years after the start of WW2. I hope some person out there does something like this for WW2 though (although I hope I don't have to wait until 2039)

[@thateffinguy2422]

Vengeful Hippe I'm hoping for the 80 year anniversary, maybe make a second channel or playlist for ww2?

[@lockesnode1477]

OMG Yes!

[@neutronalchemist3241]

When Italy entred in the war, in 1915, they initially purchased a batch of Adrian helmets from the French ("elmetto Adrian mod. 15"), but they were not satisfied with the strenght of the design, so, starting form the subsequent year, they started to manufacture an helmet ("elmetto Adrian mod. 16") that had the same overall shape, but was stamped in one piece of thicker steel sheet, with the crest welded on it and without insigna (that were simply painted with black paint). The French adopted a similar helmet in 1926. It has to be noted that the crest on the Adrian helmet was not really aimed to deflect the shrapnels. You can see at 3:00 - 3:04 that it' has openings on the sides. It covered a small hole in the top, so that the hot air could escape, like in a chimney, but the rain couldn't enter.

[@5ratar457]

*Battlefield 1 Headshot noise*

[@CloroxBleach-mh5mk]

5Ratar 45 *glare in the distance shows the killer*

[@theawesomesausage]

*killer's weapon - Kolibri*

[@janisbitkoinsgmbh1803]

theawesomesausage *collibri range 20 feet*

[@jamiekrutzfeldt3522]

Where am i? miles

[@GardenFootCreature]

5Ratar 45 DEPLOYING CLUSTER CHARGE

[@jortgerrits7131]

For out of the trenches: Hello Indi and team, I deeply appreciate your work and you guys have become my favourite channel by far. Now, here's the question: What do you think is the strangest event/thing/ 'what if' in the First World War? I know it was a very bizarre war, so I was hoping to hear your opinion about this. Anyway, greetings from a fellow supporter from Holland!

[@AdmiralTypeZero]

do you mean a very strange result of alternate history. something like if battle of jutland was won japan would sign peace etc. (i made this up obviously)

[@jortgerrits7131]

Hey, that's pretty good I know it was just an idea

[@RGA1944]

Google for HMS Carmania vs. SMS Cap Trafalgar. Basically a duel between two gigantic ocean liners armed with pea-shooters.

[@jortgerrits7131]

RGA1944 Aha okay thanks man I'll look it up!

[@jortgerrits7131]

TypeZero No I just meant a strange/bizarre thing about this war, whether that be an event, a 'what if' , etc.

[@romkedeboer7378]

Ah yes, back when videos were sponsored by the great courses plus instead of raid

[@blasterofmuppets4754]

The British Royal Family, which was (and still is) descended from Germany, even changed its name from "von Sachsen Coburg Gotha" to "Windsor".

[@natolurker]

One thing you have to remember is, earlier in the war nobody had helmets. They had caps, or leather hats. Helmets were implemented later in the war.

[@ovs8691]

That guy on the left in the Thumbnail's smile is infectious. I hope he made it through the war.

[@nineteenfourtyfour1]

It's crazy to hear someone mention Marne, MI when it's so small other people in the area don't know where it is. It still has a racetrack/fairgrounds and church that are still named Berlin.

[@aldrenmariquit8214]

Stahlhelm Helmet is One of successful german design, they actually applied it on modern military.

[@TheTrainMaster15]

The German in the thumbnail looks like the kinda guy that would tell amazing stories in the bar

[@rhoesacesrheomithres2119]

7th!! yaaaay! ☺ > ... To be ominously shot through the helmet. 😢

[@weldonwin]

To be honest, if those guys were testing the bullet stopping properties of their helmets, against real bullets while the helmet was still on their heads, then I'm pretty sure we didn't lose the cure for cancer in these guys. Not to be cruel, but this seems like Darwin Award material.

[@iac4357]

Too close in range. You test a helmet by sticking your BUDDY'S helmet over the top on a stick !

