Germany's Modern Military | Animated History

[@TheArmchairHistorian]

Play Enlisted for FREE on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS®5: playen.link/armchairhistorianen Follow the link to download the game and get your exclusive bonus now. See you in battle! Sign up for Armchair History TV today! armchairhistory.tv/ Promo code: ARMCHAIRHISTORY for 50% OFF Merchandise available at store.armchairhistory.tv/ Check out the new Armchair History TV Mobile App too! apps.apple.com/us/app/armchair-history-tv/id1514643375 play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tv.uscreen.armchairhistorytv Discord: discord.gg/zY5jzKp Twitter: twitter.com/ArmchairHist

[@joebidenofficialpotus]

Free

[@Iwantyourballs148]

@@joebidenofficialpotus bird

[@atomskate4882]

i like fax machines

[@atomskate4882]

do you like fax machines john?

[@KumaFall]

What if I already have Enlisted?

[@Quadro_Papa_2002]

Greetings from a German soldier. It does not fail because of the motivation of the soldiers, but because of politics. The governments of the past few years have given us one bad defense minister after the other and failed to modernize the Bundeswehr. A lot has happened since the attack on Ukraine, but there is still a long way to go.

[@vaccinatedanti-vaxxer]

Hello from Franconia. I am an American soldier in franken. I wish I knew some German soldiers but I know Germans don’t talk to random strangers so I try to keep to myself here.

[@panzerfaustxd7799]

Ich danke ihnen das sie für Das Vaterland dienen 🫡🇩🇪

[@MrGod-nl7no]

@@panzerfaustxd7799 Nein, das lassen wir schön bleiben

[@wirdnichtverraten9432]

There is a whole agenda behind the weakening of the german armed forces. It isn't just bad management by the DM's, it is decade after decade of declining the reality. Just take a look at 2016, the scandal with the one german officer that claimed to be a refugee and wanted to start a plot against the gouvernment... and after that there were witch hunts after "Nazis" in the Bundeswehr. You can't show something from the Wehrmacht, even if it is a picture of your grandfather. You can't be something like proud of your heritage. There is no esprit de corps anymore. German army is doomed. I've been a proud soldier for 15 years, but since i retired in 2021, i never regret that i left.

[@gs7828]

Nope, it's because of the people. Germans decided for a pacifist take to their defence, but history proves that this is a naive idea. Same approach with energy; it's not "politics", it's millions of Germans thinking this and being wrong.

[@vitorpereira9515]

Who would have thought that almost 80 years after the end of World War II, Europe and the world would be excited about Germany expanding its army.

[@generalpanzerfaust2387]

Expanding? Our shithead defense minister left the German army humiliated! We still fly outdated planes, sail with outdated ships, tanks that don't work anymore, soldiers without equipment. Germany is doomed

[@breaderikthegreat3224]

They want Germany to remilitarilize, march through Poland and invade Russia if necesarry

[@RandomMan439]

Russia won't like it...

[@CarloS-ii6hr]

Add Japan to that list too lol

[@ccdsds3221]

Nazis are pretty excited, yes...

[@MourningShark5Gaming]

Okay but shout out to your animator, that intro was phenomenal with its masterful use of perspective.

[@residentelect]

@@zacheray I liked how Griff was just casually reading one of his many historical manuscripts, before looking at the camera as if he'd just noticed it 😭

[@hekmatyar4476]

pretty sure it's a whole team not just one person planning it

[@h.r.hufnstuf4171]

imagine the amount of paperwork and time it would take Germany to just declare war, I'd say 4-5 years

[@mr.uninteressant6558]

😂

[@ivanmargosdoesEverything.2923]

No way more it had so much neglect that even a defensive stance is simply not capable

[@bobknee4127]

Buddy im still having nightmares thinking about how brutal it would be to PMCS an ENTIRE MILITARY’S WORTH OF GEAR ESSENTIALLY OVERNIGHT

[@zillsburyy1]

in the 70s Belgium said that they did not adopt the flecktarn camouflage because "IT LOOKED TOO AGGRESSIVE" as far back as WW2 the germans have always had the best camo

[@Foxrich99]

To aggressive for the army? Belgians really got what was coming to them

[@loennelu]

The Flecktarn of the Bundeswehr is literally the 2nd best Flecktarn that ever was. No. 1 was used by the Wehrmacht and is therefore not used anymore.

