World War I: The Seminal Tragedy - The July Crisis - Extra History - Part 3

📜 The Seminal Tragedy of World War I - European History - Part 3
In the wake of Franz Ferdinand's assassination, the great powers of Europe scrambled to find an answer to the looming threat of war. While Germany urged Austria-Hungary to resolve the matter quickly, Russia began to mobilize its forces to defend the Slavic state of Serbia. A handful of people across the nation recognize the danger and do their best to stop it.
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Part 1 - • World War I: The Semin...
Part 2 - • World War I: The Semin...
Part 3 - • World War I: The Semin...
Part 4 - • World War I: The Semin...
Series Wrap-up & Lies Episode - • World War I: The Semin...
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Artist: David Hueso I Writer: James Portnow I Voice: Daniel. Floyd I Editor: Carrie Floyd
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#ExtraHistory #WW1 #History

[@shooter5503]

WW1 should be renamed "A Series of Unfortunate Events".

[@mestre12]

Almost evry single war it is

[@watayukikimihyra7132]

mestre12 Well!!! not for the Korean and Vietnam wars...they are result of two mega forces's arms race of the cold war.

[@18thskaven]

But then how will we know it was the first war that involved the world?

[@FlyingJetpack1]

Arron Litchfield Because there was no good comunication in the world, and traveling from point A to point B with an army most of the time was not effective or possible. After the technology progressed, moving an army to long distances for a short amount of time, and communicating with all of the contries became possible.

[@lectin3557]

Arron Litchfield It wasn't the first war that affected the world. There was a war between the three great kingdoms, Wei, Wu and Zhu....you get what I mean.

[@Drilling4mana]

HE DIED OF A HEART ATTACK. AND THE KAISER WAS ON A BOAT. ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

[@runawaysparklers622]

Sadly, no.

[@michaelpark6417]

+John Doe yes i heard that it had cup holders

[@Drilling4mana]

Then it was a just war. I take it all back.

[@vincentmuyo]

"Why would we need more than one diplomat in Serbia?"

[@robertjarman3703]

Drilling4mana Like when the president of the United States tweets and then goes on his weekly golfing trip.

[@TheJaredtheJaredlong]

This is why WWI is one of my favorite wars to learn about because there's so much happening politically. It's so lame when people try to simplify the causes of war and for WWI they just say the Archduke was assassinated and that instantly lead to war.

[@ereynolds72]

I've been studying WWI from mulitple sides for years now and every time you think you have it down, that you can write down the timeline leading to the war BOOM ok this is X and Y you missed out because we didn't have time to cover say the French or African side of thing.s

[@lightingbolt85]

Lulu fae sorceress The Ottoman empire wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the Roman empire. That's why Julius Caesar was assassinated, he was about to start World War I! If only the Gauls stopped them.

[@andmos1001]

WW1 was an mess and a tragegy. The simple way to explain what realy happend where that Archduke was assasinated and the politcal leaders in Hungery wanted war towards Serbia and that lead to the war that ends all war.

[@dcdoc8751]

and now that teachers rarely teach ANY of this, its sad really.

[@johnnymcjohnson1373]

The archdukes assassination isn’t even a satisfactory answer, like why did that cause a war in which Britain and France were involved?!

[@alexparker5127]

So WWI happened because after a failed assassination attempt the Archdukes driver misread a map and took a wrong turn and happened to pass by one of the assassins who escaped who happened to be eating a sandwich in a cafe at the time. Then a russian ambassador happens to die of a heart attack during peace talks while the German kaiser is away on a boat trip for 3 weeks and the German ambassador doesn't know that the Austrians don't plan to annex Serbia. Wtf? This is like the most convoluted plot ever. Did Satan himself orchestrate this after getting drunk in an opium factory? Because this is just an insane number of coincidences that even the craziest of people could invent.

[@seskal8595]

Everything that could go wrong, did.

[@cageybee7221]

"getting drunk in an opium factory" xD

[@pedrobrazon6610]

Murphy's Law in all it's unfortunate glory

[@MasterChef306]

You missed the part where the Archduke's car's engine stalled exactly as he passed by the assassin.

[@Zamolxes77]

@@MasterChef306 One could argue he was fated to die on that day, at the hands of a serbian assassin !

[@grantreed9790]

So pretty much every major event in the 20th century was caused by a sandwich. That better have been a good sandwich.

[@yourfriendkrustin3823]

It was caused by a guy eating a sandwich, not an actual sandwich.

[@colinstaker9533]

thanks

[@MimixLight]

ive seen a video saying that he didnt actually eat the sandwich and it was just an urban myth

[@MerelvandenHurk]

Wikipedia also mentions nothing of the sandwich. It states that Princip learned that the first attempt failed and he then decided to stake out in front of a nearby food shop for a new attempt. Also states that the motorcade accidentally took the original route, but you could count that as taking a wrong turn too. According to Wikipedia, however, Princip chose his position to hit the Archduke on his return journey.

[@bornesone]

Merel van den Hurk Wikipedia is autistic

[@grayseeroly]

Seeing how many crazy runs off bad luck it took to set of the Great War, it makes me think of how many times since has world war only been narrowly avoided.

[@sogghartha]

It has happened again. A russian officer named Stanislav Petrov decided not to launch nuclear missiles as a response to an early warning system that said the americans had launched an attack. He judged it to be an error in the system, and later it turned out he was correct. Had he given the command to retaliate, a nuclear war might have been inevitable.

[@TheLordboki]

sogghartha The fate of humanity litteraly hinging on one man's words.

[@Kris-2]

sogghartha yes he saved the world, kinda sad since nobody know who he is..