[@mogz1485]

Recently the French helmet has be found to be more protective than a modern helmet

[@orcabeast8006]

Excuse me what My French bias is kicking in, tell me more

[@orcabeast8006]

@Wayne Mcnamara decided to look it up and apparently it protects against *shockwaves* better than modern helmets, but it’s not even by that much

[@orcabeast8006]

@Wayne Mcnamara well I mean a helmet doesn’t actually protect you from that usually, (it would have to be a really bad shot) but from artillery and other similar things, but yes it doesn’t preform as well in other regards

[@orcabeast8006]

@Wayne Mcnamara just did a quick google search and you’re right, however I was also partially right, they’re mostly designed to protect against shrapnel, but can deflect/stop most calibers of bullets

[@mkd2839]

Sponsored by DuPont Helmet would be more appropriate /s

[@bobinbox1239]

StardustFromReinmuth or liberty sandwich

[@legens7456]

Dupont sound too French. It's Liberty helmet now.

[@Orcimedes]

some slight corrections: The sallet was used by both the knightly class and the common infantrymen, which is one of the distinguishing features of the sallet since it is uncommon. That being said, there were some differences between sallets for different kinds of soldiers - specialised sallets for (battlefield) archers and (tournament) jousting in particular are indicative of their varied use. There also was a wide variety of quality e.g. the so-called 'black sallet' collection of munitions-grade sallets look quite distinctive from the more commonly known (and preserved) high quality decorative sallets for the nobility. Both the kettle hat and sallet remained in use during the early renaissance, their later evolutions persisting through the pike and shot era.

[@tamlandipper29]

Orkimedes - care to speculate about why they stopped being used? In musket era you're still better off with a helmet.

[@stevebrownrocks6376]

It's well-established by now that the German stahlhelm was the best designed & most protective helmet of all.

[@dcfrank4904]

The German Stahlhelm was a brilliant design and it didn't require multiple sheets of steel, But it had to be progressively pressed which was more time consuming than a single pressing which the English Brodie helmet would be made with. But in terms of effectiveness the Stahlhelm was the best by far, Not only was the area of protection cover the entire head and alot of the neck, But also not impede head movement, there's a reason why modern military helmets follow this design.

[@MrGhost77757]

So we meet again Jeff ..

[@MrGhost77757]

Darius Niederer If you give me some colonies then Ye !

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Where do empires meet each other? Are there singles bars, dating agencies or do they place ads in newspapers? "German Empire would like to meet Ottoman Empire. No time wasters please."

[@MrGhost77757]

Austro-Hungarian Empire You should get your land from china back

[@vanguard6498]

We meet again...

[@MrGhost77757]

British Empire Oh no.

[@blackmesa232323]

Way to get ahead of this issue.

[@morro782]

blackmesa232323 You must be some sort of god.

[@capnstewy55]

Have to love it when you have a Prager U commercial during an episode in which someone named Prager is lynched.

[@mizukiakagi896]

question for you guys, during WW1 was there any real difference between the different nations steel? was for example, german steel better than british steel? also, later in the war, did the lack of resources for the central powers reduce the quality in german steel? thanks, and great work! love the show!

[@panzerabwerkanone]

The quality of the steel is going to be based on the deisgn of the object being produced and the engineering requirements rather than the country it is being produced in. The steel being used for gun barrels is going to have different properties than the steel used for the helmets for example. All nations would be in competition to acquire the raw components to produce the higher quality steel needed for those items where very high quality steel was required or be forced to redesign their weapons of war to use less expensive, more readily available materials.

[@panzerabwerkanone]

Or they simply substituted inferior metal where they could. Come to think of it, the British had one series of tank that was made with mild steel instead of the face hardened armor that was needed. The tank was supposed to be a cheaper tank to be used for training but some actually made it to front line service. Bad enough if it used in a gun barrel but if you get the tank with the wrong steel...

[@genericpersonx333]

The better way to think about steel is not that you have superior steel or not, but rather if the nation could make the qualities of steel needed for different purposes. You don't make just one steel, but rather harder or softer steel based on what you are using it for. France, Britain, and Germany all had first-class steel industries that could make any grade of steel they wanted in very large quantities. Russia and Austria had much smaller steel industries relative to their sizes, but they nevertheless could make any grade of steel reasonably well. Really only Italy struggled at first to produce a wide range of steel grades, but by 1918, they were more or less on par with the rest. As for quality over time, I have not found much evidence indicating a fundamental decline in the quality of steel used for a given application. All the nations in the war suffered from inconsistent supply of raw materials at all times. One month, a company making rifle barrels, for example, may have no trouble securing the tonnage of the specific grade of steel they needed, but the next month, there could be a shortage and they either make fewer rifle barrels or the same number with some of a lower grade. Each nation had their own policies about to handle this problem. Germany, for example, would generally say it was better to make fewer barrels of the right grade than to make more barrels of an inferior grade. However, this was not set in stone and they could decide from time to time to accept the inferior product. It was all a matter of what mattered more at the specific time.