[@zillsburyy1]

@loennelu you get half credit my son. the #1 best patters were used by the SS. specifically the oakleaf, blurred edge and plane tree

[@G-Mastah-Fash]

@@zillsburyy1 It's funny because the swiss had no problem copying those SS camo styles. The TAZ 83 looks like an SS tailor took too many pervitin and sewed twenty pockets on a field jacket.

[@chiapets2594]

Not now

[@pabcu2507]

All of this wouldn’t happened if Steiner had conducted his counter attack

[@Lp-army1]

Lol

[@zillsburyy1]

yeah sure lol

[@FIVEBASKET]

True

[@spainwithoutthes101]

I think we have overused this a bit now

[@Prishdoesanimations]

I kinda doubt that.

[@justtheilluminativ282]

Can you please bring back the evolution of uniforms series? I’d really like to see an evolution of Mexican, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Indian, Turkish, Canadian, Australian, or Swedish uniforms

[@gregbone8149]

Yes, this

[@itsblitz4437]

Those would be cool especially the Turkish, Italian, Indian, and Chinese are cool.

[@snarf1993]

Agreed!

[@WFootyEdits]

I really want chinese as theyre important

[@WFootyEdits]

And it would be cool to compare with japan

[@ak9989]

I was stationed in Germany in the late 80s and trained with the German Panzers, since I was in an armor battalion. The Germans were and still are good soldiers. Getting to shoot their equipment was amazing as well as learning the Leopards.

[@miikapaananen1363]

Germans have always been skilled engineers. The drawback is sometimes too much over engineering when less is enough ;) Compare Tiger with T34

[@German_Dude-vl5gy]

​@@miikapaananen1363when you try to put as much Technology into a tank to keep the crew safe and make the tank more survivable its sure gona have a lot of complicated tech in it, but atleast it will survive a hit

[@TheWarriorLP16]

We always had a complicated relationship with our military 🇩🇪 Today in Ukraine, we see that me have to help, but I see a lot of frustration in my country. There were a lot of tries to modernise our security infrastructure. The European Defence Union (1954) is an an example (which France sadly didn't want). Then, the Eurofighter (where France again did it's own thing). Then, a sudden reduction of the army size after the cold war and thinking that you're surrounded by friends (resulting in the suspension of conscription) and a sudden need to rethink security after 9/11 and Crimea/Ukraine. In addition, we have a lot of statements over the years criticising Germany's "dominantion" in Europe and now everybody begs us to adapt a leading role. It's just confusing and frankly, we don't know what the international community wants us to do

[@danvau713]

I absolutely understand, I'm an American but I absolutely do not fault Germany or it's leaders. Germany downsizes its military and instead of applauding this everyone condemns it. But once Germany starts expanding it's military everyone is going to bring up the past. England and France will once again start colluding behind closed doors and Russia will continue to dominate eastern Europe, something the western powers care little about but will condemn Germany should it fully re-arm and stop Russian aggression. The UK, and the USA live very isolated lives where they have the luxury of not having powerful neighbors who could threaten their sovereignty. France due to its geography will always be opposed to a strong or even economically successful Germany. The Germans just want to tend to their own affairs but can't due to everyone outside Germany.

[@alexanderqwarfordt2037]

I think at this point in time in modern Europe, most Europeans would like for Britain, but especially France and Germany being powerful. We Europeans need to be able to defend Europe and our interests without America or 100 billion dollars worth of their weaponry whenever a new conflict brews up. We need to be a independent and capable continent, and not a pushover one with China, Russia and America having massive leverage over our politics. 2% of GDP to defense would be a great start and its a shame most of our nations have chosen to abandon any thought of a capable military.

[@morty844]

As Angela was saying, we should take our defense in our hands. Then take a bigger leadership role. And most important, reshape our partnership with the US. And set up a more productive alliance with out europeans partners. The current war in Ukraine may influence some EU countries to take a bolt posture. Germany has therefore the necessity to take her responsability and act accordingly.

[@balabanasireti]

@@morty844 She said that while being on of the many reasons for Germany's present problems

[@morty844]

@@balabanasireti i don't go against your statement and I even agree with it. I guess we should be braver and work on our society problems. We came up with inovations in various sectors of society in the past. We should renew with this approach. And empower other to do the same. But being candite is neither an option.