[@soylentgreenb]

sogghartha During the Cuban missile crisis a russian submarine came under attack from the US. The US navy ships were trying to force it to the surface using practice charges (a close hit from a small charge is not easy to distinguish from a distant, real depth charge). Believing they were under attack and that war may have already started, 2 out of 3 officers wanted to launch nuclear torpedos (yes, torpedos), which might have led to a general nuclear war. The three officers had to agree and only Vasili Arkhipov disagreed. JFK's criminal incompetence in placing nuclear weapons 15 minutes from Moscow (a secret to americans, but not a secret to the USSR) and prick-waving when the russians tried to the same in Cuba almost led to nuclear war. JFK insisted that the only use of nuclear weapons in Cuba was offensive, when Castro wanted them there as defense after all the assasination attempts and the russians were only responding to american aggression, placing missiles in Turkey and Italy among other places (as part of the negotiation, these were withdrawn in return for the soviets withdrawing theirs from Cuba).

[@-haclong2366]

Humanity could have gone extinct in the cold war, even the smallest of things could have set in motion a war between the U.S.A. And U.S.S.R. that could've ended modern civilisation, we should be *really* glad that one of those superpowers doesn't exist anymore...

[@AegixDrakan]

Is it just me, or is the captain of the vacation boat look waaaaay too happy? XD Also, the negotiations are going well and then WHAM, heart attack?! 0_o Ok, That's just...WOW. This is FULL of insane plot conveniences. If this were in a movie, we'd say it was stupid and unrealistic.

[@ereynolds72]

As a man who does not believe at all in higher or cosmic forces, it does just seem that the universe aligned and said "these fuckers are having a war" while diplomats were killed by cosmic heart attacks

[@AegixDrakan]

Either that, or we have a time traveling Death Note user. :P

[@unvergebeneid]

Lulu fae sorceress The universe is some evil motherfucker then ;)

[@SuperFlik]

It may seem like it's full of "plot conveniences," but people just die all the time. My grandfather died a few months ago and it wasn't anything dramatic, he wasn't battling an illness, he had recovered almost perfectly from a stroke almost 15 years prior, there was absolutely no logical reason he should have died. He just did. He was coming home from just enjoying a day out and just died in the cab on the way. The driver didn't even notice until he had got him home. Ultimately, the universe is a chaotic place. Shit happens because shit happens, there's not greater force behind it.

[@Xqvvzts]

No reason to be sure that he wasn't, in fact, assassinated.

[@DakkogiRauru23]

"It's a European war." always gives me chills.

[@horrayfortheme]

Wait...the Russian ambassador died of a heart attack? At such perfect time and place? THE AUSTRIANS HAVE A DEATH NOTE :O

[@Measos77]

That was a plot twist.

[@goyonman9655]

Damn

[@BradleyJCude]

At this point, why not?

[@hioyua650]

This entire thing (heart attack wrong turn, etc) is just so improbable, I'd like to see someone attempt to figure out the odds of all of this.

[@dragonstouch1042]

@@hioyua650 I honestly can only blame some higher power for this to happen

[@swordsmancs]

“Thousands of years of monarchal traditions burnt away in the fires of cataclysmic war.” Holy shit busting out the big guns for this episode huh

[@benjohsmi1]

Well told. As a professional historian, I want to applaud your presentation. Well done indeed.

[@extrahistory]

Thank you! -Soraya

[@benjohsmi1]

You're welcome.

[@darrelleffingeez]

benjohsmi1 so you're a historian and you didn't see a problem with the failure to mention the Berlin-Baghdad railroad to turkey? You're a historian and don't care that Turkish oil was never mentioned??? "Yes, a sandwhich! This professional historian concurs!"

[@bensmith1681]

To: darrelleffingeez: I normally don't bother responding to comments which seem so much like trolling, but you asked some questions of some historical relevance. Let's take the example of Sean McMeekin's book July 1914: Countdown to War for example. It's a brilliant work tracing the correspondence between the people whose decisions led to initial declarations of war that led to the cascading declarations and resulting in what was, up to that day, the largest war Europe had seen. He pays scant attention to Turkey's role in the early days chiefly because Turkey was not deeply involved in those decisions in the early weeks. How do we know this? Because the ambassadors, prime ministers, and other major decision makers in Europe who were actively trying to shape this situation don't mention them with any appreciable frequency in their correspondence. The players who declared war first: Austria, Serbia, Russia, France, Germany, etc... did not have Turkey and it's role deeply on their minds when the decision of declaring war came to the table. That Turkey played a major role in WWI is true, but they were neither active participants at this stage, nor did they have much influence on the breakdown of diplomatic relations, particularly between Austria and Russia, that resulted in the decision to start WWI. If they had there would have been both more correspondence and more weight given to what they had to say. Now as for Extra Credits deciding to leave them out, each of their presentations is only a few minutes long. The issues you bring up, are frankly, minor, and of limited relevance to the extremely narrow scope they chose. If you would like to prove otherwise please respond with some research to substantiate your claim. If your taste in the jokes they tell, such as the whole sandwich thing, is not to your liking I will say that it is to the liking of young children who might profitably be introduced to this subject through a few brief cartoons. I know, because I have showed it to children who became interested. Is this a sophisticated historical treatment? No, but it’s not trying to be, it’s trying to be a relatable medium that a young person can use to get acquainted with the subject before they go into a WWI game. Why do you think that they use cartoons instead of just having James talk in person like he does in the Lies episodes at the end? I applauded the presentation because I think it has and will do some good in the world. I value the work Extra Credits does, and I think your comment is a needless and poorly thought out detraction.