[@misterscienceguy]

This isn't specifically about WW1, but in WW2 German steel suffered quite a bit from poor quality because they had a shortage of critical components that strengthened the final product. It got so bad that even high explosive rounds from a Sherman could shatter the armour on a panther.

[@Meirstein]

There were companies in the central powers famous for their steel. The most well-known of these was the German company Krupp.

[@AlexR-ci7tv]

I am part German but I pronounce my name as (Root-ur) as opposed to the traditional pronunciation (Roy-t-er). This is because my family immigrated from Germany around the time of World War I and wanted to avoid discrimination. It was kind of surreal hearing about the treatment that many German Americans endured.

[@larrygonzalez4375]

Hi great war guys.... I've signed up on the Great Courses Plus site and just completed the lectures on "Eastern Europe History". As European living (partially) in Vilnius Lithuania and, having worked and/or visited most of the eastern European countries, I have to say that this lecures were terrific, great deal of knowledge, easy approach and great animations. Professor Liulevicius (US-born to Lithuanian parents) lectures are full of passion, now I have a much better understanding of these cultures. One problem though, my payment was rejected as they don't take non-US credit cards so, my subscription has been suspended.

[@NyatashaAce]

Can confirm. Excellent service but like Larry I sadly was rejected too ^^. Gotta have them american credit cards. I wish they'd sort it out as I'd love to continue watching.

[@CSSVirginia]

In Storm of Steel, German soldier Earnst Junger wrote that sometimes he chose not to wear his helmet. He specifically mentioned that he could hear better without it as the reason.

[@nathanmiller9926]

my family name in my ancestory has Muller's in it, i wonder....

[@Ulrich.Bierwisch]

I bet it was Müller. It's always written with the dots in Germany.

[@manuelcarreira1470]

Ulrich Bierwisch when the response gets more likes than the original comment 😂😂😂

[@JonCheadle]

Ulrich Bierwisch and is pronounced as Myller

[@Bruh-hq1hx]

Müller

[@kunyaco11]

most people change their intros quit alot but you dont because its amazing

[@riploljustforfu9929]

Hey indy and team, I have a question: I keep hearing people mentioning the American Civil war as a 'predecessor' to WW1. But I haven't heard people mentioning the 1912/13 Balkan wars so often even though they had a much more direct influence on the outbreak of the Great War and was also partially fought with weapons manufactured by the greater European powers. (e.g. Germany) Now here's my question: How much was the public in Europe interested in those wars and how much information was the regular citizen able to get about them? Also I want to say that I absolutely love your channel. Please keep up the good work.

[@noobster4779]

because nobody caress about the balkan. They are always fucked up.

[@erraticonteuse]

Riplol Justforfu People talk about the American Civil War as a precursor to "modern war" in general, not WWI specifically, in terms of how deadly modern guns (including machine guns near the end) and artillery were. There was also limited use of submarines, aerial reconnaissance (in hot air balloons), trench warfare, and destruction of civilian targets. And just like the Great War, everyone marched off to the Civil War thinking it would be over by Christmas, only to be stuck in a protracted four-year slaughter.

[@imperiumoccidentis7351]

Also, before the civil war, most armies would shoot their muskets a few times, then charge in with their bayonets, usually either killing or making the enemy run away. This ensured way less casualties. In the civil war, Americans took a different, more casualty-prone approach, which is to shoot first, then keep shooting, then duck for cover, then shoot again. This actually ensured far more casualties as it made no use of the bayonet charge scare tactic. They didn't hunt the enemy away, they gradually just wore them down with bullets (which back then was a retarded way of doing it considering they had muskets and not many machine guns. Charging with a bayonet would have been better. Ironically, the British used the bayonet method when machine guns were mass produced, which was also evidently a retarded method).