[@dogs507]

Germany expanding its army in 1941 : Hell no! Germany expanding its army in the 2000s: Hell yeah!

[@averagejoe8358]

Can you do a video on the Beagle Conflict? Chile and Argentina relations were really tense, the Chileans also helped the UK with valuable info during the Falklands War. Also mention the failed invasion of Chile, which technically only lasted a few hours.

[@lexelimus]

My father was there, it would be great to see a video about it on this channel

[@LuisFelipe-cz7uw]

Take advantage and have it done about the cenepa or paquisha war.

[@kaltenstein7718]

My Grandfather was a Bundeswehr officer tasked with liquidating east German military bases and depots. He said most of the vehicles were almost unused while at the same time in absoluetly desolate condition. He said the fears of west Germany to be overrun by the east would never have come true, as most of the trucks, cars and tanks broke down the moment they were pulled out of the depot to be scrapped.

[@Foxrich99]

Oh please, the NVA would have crushed the BW in hours

[@thunderbird1921]

Thing is though, no one knew until then. Better to be safe than sorry.

[@Reichsritter]

The NVA in the 80s would have been a massive force

[@shwethang4347]

@@Foxrich99 with broken gear? yea no

[@untruelie2640]

My father did his mandatory military service in the NVA in the 80s. He told me that the soldiers's biggest concern was to smuggle alcohol into their barracks and to make the officers look stupid. Basically, half of the army was always drunk. And the NVA was one of the better armies in the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet Army was said to be even worse.

[@armedmage]

I'd love to see you do a similar video on the resurgence of the modern Japanese military.

[@conserva-chan2735]

Germany needs to copy them to a T because they really have it together over there.

[@sr7129]

“This carrier is actually a destroyer for self defense”

[@borismuller86]

In Japan you hear politicians drive around with loudspeakers complaining about how weak the JSDF is. Not sure that happens in Germany.

[@FlagAnthem]

time for some armed kawaii schoolgirl spam

[@conserva-chan2735]

@@FlagAnthem based and women get the draft too pilled

[@acceptablecasualty5319]

Small addition on the G36: It was generally well-liked, with the main drawback being the large stock of factory issue sights infamous for their inadequacy compared to modern optics. The test environment and protocol were anything but proper, and it's suspected by some, including myself, that the test was deliberately skewed towards failure in order to get a political incentive to allow for the replacement of the liked, but ageing G36. Probably didn't hurt that HK stands to profit.

[@alexofgaming]

As a German, I can say I am happy to see a video about my country’s military, although it isn’t the best.. but I also like the new update of the background. The videos keep getting better, great job!

[@magnagermania9311]

Dont vote the greens, dont vote the SPD. Simple as that. Everybody in germany 2021 was like"We want to safe the enviroment, we need to be accepting and hold hands and dance in the fields". Now we have the most incompetant ruling parties in a long time, if not of all times. "B-but id never vote the Afd i heard a friends saw a man that heard a man talk to another woman that says they are evil 🤓".

[@lo4010]

@@magnagermania9311 Okay boomer

[@Schwachsinnn]

@@magnagermania9311 Because voting the CDU (or generally conservative) has helped in all the decades before :'D? The greens are actually making sure that we have a bigger military than any conservative party since the unification ever did. AFD on the other hand comes with its own set of problems. For example the moment Russia attacks Ukraine they are suddenly against military and completely pacifist. Funny.

[@magnagermania9311]

@@Schwachsinnn I am not supporting the CDU (quite incompetant and outdated ideas, bunch of old people) nor am I saying that voting liberal is bad generally. But in the last decades germany has been way too liberal and that's coming back to bite the nation now. And the greens are not making sure that the military's size is increased, they are breaking their promises (as usual) by randomely sending equipment that the Bundeswehr doesnt have enough of to ukraine, their useless politicians doing what they want; "No matter what my german voters think", and in the end they are not accomplishing anything.The 100€ billion are closer to 85€ billion by now, it's WAY too little money to bring the Bundeswehr up to standart, even less make it europes strongest. The promised 2% expenditure of the GDP for defense will likely not be reached, procurement of new equipment will drown in the giant mountains of bureaucracy that plagues the armed forces, the only thing the Ampel coalition is good at is making false promises. Say what you want about the Afd but at least their objective is the will and safety of the german people. Baerbock, Scholz and (luckily former) minister of defense Lamprecht are just a few examples of the uselessness of the Ampel-coalition. And as for the more conservative past of german politics, crime rates were lower, our military was more effective and people consider life to have been better. The main reason why people are afraid to vote conservative and instead let us slide deeper into the bs is because "b-but the n*zis were also right wing 🥺". PS.: The Afd has always been against foreign deployments, interventions in american wars. There has always been a call to strenghten our defenses but for self defense only. So no, the Afd has always been pacifist. Right wing doesnt mean militaristic or imperialistic. The "peace loving pacifist" leftists, like the greens are the ones to suddenly jump on the war train, fueling the conflict any chance given while in their election campains they called for "no more german arms exports and peace". Hypocrites.