[@tevildo7718]

Prove it....... You really are dense, aren't you? What is there to prove he stated the exact reason he enjoyed Extra Credit's work and gave an essay in response to your two lines and then you have the audacity to be so dismissive of his comment with a single damn sentence?! Come on man at least put in an effort to what you're saying!

[@spliter88]

I'm loving this show. You keep explaining everything with a human touch. Not just names or dates but actual human interaction that led to this. Every history teacher should watch this series and take notes.

[@Nugcon]

yea

[@rafaelokamura]

Verdun and Tannenberg.

[@johnborris3222]

Why do people always bash on History Teachers? Always? You do realize that nost teachers teach with their hand tied behind their back. They have curriculums, deadlines, and plans imposes by the state that they must legally follow. They are not fully free to teach in the way they want.

[@fieldmarshalgaig9477]

@@johnborris3222 Mydude these videos are < 10 mins long and I learnt more from them then i did from 3 years of history

[@usainvanrudisha1649]

Future history teacher here. I have these videos saved to show my students one day. I had an amazing history teacher who I’ll likely never be able to live up to, he was truly talented and dedicated like no other teacher I’ve ever had. I’ll try my best every single day, but I’d be completely happy to just be 50% as good as he is.

[@davidwindfeldt9009]

I have seen this episodes 3-4 times and I still get a tear in my eye. That millions of lives could have been saved by just one man that unfortunately didn’t have the right information, or than one mans heart gave up just 1 week too early. This is truly sad

[@ShinobuSakurazaka]

"The great men of this world marched into the jaws of oblivion, the blood of the few paid with the blood of the many, the war was only great in scale and was the only time I truly saw hell on earth and it will haunt me to the day I die". My great grandfather told me that back in 1990 when I was 10 and he was 95 and I still remember it to this day. He also said that when he returned home he prayed that the sacrifice his generation had made would ensure peace in Europe but that unfortunately wasn't the case which is why his son (my grandfather) had to fight in WWII.

[@Redem10]

2:53 I blame a guy with a Death Note for World War I

[@AegixDrakan]

:o Oh. My. Gosh. YOU'RE RIGHT. XD

[@danmenard6917]

Sakujo

[@Redem10]

Dan Menard I think Ryuk to blame, I mean doing a small thing that has massive consequence that be his style would be his style in my opinion

[@azarlgor]

Redem10 And he would do it just for the fun of watching the aftermath.

[@nicklewis470]

Redem10 ill take a potato chip *and EAT IT*

[@khuzang]

[tension intensifies] If Skype existed back in WWI would they be able to circumvent the war? :

[@Cometpluto]

Iwho knows?

[@Denied1213]

***** The two primary causes of the dissonance of early Europe were communications (specifically the language barrier and time required to pass messages) and populace incompatibility (leading to strife inside countries even after they take over land, with revolts being commonplace everywhere from 500 to 1800 AD, while now they are a scarcity)

[@FatrickAteman]

down in the DM's with serbia

[@peytonreynolds4031]

Khuzang Probably

[@kennedytheretard975]

Khuzang mknm

[@bucca2]

If..if...if...if only the archduke's driver hadn't driven past Princip. If only word had gotten to Russia that Austria wouldn't annex Serbia. If only Sazanov had listened to Pourtales and not mobilized the Russian army, which eventually forced Germany to mobilized, which eventually forced everybody to pick sides, which UHHHHHHHHHGHGHGHH. But anyway, this is great! I just finished watching the episodes on the Sengoku Jidai (tooootally watching these in order). I came over here from Gaijin Goomba (nice easter egg of him by the way) and I immediately subscribed after watching part 2. Your graphics and presentation are flawless and you really make the history engaging. And you even tie up your loose ends with a Lies episode! I really love all your Extra Credits series :)

[@NZCrypT]

but then think of all the times that we possibly avoided war?

[@connor3899]

I’m mad about all these events that could have saved everything

[@DiscoRobRob]

I have now studied History for over 7 years, and yet I'm still in awe of all the ways this story can be told. The very personal human stories that you focus on in this show is so enchanting and artistic It covers for any lack of detail that always comes about when speaking on events of this scale. Bravo to you Extra Credits, you have put an easy to understand and easy to empahise to spin on the story that we know so much about and yet so many people do not know.

[@mattm7798]

Well done. I don't think 70-80 percent of the population know it wasn't Germany that was the main driver of the start of the war(I know i didn't). They just happened to be the most powerful. Because of WW2 just 20 years later, WW1 is largely overlooked but I would say it reshaped the world more than WW2 did. That's not to say WW2 didn't have a large impact, but WW1 seamed to be a HUGE turning point in the world's gov'ts. Good stuff

[@Louigi36]

You can add in that WWI was directly responsible for the outbreak of WWII. It's really not a coincidence that they're so close together, WWII is basically just WWI: part 2. I agree that WWI is probably the more important turning point of modern history. It was also the turning point between traditional warfare and modern warfare, since the armies started having modern technologies and armies, but there generals where still used to the old ways, so a lot of the war was really about trying how to even deal with these completely new situations. There's one thing that can sum up this situation pretty well: At the beginning of WWI, the french still rode into battle with brightly coloured armoured cavalry. In just a few years, warfare had changed more drastically than it did in the last thousand years before that.

[@chrisprince9811]

Except, IMO, Germany was totally responsible for starting the war and this video series has been very selectively in what is presented. So attributes which point the blame on Germany, such as the Schieffen Plan, Anglo-German Arms race, Moroccan and Agadir Crisis's, have been rather swept under the rug. :P

[@RaijinKlaid]

I always knew it started with the Austrians, and then something something alliances and bam Germany is getting screwed in Versailles. I never really thought about how much the war changed the aesthetics and technology of the world. I should have because I think it's the last episode of Black Adder Goes Forth. He says something along the lines of when he signed up, war was fighting tribal members armed with bits of wood. And now this. It really is the line that determined the modern age.