[@foxymetroid]

The similarities to the American Civil War were talked about more because of the time and geographical difference. One war was fought half a century earlier. The other ended the year before the Great War started. Also one was fought an ocean away while the other was fought in a region that was the scene of a WWI front.

[@JamesPolymer]

+TheApatheticAtheist Correction: during the American Civil War they used rifled muskets, which were more accurate and longer ranged. A smoothbore's effective range was only around 100 paces; a rifled musket's killing field began at 3-4 times further away. Also, this doesn't account for fortifications and massed artillery, which were used to support defensive positions whenever possible. Under these conditions a bayonet charge was suicide unless the attackers somehow caught the defenders by surprise. The more famous frontal attacks in the Civil War--Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, Marye's Heights at Fredericksburg, Malvern Hill during the Seven Days Battles, among others--nearly all ended in bloody failure.

[@brianrose3096]

My great grandfather started going by "Fred" because "Carl" sounded too German, even though his European ancestry was very British. One thing about the WWI British "Kettle Hat" design is the fact that its ancient predecessor was one of the best loved designs by medieval knights and nobles, not only for over head protection and viability, but also heat protection. During the Crusades it helped prevent heat stroke and allowed for easier breathing, compared to a great helm or "sugar loaf" (modern term) design. The big difference between the former and the latter was the ancient knight would wear and arming cap and coif of mail.

[@doid3r4s]

Americans americaning since 1918.

[@thurin84]

MURICA!!!!!

[@owenwolfco.8344]

Sounds awfully accurate. And not for the better...

[@florentleider222]

the crest on french helmet was aimed at protecting from sabre stroke, not from shrapnell. Moreover the French hemet was designed by an artist (…) who I susperct was fond of symetry, whilst the German one was designed by a surgeon.

[@mt.doomer6645]

Has anyone noticed the inability to "skip" advertising on youtube anymore? Talk about BS!

[@Noctifern]

Opiate Kitten yes it's bs

[@UpcycleElectronics]

Opiate Kitten It's usually 15sec ads and I believe YT does this when any for profit channel is lower than average for ad view revinue. I have seen a few forced ads that are longer than 15sec but I always close YT (mobile), reopen the app, and start the video again. That seems to stop the ads that are longer than 15sec for a couple of weeks before they try it again. You know Google is tracking all of these metrics. They are not going to push ads or content limits unless you tolerate it. Users just need to be consistent.

[@UpcycleElectronics]

milcoll73​​ Ad Blockers hurt content creators. Ultimately your hurting yourself and everyone else by reducing the quantity, quality, and capabilities of content creators. If you don't want ads get a KZbin Red subscription. YT Red supports content creators just like ad view revinue. If you don't want to pay for the service, at least watch ads for content creators your subscribed to. By watching at least 30 seconds of any ad your supporting the content creators by a range of $0.0003 to $0.0025 USD. It isn't much but this is what ad sense/google pays the channel. That comes out to somewhere between $0.30 to $2.50 per 1000 views. This range is due to how many people click on ads, skip, have YT Red, or have ad blockers. It's not television. There are not 3-5 minutes of ads. It's just 30 seconds (often just 15 seconds) of your time and your paying your part to the content creator. Even if the ad is longer than 30 seconds, if you skip after 30 seconds it still counts as an ad view. It's just a tiny fraction of a cent, but if everyone takes the time, and does their part it makes a huge difference in total revinue for the channel. Ultimately this is investing in the continued future of the content creator, ensuring you get more of the type of content you love.

[@MephLeo]

HBO made a 5 second add for one of their series, The Crown, if I'm not mistaken, that I think it's simply brilliant. I'm yet to find anyone who likes the adds on YT, people would rather hit f5 in order to reload the page before the add loads itself, or just straight up wait for the five secs and skip it. If you can summarize - quite dramatically, I would say - your product or service on that amount of time, you get exposure without annoying people out and I believe that this is the way to go. Quite frankly, most products and brands don't need more than that to show themselves out to the people, excess actors, jokes and appeals are part of what makes them pretty annoying, anyway.