[@magnagermania9311]

@@lo4010 Im probably younger than you 😂

[@SanderDoesThings]

I'm actually really liking this new type of video, a simple but important recap of modern military strength and challenges

[@georgecoates7694]

The production quality is 10000x better than it used to be, love it

[@LT.KiraHertling1701]

Germany's modern military leaves much to be desired for a country with such a military record.

[@embreis2257]

even worse if you consider they are spending in excess of €50bn every year on a military which has nothing to show for it. other countries would be able to field an impressive army with this amount of money yet the Germans are empty-handed

[@atrocital]

@@embreis2257 That is because they invest this money in darkrooms for Mr. Biefang.

[@conserva-chan2735]

And the fact that they have both Eastern and western doctrines and equipment inherited from the Cold war. It really reflects german decline better than anything.

[@borismuller86]

@@embreis2257that’s the point. It’s a ROI issue.

[@josephback-upaccount6116]

It is the US's bitch now.

[@J_ST_N]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the amount of dedication put into the art

[@malafunkshun8086]

One of the things I am interested to see, not only in Germany but also in countries like Japan and South Korea, is how these governments manage the balance between funding their militaries and funding domestic programs (social security, health care, education, etc.). Militaries are expensive. And money does not grow on trees. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. Aloha 🇩🇪🤙🏼

[@jackgeddesmedia]

Is seriously no one else freaking out about the production quality of this video?? Like, Griffen is literally THE Armchair Historian now. I'm loving the work, guys. You've done a great job making a history channel with the best production quality I've seen on this part of KZbin!

[@canadianmmaguy7511]

Let's freak out

[@chiapets2594]

No

[@svenrio8521]

The intro was so clean

[@Azmodaeus49]

Love the historic vibe you've got going (even in modern times)

[@Darkside-yz7dn]

Yes sir

[@countofsif]

Great video, but some short side notes: 1. Germany did not use the "Flecktarn" camouflage until the 70s, due to its similarity to uniforms being used by the Waffen-SS 2. Conscription time was at 9 months for quite a long time, so it was not reduced from 18 to 6, but in steps over time (was one of the last 9mth-conscripts myself 😉) 3. Might be worth noting, that until recently, the BW was still in its transition from training around Cold War scenarios to more targeted training towards global deployment. 4. G36's issues were mainly something the media was talking about, rather than something the army was complaining about. Hence, the new rifle is more introduced because of overall modernization, rather than the mentioned issues. For example, it comes with the same (5.56) caliber as the G36, which means it won't have a dramatically better force on the target or range. But 5.56 is the go-to standard for modern armies. 5. After watching your video about the strength of Wehrmacht's infantry, I would have hoped you pick the independence of group amd platoon leaders up once again, because I think this is a major strength of the BW up to this day when it comes to long amd heavy battles.

[@alessandrobueno8123]

Interesting video. I would love to see this type of content turned in a potential series of the channel. As a an Italian I would like to see Griffin converting the modern Italian army , especially after the cold war ended. Again, amazing video!

[@TeeC5508]

That new intro animation is amazing. Well done Armchair Historian team

[@MTTT1234]

A really well done video once more from you. Just a tiiiiiiiny, but funny mistake you did in the animation at 17:31 . You wrote 'Wir bienen Deutschland' , instead of 'Wir dienen Deutschland' . Funnily enough, the Germany word Bienen means 'bees'.

[@TWE_2000]

Starting to think the reason Russia thought they could take Kiev in 3 days is because they were accidentally looking at the German military

[@gs7828]

Or the Ukrainian military from 2014.

[@wederMaxim]

Можно пожалуйста официальные заявления про «Киев за три дня» ? Я таких не слышал.