[@Louigi36]

Chris Prince Things like the Schlieffen Plan were "swept under the rug" because that hasn't happened yet. I'm pretty sure they will address it once we get to the invasion of Belgium and France. However, while the Germans definitely did initiate the hostilities against the other superpowers, you have to understand the position the Germans were in. Everybody was preparing for war already and Germany was likely to be flanked by both, France and Russia. Germany made the first move with a major attack on France, because the idea was that they could quickly beat France and then move the troops to the eastern front before the russians could mobilise their troops. Of course, it wasn't certain yet that there's no way to avoid the war, but the problem is that, from a game theoretical standpoint, noone involved really had the luxury to spend time on seeking a diplomatic solution at that point. With the rising tensions, everbody had to mobilise to their borders immediately to defend themself, but at the same time, this is simultaneously threatening the neighbouring country. Pushing for a diplomatic solution instead was a risk that put the country who does it at a huge disadvantage if it doesn't work. I'm not saying that Germany did nothing wrong, but simply saying that the Germans are to blame is a gross oversimplification of one of the most complex geopolitical situations in history. The blame lies on too many different factors that all intertvined in order to create this war.

[@robbert-janmerk6783]

Louigi36 Good points. It irks me when people said that generals in WW1 were so stupid and wouldn't stop using the same stupid tactics over and over again. While in reality, the military leadership had to rapidly invent new tactics to deal with a hugely different war than ever before, with an enormous amount of innovation happening in a couple of years.

[@extrahistory]

Reminder! The fourth (and final) episode of this World War I mini-series will come out two weeks from today, on October 11. We'll be wrapping up with the final actions leading to the start of World War I.

[@kaiserwilhelmii5852]

Yay. ...I think.

[@Mionikoi]

Would you mind doing an episode on the cold war?

[@Mionikoi]

How about highlights of Edo period Japan?

[@duncanelliff4394]

Can you guys keep doing WW1? It would be awesome, also great video!

[@jewmangi]

Please do the Korean War... It is a forgotten war with some of the most bloody battles like the frozen chosin. People need to know about it!

[@umartdagnir]

So, the war could be avoided if the Internet has existed back then. Just like now it helps to avoid many conflicts. Communication is key in keeping peace.

[@markuskekero8363]

GPS saves millions of lives.

[@Honkler270]

+Le Name IT COULD HAVE SAVE AROUND 100 MILLION PEOPLE like woow

[@bucca2]

+brasil HUE He's just saying that the Internet can be a double-edged sword.

[@lorumipsum1129]

Dmitrij Bugajev internet has also created conflicts too or speed them up. Just aying

[@zeitscar1486]

Except that the internet was a direct product of WW2 which was, of course, a direct product of WW1.

[@Overhazard]

If communications problems can bring down huge corporations once dominant in an industry, like Motorola (once the biggest cell phone producer, taken down by departments being bitter enemies on non-speaking terms), or stunt potentially great companies into moderate ones, like Xerox (Xerox engineers invented the PC, the mouse, the Ethernet, and the GUI in the 1970's, but they couldn't convey themselves properly to executives), I can see how communications problems can bring down whole empires too.

[@Alorand]

I knew about the Arch-Duke's assassination being the event that started WWI but it was always this cold and disconnected fact... Hearing you guys explain the details, and even more importantly the thoughts and feelings of the particular people involved, sends shivers down my spine. There is so much to be learned about conducting diplomacy, and getting different people in different countries to seek their common best interests. And a quiet sadness comes over me, when I see those lessons go unheeded in much of todays foreign policy, and world diplomacy.

[@MrTombombodil]

Fantastic as always. I think the greatest educational achievement of this show is going to be getting people to go read about the events in detail of their own accord. I think this is what history needs to be outside of a dry, empirical, catalog of events. A+

[@extrahistory]

That's the hope! -Soraya

[@West_Coast_Mainline]

I want to take this, change the names, ask people to take a look at “my totally fictional book” and when they inevitably say there are too many plot conveniences, i give them a history lession.

[@Fairman25]

Germany: do it quickly Austria: *sends ultimatum almost 2 weeks later*

[@scorpions7153]

such passion has put into these episodes, such knowledge and most importantly: you tried to not make one of the sides look evil

[@Sinanengin3468]

Hey there, a big fan from Turkey. So you've shown us a a true monarchy, but actually we were not a one at that date. Since 1908 and 1909 power of the sultan was very limited, and after 1913 Talat and Enver Paşas were bascily ruling the empire. Other than that great video as always. Love you guys

[@GideonGleeful95]

I also recommend looking at the two Crash Course World History episodes on WW1

[@Soldier842]

I agree. I love the story-based, slightly dramatized version of Extra Credits, but crashcourse states the facts a bit more clearly I think.

[@GideonGleeful95]

Victor G There's also a part (I can't remember which) were Crash Course disagrees with Extra Credits. I think. I'm tired.

[@ChrisWachtler]

Victor G I want to think of it as a mix of both.

[@1simo93521]

Victor G yes I like the way extra credits are humanising the story. It's a great way to tell history to people who would otherwise be turned off by dry facts and figures.

[@fy8798]

I actually think that the EC way has a lot of merit. To many people on the internet, WW1 is... just something. Meh. Boring. No interest. The added human element, as Simo states, helps make it more real to these of us not invested in history. It's a great method, even if it isn't as fact clear as crashcourse. Both are a good combination. Several friends of mine that got interested due to the EC video were very happy when I could link em the crash course videos.