[@bobinbox1239]

Opiate Kitten ikr

[@granskare]

in 1948, during the Berlin blockade by the USSR, we had a teacher who said we were going to sing, Volga Boatman but instead we would sing blah blah :) and in my class, the teacher asked us our background. A girl near me said "Russian" and I said "Finnish" which could have been tsarist Russian and in grandpa's naturalization paper he said he renounced the czar of Russia and just 13 years later, Nicholas II lost his throne :)

[@ME-hm7zm]

My Great Grandpa immigrated from Germany to Canada as a Lumberjack, wanting to get into the US without going through Ellis. He managed to work his way across Canada and into the US *just in time* for it to be quite unpopular to be a German :/

[@abellaflamme]

Today is the 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge. I suppose you'll talk about it in the week's video, but will you talk about how it influenced Canadian identity and politics?

[@ol1mundaytt84]

Are you trying to make yourself look like you know it all

[@Batman-rc1yg]

The guy on the left in the thumbnail looks so happy

[@BraydenPotter]

Question for Out of the Trenches - how were the French population in Alsace-Lorraine treated during the war? And was this any different from before the war? Keep up the good work!

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Some of them celebrated in the summer of 1914 when the French briefly recaptured some parts of Alsace and the Germans took reprisals when the French withdrew. There was a tendency to send Alsace-Lorraine troops in the German army to the Eastern Front, as there was concern they might defect to the French.

[@robertsurcouf8923]

These populaions felt very french. It was a big problem for germans. In the occupied territories, the german policy hardened against civilians. But the treatment of civilians was guite more brutal in the non occupied territories of Lorraine like in the Vosges. There was many atrocities because germans remenbered effectiveness of french "Francs-tireurs" particulary in the vosgian mountains in 1814 and in 1870.

[@yaboijoshc8614]

My great grandfather fought in France in ww1. My grandma still has the helmet he used and a Bible he kept with him.

[@MrAztek]

I love Adrian helms!

[@intercommerce]

In SW Ontario, we had three towns, called Paris, Berlin, and London. Berlin got a quick name-change to Kitchener.

[@LookingForTheTop]

I swear when you hear an American talk about freedom and liberty it's time to worry

[@landwehrcat3890]

LookingForTheTop Nothing wrong with patriotism for ones Nation!

[@gunnargrautnes4451]

Stormheart. When you hear someone saying freedom and liberty are about patriotism, it's time to worry...

[@ElPayasoMalo]

Or Germans talking about "breathing room," or the British talking about "the future of the empire."

[@marlonmunguia163]

Yeah i looovvvveee tyranny. Mmmmhhhmmm

[@seantalas1882]

He’s probably not american

[@Joshua.t.w]

Time published a magazine on the first world war this month. Just grabbed it going to read it through this week. Thank you Indy for the past few years and inspiring myself to look deeper into WW1.

[@budmeister]

We Ohioans are proud of Eddie Rickenbacker. Can't wait to hear about him next year.

[@RolfHartmann]

Funny piece of trivia about last names: Miller is the most common one across the United States (or at least one of the most common) yet hardly appears in England at all since Millers were considered a lower class occupation. In Germany it was reputable so Mueller was very common, and most of the Mueller immigrants just Anglicized it to Miller.

[@forgineer2278]

The pronunciation of the sallet is "Salay"

[@jimmyultra_2042]

Finally making it on time few minutes after it got posted, now time to watch my favorite channel

[@matthewcooper9205]

My great grandfather was two of ten children born in the U.S. after emigrating from Germany in the late 1800s, and he ended up serving in the U.S. military on the front lines.

[@kaseytompkins9708]

Swag Lord How did he feel about being on the frontlines? Killing his own kind?

[@thevacuumtubejunky9774]

Voyager : The human race is "Its own kind".

[@conveyor2]

@@thevacuumtubejunky9774 Enough of the kumbaya for one day!

[@alexandermol4946]

I grew up in Marne, MI! The local church is still called Berlin Baptist and the local raceway is still Berlin raceway.

[@nor0845]

Winston Churchill sported an Adrian helmet

[@tangero3462]

Much of my hometown in northwest Indiana has a large German history. Almost every German-named road was anglicized during one or both World Wars

[@rat_thrower5604]

Lindybeige made a good video on First world war helmets where he speculated that the British design could indeed be effective at protecting the neck.