[@TWE_2000]

@@wederMaxim Sure, go ahead and ask the captured Rosgvardia's OMON and SOBRE riot police who were sent to Kiev as if they were still in Russia. There is absolutely no reason to send them into a warzone unless you thought there wasn't gonna be war and it would be all over in 3 days like Crimea

[@kostiantynmushket3457]

@@wederMaxim kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z32nlJ-Xf9yesJo&ab_channel=Obozrevatel

[@Man_0f_Trenches]

Russia actually thought that it was going to take about 12 days. The U.S thought that it was going to be 3 days because they assumed that Russia was near peer to them.

[@NathanieI87]

Former German soldier here (2008-2021) The conscription time was shortened from 18,12 to 9 months and eventually to 6 :)

[@walterloehrmann5213]

That is true. I did 9+3 about 20 years ago.

[@ContendCreators]

Japan military.

[@civerone]

I did 15 months

[@brianNJwatson]

As an American veteran and one who has spent significant time in Germany, I hope Germans will embrace a stronger Security role in Europe and the world. It is one of a handful of countries in the world that have both the capability and trust to do it.

[@greyfox9224]

Would be nice. But our politicians are incompetent leftist ideologues living in a fantasy world.

[@Alek.fi06]

For example, Finland bought much of the old equipment of the East-German army, one officer said quite well, "After the purchase the finnish soldier could finally raise his head" (rough translation).

[@russkayaimperiya4918]

The Finnish Army has always been well-armed and prepared, we learned this better then anyone lol

[@The_Republic_of_Ireland]

Germany: *cooperating with Poland, Czech, Norway* Me: I've seen this one before, this is a classic!

[@Real_MrDev]

Now we need the French, British, Italian and Polish versions!

[@dylanlowers5236]

Immediately after reunification some East German units that went to the Bundeswher kept some of their equipment. There’s a few photos of guys in the West German moleskin uniforms and helmets but with NVA web gear, AKs, and AK bayonets. Iirc the bayonets were kept in circulation into the 2000s, because a knife is a knife. There were also a few pics ive seen of BTRs and BMPs with the Iron Cross on them. I know as of just a few years ago Germany still had a few Mig-29s in service

[@GroundhogOZ]

The Migs were sold to poland in 2003 and only one remains in a museum - so maybe a bit more than "a few years ago" ;)

[@dylanlowers5236]

@@GroundhogOZ Ok I recant that one, thought they kept them a bit longer

[@PfannkuchenKuchen]

Yes the East German Bayonet was actually issued to some Recruits right up to 2019, I was issued with one in 2009 and my Brother was given his in 2018. I was instructed to Trade it for the KM2000 after Jump school, but I „Lost“ it and was still given the KM2000

[@SimplyDuker]

Always love your usage of "Spider-men pointing at each other" meme. Keep it up.

[@forestllwong4789]

This new intro looks fantastic, I like it. Continue the good work!

[@ContendCreators]

Japan military.

[@doltsbane]

It would be interesting if some military KZbin channel would do a video about how surplus military hardware changes hands between countries. How exactly would, say the Philippines, find out that the US Coast Guard has a bunch of old cutters they're looking to unload, is their some kind of international Craigslist for old warships?

[@HistoryNerd8765]

That would be absolutely fascinating.

[@borismuller86]

That seems like it would require a huge amount of research which might sometimes stray close to state secrets?

[@leonardobroza6298]

Probably there is someone responsible for checking each of the main militaries power "former equipment" section on their respective Wikipedia article.

[@teresabenson3385]

Perun would be perfect for that. Check out his channel and put in a request!

[@kleinerprinz99]

They all meet in Munich once a year. And I guess there are many other such events and conventions. Back channels etc.

[@francesco8000]

In defense of people that ignored the army i think it's impossible to ignore history. Over the last decade every time germany did something there were people that said "Germany wants to take over Europe again" and even during Brexit you had some assholes saying "we didn't defeat the nazi to be ruled by a german". So while i'm sure that there was a lot of incompetence (and right now some extreme selfishness in refusing to help Ukraine) i think we can all agree that in any other situation a lot of people would have gone insane at the news "Germany is increasing its military spending".

[@MrARock001]

Love the new opening. You missed a golden opportunity for the classic "Oh, hello! I didn't see you there!"