[@Wraithiss]

I've always thought WWI to be the more interesting conflict. They both have their moments, and they both have endless lessens to be learned, but the first World War really reads like a dramatic novel.

[@goyonman9655]

"The arcduke was perhaps the greatest defender of Serbs in the region" 😔

[@unravelinghistory1307]

I guess you could say that that sandwich was so good, it was...revolutionary

[@davehoffman4659]

Unraveling History PEOPLE DIED! Like that sandwich as it was being eaten.

[@thatweirdguywhostalkspeopl1908]

It’s ironic that WW1 was called ‘the war to end all wars”. WW1: hi i end all wars WW2: Hola

[@TheLateralParabol]

This is so great. So truly well-written. EC, you seem to have as much of a passion for history and for learning as I, and the first half of the 20th century is (in my opinion): one of the most interesting, inspirational, incredible moments in history - especially western society. I thank you with great sincerity for what you are doing with this "Extra History" series: teaching people that might otherwise never would've about this truly paramount tipping point in our society's history. My hat, tipped to thee.

[@extrahistory]

Thank you! We're glad you like it. -Soraya

[@dan7564]

Extra Credits This was great but I think it would have been a lot easier to follow along if you had showed a map of Europe and where people were planning on attacking. There was a moment when you showed them pushing toy soldiers on a map, show us that map with border lines please. I'm assuming they would differ from todays as the result of two world wars.

[@Frozen_Death_Knight]

Man, how much I love this series. History is full with interesting stuff that more often than not gets overlooked by how dull history courses can be in school, which is a shame. Keep up the awesome work, Extra Credits! =D

[@Monochromicornicopia]

"That's not my neck" lol

[@krankarvolund7771]

"The he go on vacation, on a boat, for three weeks where he can't be reached" Facepalm! XD

[@fai1t0liv3]

I need more of these. You don't get to hear about the Great War that often and when you do, it's usually displayed as a stepping stone to World War II. While that is true in most respects, that's not all it was. The Great War was in many ways the death of the old world and the emergence of the current world. Old powers fell, new ones rose, the scope of the world shrank. So much happened and changed during that time period that still resonates to this day. I am truly grateful you guys are going these videos.

[@ubermons]

Don't know why, but I was moved by this. Almost shed a tear for the tragedies to come. Very well written and executed once again.

[@rogerwilco2]

There are a lot of series about this right now, but this is the best. the Extra Credits team is really really good at explaining. My compliments.

[@DragonFae16]

These are so much better and more interesting than the history lessons I had in school. History teachers trying to teach about WW1 should show their students these videos. They make you want to find out what happened next, like it was a story not the tragic evens of the past, yet because you know these events truly did happen, there's a weight to them that wouldn't be there otherwise. It is incredibly well told.

[@toureiro]

Congratulations. My currently most anticipated episode on a series is of something I already know how it will end and of which the details I can just google. Outstanding storytelling!

[@alyasgrey9370]

Your narrator and writers bring such pathos to these characters' statements and actions that it really provides this sense of incredible tension and augments the gripping narrative that was the reality of the situation. As you spoke of feelings given "the benefit of hindsight", that same benefit brings me to the brink of tears time and time again watching this series.

[@huwguyver4208]

These Extra History episodes are so awesome. I just started playing "Valient Hearts: The Great War" last night. Hard to believe people had to live through such awful times.

[@pwned689]

I showed this to my bud who has a master's in the timeframe around WW1. He didn't know some of this stuff. So Extra Credit epic job on the research!

[@maximilianvermilye8362]

Again. A wonderful delivery ❤️ I am a proud supporter and patron of this show. Please continue this wonderful series you have as well as your others. You guys truly do rock.

[@extrahistory]

Thank you for supporting the show! I'm happy to hear that we're living up to your expectations for it. -Soraya

[@loolhasj]

This is one of the best series i've seen yet. I never knew that I could want to know more about History, but you guys made it happen. Thank you

[@ceciliacorbett8313]

This brings tears to my eyes, reminding me of how I felt when I read Barbara Tuchman's "The Guns of August" many years ago. Thank you.

[@SebLeCaribou]

I can tell you one thing, being french: I've been told WWI and WWII a million times during my teenage, from middle school to high school. Unfortunatly I never had one teacher who could actually make it that interesting as you're doing it (except one but he taught us the story of Napoleon Bonapart which was interesting enough, but not as close as the two WW). Overall, the only point I might disagree on is, even though WWII would have never happened without the kick of WWI and "le Traité de Versailles" (no idea how it's pronounced in English), it's clearly WWII which still holds a lot of influence on French society nowadays and not only due the fact it's closer to us. I would compare the importance, the ultimate shame of the concentration camps and the help for deporting the jews out of France during Vichy regime as the races issues due to slavery in United States prior to the Civil War. It's THE big scar of modern France in my opinion.

[@timlamiam]

a million men dead, and for what? one terrorist attack and fools who have seen too many conference rooms? history.... so depressing sometimes.

[@Raussl]

+timlamiam when I read your sentence, I realized how things haven't changed the slightest in the past 100 years...and unfortunately don't seem to change. So not only history is depressing sometimes, it is the fact that nothing is learned from it.

[@dariuso2657]

+Raussl Well, we avoided the Cold War heating up, so that's something good. We do learn from history, it's just that we do it really slowly.

[@timlamiam]

+Darius P the cold war did heat up. ask the people of Vietnam or Afghanistan or the Congo or countless other less popular proxy wars.

[@dariuso2657]

timlamiam Not to the point of exploding though, right.?

[@benjaminortola5756]

+Darius P If you count the literal explosions, wrong.

[@urquizagabe]

Holy crap, every time I hear that piano version of "In Flanders Fields" it sends shivers up my spine. Amazing episode, you guys are really surpassing yourselves with that Extra History series, love it.