[@contentedbuddha]

le Beast Lindybeige likes to speculate, I trust Indys team more.

[@rat_thrower5604]

contentedbuddha It's not his fault if you take speculation has fact. What Lloyd said makes sense and fixes a problem with the helmet, though.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Indy dresses better. Lindy looks like he went into the laundromat and then emerged ten minutes later after forgetting why he went there.

[@rat_thrower5604]

RFTL Never trust anything said about history by anyone, by themselves. Also, Lindy is a personal channel, this is more of a news show. It's your fault if you expect unbiased fact and not personal opinion from a personal channel.

[@thurin84]

only from above.

[@jif.6821]

Here in Hawai'i German immigrant Heinrich Hackfeld and his brother-in-law J. C. Pflueger founded a dry goods store called H. Hackfeld and Company in 1849 in Honolulu. In 1918 at the height of The Great War H. Hackfeld & Co. was seized by the American government as alien property, and was sold to a newly formed consortium, American Factors. At the same time the dry goods store was renamed The Liberty House in response to anti-German sentiment. I grew up with a Liberty House store nearby in my hometown of Kailua. In 1998 Liberty House filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The building still remains with "LH" monograms still on the surrounding wrought iron fencing though the building remains empty. Interesting part of Hawaiian history.

[@RoyaCanadianInfantry]

Hey Indy and crew, can you tell us about Quebec during ww1? I know there was a conscription crisis among French Canadians and their own Point of View. Greetings from the Canadian Army.

[@sparkyfister]

RoyaCanadianInfantry probably not because no one cares.

[@RoyaCanadianInfantry]

SparkyFister Maybe not you

[@sparkyfister]

RoyaCanadianInfantry only Canadians care aboot Canada. It could disappear and nobody would notice.

[@sparkyfister]

Ok, so, I'm ignorant, does that make me wrong?

[@bobinbox1239]

SparkyFister I do

[@Deere55]

My Great Grandmother was in school during the war and she was given a very hard time for her lastname, Wilhelm. Ironically, she also lived in a town called New Berlin, Ohio which was changed to North Canton during the war.

[@badenthomas4498]

Hi Indy, can you talk about morning hate? I would like to learn more about it.

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

There was a 1914 Episode about Life in the trenches where he mentioned the usual daily schedule including an explanation of Morning Hate.

[@CPDheadstomp]

@ 4:40 (Edison Park) I live just one neighborhood south of where that picture was taken.

[@Axemantitan]

It made no sense to stop teaching German during the war. If anything, you need more German speakers when you are at war with Germany and Austria.

[@ollieup9182]

Its the best way to divise people & make them fight instead of fraternize.

[@Bruh-hq1hx]

Wouldnt want people to like their enemies

[@jochentram9301]

Fun fact: the sallet was originally developed from the kettle hat. See also at 1:35 of this video, where that progression from sheet metal to kettle hat to a sallet shape is quite obvious.

[@ZJSS]

well which helmets did the Ottomans wear?

[@comsubpac]

modified German helmets so they could pray without removing the helmet.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Correct. Not very many were issued - like the Russians, it was mostly elite shock troops who received them. The vast majority of combat soldiers wore soft caps.

[@thurin84]

they had a few regular german ones as well as some with the brim trimmed back. there were some brimless stahlhelms produced that were alleged to be for the turks but none were ever delivered. they were mostly seen post war with german friekorps tank and armored car units.

[@JJovich]

Pith helmets I think

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Those were really soft caps or hats and gave protection from sun but not from shell splinters. Some assault troops were given helmets, but they were few in number, elite and probably lucky, considering that the British had a fair amount of artillery in Mesopotamia and Palestine. The soft hats are described in a special episode on Ottoman uniforms. They were basically cloth tapes wound around a sort of base, I don't know what it was composed of. In the case of officers one of the tapes would often be in an arm of service colour, like olive green for infantry, bright green for machine guns, grey for cavalry and so on.