[@AmirionTOP]

As a German, I can only agree. Everything that was built was thrown overboard again after less than 20 years, just so that Germany doesn't look so aggressive. As a German, I can't be proud that we own an arm that would probably lose even to Liechtenstein.

[@steinmayer2791]

Wollen wir mal nicht übertreiben mit Liechtenstein, aber ja ich hoffe es ändert sich bald.

[@mrxcman9272]

Some have said the accuracy issues with the G36 are actually a result of limitations with its outdated integral optics instead of overheating related issues. But HK doesn't care. They got a nice juicey military contract out of the whole situation.

[@russkayaimperiya4918]

Afghanistan will make any rifle heated, some rifles will resist it better then others. The G36 has real structural problems for the start btw, corruption and money goes far. Granted all military-systems have problems in the start, the F-35 and even America’s top-tank were very expensive and had problems but eventually they turned to be revolutionary

[@ContendCreators]

Japan military.

[@judelarkin2883]

Those animations keep getting better! Nicely done.

[@prussianarmy0879]

As a German I'm impressed by his pronunciation

[@FB-cy6jz]

geht so

[@JulezWinnfield]

Ja wohl!

[@derechtepurkus]

naja.. immerhin versucht xD

[@borismuller86]

Ich bin Schweizer aber ich fand es auch sehr sachkundig von einem Amerikaner.

[@Belisarius1648]

Hallo von amerika!

[@michaelflores2509]

I always watch your history videos more than other youtubers. Because your voice is so calm and gentle to listen to. Not too loud and not too low either

[@marcelthevirginian1656]

Thanks for covering this topic. I feel like there isn't a whole lot of English language stuff about the modern German military, except for the vids by DW. And when the Bundeswehr is covered, it's just bits and pieces, rarely wholistically or in-depth.

[@Atlastheyote222]

I’ve worked with some German military personal before (not in the military, but I work in defence). Such awesome people, very honest, very dependable.

[@alexyooo1221]

This is an interesting and relevant video. It would be useful to continue with this type and describe perhaps some of the other nations' modern militaries.

[@mire2801]

Very enlightening video! Thank you. The last few minutes adds another reason why Chancellor Scholz (" no, yes, maybe, no") is so reluctant to send arms to Ukraine (among other reasons).

[@timt7611]

That's about the most flattering caricature of Mr Sholz I've ever seen

[@ashman8891]

Please do videos on either: 1) The Burma campaign 2) The Kokoda Trail campaign 3) Battles of Imphal and Kohima

[@ContendCreators]

Japan military.

[@Sebastian-pz7yz]

One small remark for around 10:40: The conscription was fist at 12 months, then extended to 18 months in the 1960s and since 2002 reduced to 9 months. In October 2010 they reduced it further to only 6 months. I was one of the last doing the 9 months, as I joined the Bundeswehr January 2010

[@docj9173]

Love the new setup, now you actualy have an armchair. And is also refreshing.

[@teoefthimiou7016]

This was very informative and interesting especially when it would usually be quite hard to find information like this . This is true for all of your videos , keep up the good work! Ps. Can you make a video like this for Greece? (my country)

[@chheinrich8486]

the crazy thing is, before ukraine, germany had a similar military budget to france yet france did so much more with their budget, like maintaining multiple nuclear submarines, a nuclear aircraft carrier and 300 nuclear warheads, not to mention a similar number of tanks, aircraft etc

[@The_Corporal]

I am a Turk and I strongly support Germany to strengthen its army. My great grandfathers were with their German friends in the Great War. Greetings from Turkiye to the Germans and Vaterland!

[@bluebutton36]

Great video and loving the art style. Just one thing bugged me a bit: The drawing of Scholz made him look way to intimidating when he announced that 100mil package. He actually looks like a very timid person :D

[@derkapitan6680]

german politicians never really thought that a war could occur in Germany again so maintaining the Bundeswehr was never a serious topic. Defense ministers just came into office, demanded like. usual more money and used the position as springboard for higher positions. One minister even wanted the tanks to be build, so that pregnant women could work inside, of course nobody would ever consider to send pregnant women to the front. The Bundeswehr was in some parts merely seen as a way to spent money and to put people to work but without a real purpose (except for the foreign deployments and making the americans happy). As a kid, i even had to debate if germany even needs an army, if we're "surrounded by friends anyway". And now it backfired horribly but i don't think that the ones in charge have really changed their mind. I think they're just putting more money in without real reforms, because the voter wants to see a strong army currently. But without those reforms the money is wasted

[@derkapitan6680]

by the way: The make-the-tanks-pregnant-friendly-minister is now the head of the EU. Yay

[@trafalgarlaw7109]

Thanks for sharing that with us Harald Krull

[@Jim-fi4dc]

@@derkapitan6680 The EU is a cult and not to be taken seriously. Its a joke.