[@adegres]

You guys do these videos so well, I'd love to see a LOT more of them, if it were ever possible.

[@clyran5507]

The German Kaiser was actually Walpole

[@wallacekids8543]

Yep, pretty much.

[@DavidScott-Coanunn]

I love these videos so very much!

[@yt.damian]

right. i just learnt a few things.

[@shadowofdancingleaf]

I've been watching Extra Credits for a long time now, and their insight into video games is wonderful. But, strangely enough, I think I enjoy their recounting of history most of all. As someone who finds history very interesting but often delivered in a dry and stale way, it's very enjoyable to hear it done in a delightfully dynamic, engaging way. I'm even picking up nice little details I've never heard in any of my history classes. Keep up the good work, guys!

[@catnickfl]

I really enjoy how you guys are organizing this mini-series, giving it all so much personality that would probably not even be footnotes in a history book. I really do hope you get what you need to continue this series because its a way of looking at history that does so much more then anything I've seen before.

[@halafradrimx]

Question : why foreign police isn't allowed free reign to investigate crimes commited? Up to today, is that still a fact?

[@extrahistory]

Basically, allowing another country's police force to investigate crimes in your country is admitting that their police have authority in your country, and therefore that their country has authority over yours, period. It's also admitting that your own police force can't (or won't) handle the investigation properly. It's a very touchy subject. -Soraya

[@halafradrimx]

Extra Credits Thanks for the info. No wonder diplomats, emissaries and important visitors have so many bodyguards, right?

[@scifantasy]

Hell, sometimes getting police of the _same_ nation to work together is the next best thing to impossible. (See also, any _Law & Order_ episode where the NYPD--an arm of New York State--and the FBI--a branch of the federal government--arm-wrestle. Jurisdiction is a Thing.)

[@Edax_Royeaux]

Extra Credits Isn't air crash investigations handled using foreign police originating from the planes origin?

[@john-alanpascoe5848]

ltflak By international law, if a plane crashes the country in which the crash occurs is in charge of the investigation. However the country where the plane is registered, the country where the airline flying the plane is based, the country where the plane was designed and the country where the plane was built all get to send representatives to be a part of the investigation, as do countries that suffered major casualties. If the country where the crash happened (aka the State of Occurance) desires they can nominate a different country to be in charge of the investigation. This often happens if the State of Occurance doesn't have the resources needed to run a large investigation, or for political reasons. E.g. in the case of MH17 Ukraine should be running the investigation, but they asked the Dutch to be in charge because the Dutch would be less likely to be perceived as being biased (as well as having an experienced accident investigation board and having suffered nearly 200 casualties).

[@elwynbrooks]

This needs to be a musical like Hamilton, seriously

[@oddcrafter1270]

The final musical number should be "In Flanders Fields".

[@tomb1648]

Dear EC peeps, Thank you so much for this series, I love it! You explain it clean, clear and thorough enough that you keep me spellbound every time. Keep this up my friends!!

[@MeowaniteFilmsOnYouTube]

This is amazing. The ending song makes me really happy for some reason. I love this series!

[@personinapurplebackground7410]

Ww1, ww2 the Korean war, the Vietnam war, the Afghan war, 9/11 the war on terror, and north Korea all happened cause a Russian guy had a hearth attack.

[@DiskusGames]

5:13 Everyone for last few days

[@OzoneTheLynx]

I literally thought of this sentence in this video when hearing about this. "It's a European war."😐

[@espio87]

The moment the conflict started, I could hear Sazonov's words in my head.

[@hogar8792]

This was so well done, I really enjoyed it! Keep up the great work EC

[@torch-bearer9129]

You know its hard to get excited about anything as much as I get excited about new Extra History episodes. You guys rock.

[@PINGPONGROCKSBRAH]

HOLY SHIT THIS IS SO COOL.

[@DoubleATam]

Whoa, plot twist, the Archduke was on Serbia's side? I mean it was clear the young men in part 2 were misguided, but I didn't expect that!

[@SirAroace]

The Archduke planed on turning the empire into some more like the US, were each of the nationality in the empire would have and rule their own state as a part of a greater empire.

[@TheBornageFobbie]

Basically the ArchDuke wasn't "Pro Serbia." He was Austro-Hungarian, but he didn't want to go to war. Ferdananz was a peaceful man. Hence why he chose to visit the hospital instead of leaving Seriavo (Wrong spelling I know.) He didn't want war.

[@CrimsonBlasphemy]

When you start reading into that assassination that point comes up quickly. He wasn't pro-Serbia, but he was a moderate (for a member of imperial royalty). Which makes it all the more tragic and should really be a lesson to all "freedom" fighting revolutionary groups. Killing the "doves" of your enemy simply unite the "hawks" against you, and remove any restraints they had.

[@soylentgreenb]

How were they misguided? Freedom is won by chopping the heads off of tyrants or prying their hands off of power by force (e.g. threatening to chop their heads off), one concession at a time. Freedom has never been won any other way. Kings don't give up power unless the alternative is to end up one head shorter.

[@actiongamemaster5218]

soylentgreenb But that's the thing. Franz wasn't a tyrant. He was a peaceful man, who wanted good for his own country and Serbia. That's why these organizations that supposedly fight for freedom were misguided: They didn't see the person in the car, they merely saw his position.

[@alisona.4166]

I like that you played "In Flander's Fields" because my great great grandfather served in WW1, my great grandfather served in WW2 and Korea and my grandfather served in Vietnam (not on the battlefield but helped in other ways) and the song helps me know that their struggles are behind them and now they can rest forever (my grandpa isn't dead he's got a lot of life left to go.)