[@RiflemanMoore]

It depends one what you mean by stop a bullet, the US tested their M1917s (an improved Brodie with slightly higher % manganese steel when compared to British manufacture) with .45 ACP fired at a range of 12 feet, as I understand it if a test helmet failed the batch would be scrapped. Not a spitzer rifle round, admittedly but nevertheless that shows the design and intent to give some protection from projectiles not just shrapnel and flying debris.

[@DrAcula-mv6kb]

The "Horns" on the side was to fix a extra armour plate. But that is not often used...

[@canuckloyalist4681]

There was actually a local incident where a German who was working locally as an auto mechanic was shot by firing squad on charges of espionage. It was supposed to have occurred near one of Canada's first pilot training facilities in Deseronto Ontario.

[@EannaWithAFada]

The French had the worst helmet Pickelauber: am I a joke to you?

[@Hamsterdami]

Pickelaubers arent a thing

[@thurin84]

geade helmet; "hold my schnapps"

[@preussen4983]

Kepi: Hold my Baguettes

[@Bruh-hq1hx]

@@thurin84 the french had something very similar that was also a predecessor to their helmets but soldiers didn't wear their hat over it most of the time

[@thurin84]

@@Bruh-hq1hx true. adrian "soup bowl"; "old my pinard."

[@darthfader733]

Interesting point about German Americans changing their sir names, my family's name was changed from Weisshardt to Wisehart. Great Show and Thanks.

[@CrimsonDragon15]

Good thing that after 100 years America has changed......

[@CD-vg4hl]

hahaha, thats a good joke.

[@aidanator8008]

It has though. If you honestly want to compare the small amount of racist individuals today to back then when there were literally laws against other races, then you're seriously mistaken.

[@Emanresuadeen]

Right! Except oday you get lynched for even the slightest insensitivity to racial, ethnic, sexual, etc, etc, etc, “diversity”.

[@ygma1460]

Funny fact related to this episode, in Back to the Future 3, Doc Brown says to Marty something like "No, back then my family name was Von Braun. My father changed it (to "Brown") during the First World War."

[@djcollectors3249]

My home town was originally call Berlin (in Ontario Canada) and was changed to Kitchener during the war. It's is still home to the largest Oktoberfest in North America.

[@salmanhisham5155]

weren't Indy's family name a German name as well

[@theminerva5326]

Neidel sounds Slavic.

[@Meirstein]

It's actually Turkish. He shortened it from Neideloglu.

[@qsywastooshort7451]

The French Adrian helmet is an adaptation of the tried and true 1895 firefighter helmet, so I'm really not convinced that the British soup plate was really the better choice for Entente soldiers.

[@davehopkin9502]

The Brodie Helmat was far better suited to mass production as it was made by a single step cold stamping process, whilst the Adrian helmet was made form two parts therefore took longer to make and cost more - small difference but when you need to make millions in a few weeks makes a huge difference

[@bob_._.]

2:40 "silicon-nickel steel", not "silicone-nickel steel". Silicon is a metal, silicone is a synthetic rubber.

[@lordpinochetuttp3819]

Silicon is a metalloid

[@mikerose51]

Speaking of Muhle. I have a Muhle R-41 Safety Razor LoL is a Traditional WetShaver and collect all different kinds of vintage Gillette’s and during The Great War the US Army was issued a Gillette “KAKI SET” with a Gillette Tech! It had a mirror and a blade bank. Very cool

[@Hotpanda1213]

Hi Indy just wondering if ther was segregation between black and white troops in the war ps keep up the good work :)

[@briansmith9439]

VERY much so. Pershing did not believe the black divisions were trustworthy or capable, and stated so many times, and he made a point of placing them with the French. The discrimination is not only historical, it is still wide-spread. In NONE of the contemporary histories of Camp Dix (later Fort Dix), is it mentioned that the 369th Infantry Regiment (Harlem Hellfighters) were stationed there. Much is made of the 78th Division being there but the only hint of the 369th is found when the discussion turns to the excellent military band at Camp Dix - again, without any mention of the 369th. The discrimination continues to this day - Fort Dix's website makes no mention of the 369th despite the fact that it was one of the most-decorated regiments of all US forces in WW I. Private Henry Johnson of the 369th was the first US soldier to receive the Croix-de-guerre; the US followed suit only 70 years later when President Obama awarded him (posthumously) the Medal of Honor in 2015.