[@laisphinto6372]

Flinten-Uschi?

[@chinguunerdenebadrakh7022]

@@derkapitan6680 tbf, a tank ergonomic for pregnant woman is good for a fit soldier too.

[@soidz4569]

Would love to see you do a video on the Finnish military, Puolustusvoimat.

[@solocamo3654]

Artwork is on point as always. Great video, thanks.

[@CadeVonWilkens3117]

9:13 I understood that reference :) Another great video.

[@chrisk5437]

As a USAF guy I can tell you that Germans are top notch soldiers and aviators. Great folks all around.

[@russkayaimperiya4918]

Sadly being top-notch doesn’t matter if your rifles and planes won’t work.

[@russkayaimperiya4918]

@Wilhelm Eley The German Army is not ready for war, not even a small-scale operation. That is factual, if Poland were to invade Germany today they wouldn’t stand a chance. They would collapse.

[@russkayaimperiya4918]

@Wilhelm Eley None of that matters, the German Government and the German people are not prepared to defend themselves or their friends. It’s the same weakness the Weimar Republic faced, unless you’ve forgotten all about that and blindly follow the thought that Germany is ready. 😂

[@russkayaimperiya4918]

@Wilhelm Eley Well no, we wouldn’t because of NATO. Without daddy America and best friend France Germany would be a streamrolled like France in WWII.

[@kevindelgado4694]

Finally a chair with arms, I can rest now

[@lambdaspecialist_source]

The flectarn camouflage is great. I'd say that it is the best one. And also, everyone sees Bundeswehr as this extremely strong army, but as you learn in the video it is not as great.

[@harmeshkumar3315]

Legend says hitler is still waiting for Steiner's counterattack

[@thelad9434]

@@gewerh9872 I hate to be that guy but, its *Scheiße*

[@The_Borisaurus]

Love the summation of military history, as well as relevance to modern day! More like this please! Let's see Poland/Finland/Baltics!

[@zamanthafensterscheibe3601]

The special fund is not meant as an addition to the 2% mark, but rather as means to meet the 2% mark. So it's not an annual 70+ billion ontop of the fund, but rather 70+ billion because of the fund.

[@Zantides]

German troops came to arctic training in Norway without winter gear.

[@crazydinosaur8945]

they're just following old traditions

[@bigtittie7295]

Kinda crazy how well the germans fought in ww2 winters considering they were freezing to death without food and low ammunition most the time

[@auferor3210]

Amazing video! I would love to see the same thing with the British Army as the UK military just became the 5th strongest military!

[@johnpaul3099]

Who's fourth?

[@auferor3210]

@@johnpaul3099 4th: India 3rd: China 2nd: Russia 1st: USA

[@johnpaul3099]

@@auferor3210 Japan is superior to Britain

[@thunderbird1921]

Where does South Korea currently rank? I know they plan to build a full aircraft carrier for their navy and build their own stealth fighter to complement their American-made F-35s. I HAVE to imagine they're in the Top 8, even before those are introduced.

[@auferor3210]

@@thunderbird1921 You can check every detail on globalfirepower but South Korea is the 6th strongest military power as of now!

[@RandomGuy9]

I am a German soldier and I'm glad it's finally going in the right direction. About the minor issues on vehicles: Once our IFV was unfit for service because we destroyed a turning light and it is obligatory to drive on German roads.

[@ContendCreators]

Japan military.

[@kingace6186]

I like how this episode of The Armchair Historian began. Kudos to the animators.

[@krumuvecis]

the ad?

[@southyyy]

A video on the British armed forces and their strategy (lower personnel numbers, emphasis on technology and small groups of troops) would be really interesting! Maybe something on France too?

[@bigredwolf6]

And they’re not afraid to train their troops to choose violence. Meanwhile in the US….. I don’t think I need to spell it out.

[@hjalberg8869]

Hello the armchair team! I would just like to say that a video about the troubles in Ireland would be a great video idea. That’s just what I think but I hope you take it under consideration!