[@maxberre]

this episode was really really well-researched!

[@wushish]

I feel like you don't talk enough about a lot of the underlying reasons behind the war. I understand that you want to tell it as a story, but you ignore a lot of the factors like Imperialism that drove Europe into chaos. While these events undoubtedly led up to the war, they're more akin to the inevitable sparks that lit up the enormous bundle of kindling that had been growing in Europe over the course of centuries. That being said, perhaps I've been exposed to too much "big picture" history and I guess this is a refreshing new take on a story I've already heard a lot about. I respect your channel immensely and I guess I'm just a little disappointed that people may walk away from your series unaware of some of the ideas and tensions that really drove the war.

[@ThePlayfulDreamer]

I'm with you.

[@DiscoRobRob]

You have to give them some leeway on this, entire books and lives have been devoted to the telling of this story and they all miss something out. It's far too complex to put into 10 minute videos and the goal of the series is not to be a new or even indepth look into the events but to make people aware of the story and thus push them to research themselves. All the information is out there these videos just push people to explore them. Especially in an American audience who as I understand have little knowledge of WW1 due to their relative isolation from it at the time.

[@wushish]

I understand completely that it's impossible to cover everything and I respect that EH wants to cover history in their own particular way. I just feel a little bit disappointed when I see people posting comments indicating that WWI was like a long series of coincidences. It seems like a very important lesson is being overlooked. That being said, Extra History is covering a lot of thing about this that i had absolutely no idea about and I'm learning a lot. I just wish that they might ackowledge some of the bigger ideas without necessarily going into enormous detail about them. Perhaps I am asking too much though.

[@Fafnd]

I respectfully disagree, imperialism drove WW1 from the back seat yelling out bad directions, where Imperialism really fucked up was the aftermath of WW2 and the Cold War. Besides they have 8 MINUTES to discuss a portion of the topic; and the EC crew touched on it in their first episode about WW1 by mentioning it in relation to the new nation of Germany being denied colonies and the fact that disparate peoples within the Austrio-Hungarian empire were seceding to form their own nations. Not only that but the powers in Europe agreed that these people should be free! So yes imperialism has an influence on WW1 but its not a driving force.

[@urbaraskpraetor3316]

wushish They kind of did that in the first episode. They discussed many of the underlying reasons for the war.

[@fds7476]

3:27 - You mean St Petersburg, eh wot?

[@mattpbent]

exactly

[@TheSilvershadow91]

Man i really enjoy watching these extra historys, i get so much more information out of them then I ever got at school. .

[@5nefarious]

Man, you guys really know how to tell a story. And that outro music gets me everytime...

[@TheSpacecraftX]

Next up. The triple entente and the triple alliance Face off. AmIright.

[@suprememasterj2]

Ody -Chan Actually no, it was the Triple Entente and the Central Powers. The term 'Allies' is more commonly used in WW2 where it was the Allies against the Axis.

[@simongunkel7457]

suprememasterj2 The Triple Entente was just France, Russia and the British Empire. When the USA and Japan entered the war against the Triple Alliance (which also expaned to become the central powers) it became the allies.

[@suprememasterj2]

Simon Gunkel That may be so but they haven't got to that part yet. It wasn't just USA or Japan either. A good number declared war at the end, just to bring the damn thing to a close and to forge the foundations of the League of Nations. The Entente and the Central Powers were the original blocks before the war. Plus even those weren't static, Italy was a Central Powers nation that joined the Entente after war was declared.

[@gutentag3232]

Simon Gunkel And the British Empire wouldn't even join the war until after the German invasion of Belgium

[@TheSpacecraftX]

QuestionTheRed And they did because of the Treaty of London which meant that Britain would guarantee the protection of Belgian independence. I learned that 3 years ago now. Nice to see I still remember the details.

[@Cor_Nelis]

So this is how Americans get their education, with 8 min. cartoons.

[@e93gsx]

Lot of info. Had to watch it twice. Love it. I got interested in WWI years back after playing Red Baron on PC. Keep the history lessons coming. Great stuff. Love the Roman history stuff you did awhile back also. You guys are great.

[@ZenPaladin]

Man I don't know who chose the music for this but they made an absolutely awesome call. Big props to the tunes, the writers and the delivery. It's all top notch.

[@MrBKainX]

Yeah but don't act like if there communication was better world war would have never happened, heck if the archduke died the war probably would have ended up happening eventually anyway. All they could of done was delay the inevitable.

[@wbtu897]

MrBKainX is English your first language?

[@lorumipsum1129]

MrBKainX then the only solution is to keep delaying until the situation changes, then strike quickly when the time comes in order to change things for the better. Nothing is set after all

[@alejandrodecorse9437]

MrBKainX wrong

[@CellSpex]

Ok here's where I got lost, why does sasanov care what happens to serbia?

[@Blazo_Djurovic]

***** And there was quite a large movement amongst the Slavic learned elite that advocated unity and support amongst the Slavs, and in eyes of these people Russia was moraly obliged to help any Slavic nation that was being bullied by other Empires. And the fact that Serbs are Orthodox Christians and in the eyes of the people like Russian Patriarch this is clear case of Roman Chatolics bullying Orthodox. But yes, depending on who you would be talking to there were a lot of reasons for why Russia needed to back Serbs up. From realpolitik perspective Russia needed to mantain being strong especially after the war with the Japan, and as you said they were probably planing a pissible Turkish adventure so they needed Bulgarians and possibly Serbs to tie the western Turkish forces. And if the dropped one of theri allies now in alliy's time of need, than in case of war with Turkey Balkan nations wouldn't respond.