[@briansmith9439]

Neglect? Hardly... Fort Dix is proud of being the 78th's home, and has been since 1917. The website is kept current and updated. Yet that is NOT done with the 369th. I am referring to the website of Fort Dix and not that of the 78th. Nowhere is the 369th mentioned and no mention of their own Medal of Honor recipient. That's NOT neglect - it's an active stance taken by Fort Dix website designer since the fact of his existence was well-publicized in 2015, as was the tie to (then) Camp Dix. That's called discrimination.

[@tamlandipper29]

Hot panda 1213 - great question. You will find a lot of differences between the armies. Check out the British and French not just American.

[@gopnikmccykaakaryanmccorma9249]

Hot panda 1213 m hmm

[@thevacuumtubejunky9774]

Hot panda 1213: Yes, have you ever heard of the "Tuskegee Airmen"???

[@FokkeWulfe]

An older fellow I knew years ago, was actually trained to fly by Eddie Rickenbacker. I saw his pilots licence actually signed by the Ace himself

[@TheGreatWar]

Wow, really cool.

[@d247kzu4]

Eddie Rickenbacker is actually Swiss decent and not German

[@thoughtfulpug1333]

Technically, Swiss isn't an ethnicity. there are 3 main languages in Switzerland: German, French, and Romansch. Rickenbacker would have been of Swiss German decent, which still counts. Also, its the early 1900's: if it sounded German, it was German.

[@ihmejakki2731]

Luke Freet the tree main languages in Switzerland are german, french and italian, with romansch being the fourth official language even though its spoken by a small minority It all boils down to the countrys history

[@shellshockedgerman3947]

Luke Freet One of the reasons why the Allies accidentally bombed Switzerland on numerous occasion in the 2nd World War.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Lenin reckoned that Switzerland was a good place for revolutionary agitation in WW1 because the languages of several warring countries were spoken there. There were a fair number of deserters from various armies and men avoiding conscription who took refuge in Switzerland. By 1917 though, he was impatient to get back to Russia, especially after the February Revolution.

[@thevacuumtubejunky9774]

d247k zu: I believe Rickenbacker's son was the inventor of the Rickenbacker guitar.

[@frogg5949]

“Liberty measles.”

[@Schmidt54]

"freedom cabbage" wow. just wow.

[@kevinseefurth7177]

A great example of the the German-American oppression is with my Grandfather's last name Becker. His grandparents were originally from Germany, and their last name being Baker, but during WWI they changed their name to Becker in fear of retaliation.

[@dilan234]

Could you please talk about Puerto Rico durind this period? please!

[@b.t.1632]

My last name is Kundert and my family has resided in St. Louis, Mo since the late 1890s. My great grandfather, Raymond Kundert -whose father Thomas emigrated from Switzerland in 1896 with pregnant wife- was asked more "detailed" questions and additionally screened when he joined the Navy in 1916. While his friends with English sounding names were asked simple questions and passed on through the enlistment process, my grandfather, and other St. Louisans with Swiss and German heritage, were screened to more detail, sometimes over a few days. There was the idea that "spies" had to be weeded out before they could get into the US military.

[@bartstryszowski4277]

Yo Andy!, your description of the answers are undisputed !!

[@TheGreatWar]

It's Indy!

[@Aging_Casually_Late_Gamer]

Glad to see that in 2017, america doesn't fear and shun other cultures anymore and are more welcoming.....oh wait.....

[@bobinbox1239]

J M liberty sandwich?

[@mrbrainbob5320]

J M not as much as Europe

[@Hadgerz]

Name one country whose entire people are completely innocent of all sorts of xenophobia. I'll wait.

[@royperkins3851]

J M when that culture has at it's base a forced destruction of any culture that doesn't agree with it ie sharia law yeah I have a problem with tolerating them and allowing their infiltration of our society, their holly book allows encourages them to lie ,cheat,and steal when dealing with non Muslims and you can't trust them no clearer way of putting it! If you want to trust them that's your right as a American, but I don't and won't! Islam to me equals enemy!

[@conveyor2]

Until 1965 immigration was from compatible cultures and the welfare state wasn't much of a lure.