[@michaelpark6417]

+Claystead lol protectors of all Slavic Nations. LOL couldn't even protect themselves an dying nation that tried to look bigger than itself

[@armorsmith43]

Also for the same reason that Lavrov & modern Russia care what happens to Assad: when you give your assurance to one ally and then you don’t enforce it, others don’t place value on an alliance with you. In 1938, After the French let Germany gobble up Czechia, nations in Southeast Europe started to align themselves with Germany because they knew France wouldn’t protect them (source: the rise and fall of the Third Reich)

[@KasumiRINA]

@@armorsmith43 Assad is just their puppet who guarantees no pipelines competing with russian ones will come through Syria. It's all about oil and gas. Nothing to do with russia being trustworthy, they literally invaded tons of their (now former) allies at this point, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova etc. also chickened out and betrayed Armenia.

[@TycoonTitian01]

This is one of the most deep series I have watched.

[@TheSaskOtaku]

You're doing a far better job teaching me about the moments before WW1 FAR better than my history teacher ever did. If only i could go back in time

[@PlanetSulfur]

As horrible as WWI is, it alone is why Canada is independent today.

[@mitchell2719]

Wexter0083 As a Canadian, I second this. I *think* Daniel is too (I know he at least worked at Pixar Vancouver) so it would be interesting to hear both sides of this, instead of just the Canadian one.

[@ereynolds72]

Canada would have gained independence anyway, Britain was starting to realise her Empire was too much for her, and would of diverted powers away anyway, WWI may have sped up events, but all war is a catalyst to historical events. It is a price to pay, events speed up, men die away from home, I say its not fair.

[@woobmonkey]

Wexter0083 Keep in mind that 1812 was, more than anything else, a proxy war of England vs. France - only Upper Canada (S. Ontario), not Canada as we know it today, played the role we now tend to attribute to Canadians.

[@Wexter0083]

woobmonkey True but it was still one of the major catalysts that helped speed up the process and it still is one of the few wars between the US and Canada. Though modern day Quebec did play a major role as well, not just Ontario. The point of the comment was that if anything to prove that if any war is to be thanked for Canada to be its own nation it is not WWI but a much older one and obscure one 1812. It still is a very fascinating situation that lead to it and would make a very interesting story to be told by Extra Credits

[@woobmonkey]

Wexter0083 1812 did next to nothing to establish Canada as more than an arm of Rule Brittania. Canada wasn't even anything near united until after WWII, when Newfoundland finally signed on. As was mentioned above, we didn't ratify our own constitution until 1982; not once in Canadian history did we officially go against the will of the greater Commonwealth. It wasn't until well after England lost most of its interest in meddling with the rest of the world that we even seriously began to consider the idea that we might do better on our own. It was external wars that defined Canada; if anything, the formation of the RCMP, and the (still!) passionate partisanship over Louis Riel, paved the way for what we now know as the nation of Canada. Oh, and 'modern Quebec' didn't play a role - unless you only count the St. Lawrence valley as being 'modern' Quebec - and the vast majority of the province as being something else entirely. Many of the parts of Quebec that did take part, took part on the same side as the Americans.

[@marywikoff2322]

Do WWII Please Please Please!!!

[@karlkarlos3545]

+Mary Wikoff It's a little to late for that. WWII ended over 70 years ago.

[@phoenix6618]

+Karl Karlos lmaoo

[@applesauceisgood32]

Really love this series, well done and informative!

[@MistahZeraphan]

You guys should do more of these Extra Histories. You're REALLY good with them.

[@CaptainCsaba]

Oh my God, I lvoe this, i know that this requires a lot of work, but can you somehow make it weekly? :3

[@Nosgoroth]

They have it as a stretch goal on their patreon, but they're still some way off. Go donate, I want my Extra History weekly too!

[@romankazinets1759]

IT IS NOW WEEKLY WHOO WHOO

[@dik4316]

It's the second time you call Russian emperor a czar, which he most certainly wasn't. I know you're playing to stereotypes so non-caring people don't get confused, but a pedant in me is impotently frustrated. Also, Sazanov and Pourtales met in St. Petersburg, while your artist has drawn Moscow. Stereotypes again, I get it, but truth and little nitpickings need to be heard.

[@DCdabest]

Looks like growing a glorious moustache was an act of patriotism back in the day. Loving these series. Keep up the great work.

[@MuffinkingPM]

This series...is just...it's so good. It is by far the best thing on the entirety of KZbin, maybe the internet. Although I wonder if it has enough educational value to make is useful for that purpose, it's very gripping and interesting but history isn't just about these things unfortunately.

[@Spyflu]

I'm so happy you guys are doing this series

[@kenzaske2278]

I want to say thank you for producing this series of videos, I and my wife truly enjoy them.

[@okliam]

I'll really liking this series, like really liking this. Keep them rolling guys, this is way better the lecture I got about the war.

[@rasmusl2067]

Love EC presenting history! Gives a much needed pause from the assignment on Digital aesthetics

[@nashcrowe2182]

This is the most emotional episode. You are a wonderful channel. Thank you.

[@crawler8575]

Love this series, keep it up EC.

[@quietwulf]

Really loving this new series. It's a crime how the study of history has become so sterile, when, as you so artfully show, history is at its heart human stories about people who felt and thought much like we do today. Can't wait for the next episode 😄

[@hannahgoldkamp8888]

Your narration is glorious. I find myself in awe.

[@GrappleBerries]

Love ALL your shows guys, keep up the great work!

[@seanlowrance9497]

as im hearing the music Im thinking there couldnt be a better choice for this, good job extra credits!

[@KHMakerD]

Can't wait until next time! This has kind of gotten me on the edge of my seat!

[@ron-t8327]

Please do more of these! They are amazing!