[@va_sirberpasir9708]

German inspector: ''found 1mm scratch on tank'' UNFIT FOR PURPOSE

[@laisphinto6372]

there is that snd German arms dealers sell their stuff to anyone that isnt the german government that have so many regulations and dont give money that any other nation is better equipped in German military Hardware than Germany

[@robertbretschneider765]

Very accurate video! Greetings from germany, even as someone with a little interest in this issue ive learned new stuff today.

[@ContendCreators]

Japan military.

[@Eddneton94]

best we can do is a truckload of broken equipment and soldiers that never fired a gun in anger

[@PolskiHusar117]

4:09 I'm surprised that with such a large military, they didn't just say "third time's a charm" at that point.

[@charles_0017]

The Wehrmacht really revolutionized war, if you look carefully a lot of militaries around the world today still take inspiration from the Wehrmacht, from the weapons to their tactics. From deadlocked stalemates in the trenches they transformed the battlefield into mobile warfare with support from tanks, the air force, and the navy all working together, setting the basis for modern warfare today.

[@russkayaimperiya4918]

It wasn’t just the Germans, but i get what you mean. They did dominate the battlefield for a while, until they did you know what.

[@TR-cr2xj]

Hello armchair, time for another great video you have blessed us with!

[@conserva-chan2735]

I would love a vid on the Soviet-Afghan War soooo much.

[@iGamezRo]

With Germany out of the way a video dedicated on the Modern Armed Forces of the former Warsaw Pact member states would be cool. And another one on the Armies of the Yugoslav Wars.

[@LegendOfTheOld]

My father was in the Bundeswehr for over 13 years, last ranked an Oberfeldwebel, which is the highest ranked NCO. The reunification also cost him and his colleagues their career since their job was mainly monitoring the air activities in the GDR, turned out there wasn't much demand anymore.

[@anundundian]

The quality of this channel is amazing

[@swedishfish2357]

When youtube auto subtitles wrote "bone despair" instead of Bundeswehr I felt that

[@Goowehr_43]

Germany's got the same problem we have here in Canada, only minus the fact that we've never had the problem of keeping equipment serviceable and running even if its getting long in the tooth. However trying to get new equipment to replace older stuff or trying to plug gaps in capabilities such as ground based air defence is frustratingly slow. Even small relatively inexpensive upgrades such as body armor (I swear we are one of the only NATO states that doesn't have integrated body armor and web equipment, still using 1999 body armor and a separate carrying rig) and not fully upgrading to full rifle picatinny rails like the US, either have no desire to do or still takes 10 plus years. There is stuff the army has been asking for now for 10 plus years, are told no, but they won't hesitate to buy it for Ukraine or giving equipment we need to them with little plan to replace them.

[@russkayaimperiya4918]

Canada doesn’t need a big or decent military, it has a big brother for that task. The yanks, they would protect you even if your government hated America like Iran because it’s in their interests to do so and because America has wanted to keep a monopoly upon the Americas for centuries ever since the Manroe doctrine.

[@walterloehrmann5213]

Canada isn't really at risk of being invaded by anyone.

[@simonb6982]

9:15 Overheating issues are more of a myth. 13:15 NAILED IT

[@TheLocalLt]

This is basically Perun’s video repackaged for a general audience, which to be honest does serve a very useful purpose in making this info mainstream, so I don’t think that’s an issue. Though you do probably want to make sure your next video doesn’t feature “Pvt. Conscriptovich” or “Gen. Oligarchov” haha

[@Yugdax]

The production quality of your videos never ceases to amaze me. Definitely the best historical content on KZbin!

[@pharthasa]

He seems like he would be that one teacher thats always fun

[@GaganXT]

WW2 ends. after 80 years Germany doubled its military budget . Poland- 🗿

[@williammaloney2110]

I like where you guys are headed with the masterpiece theater intro. I would suggest a bigger chair that has a bigger back and a deeper seat, so he looks a little more relaxed while sitting.

[@MrAnt2004]

I'm so glad this video came up on my suggestions. This video was awesome

[@kongomongo2]

I'm no military expert, but from a German perspective the video was a bit underwhelming. The story is well summarised, but important details are missing. - East German officers were dismissed because 1. the NVA had almost only officers and non-commissioned officers and would have built up enlisted men from militia and conscripts. 2. NVA officers had to be communists loyal to the party. - The G36 was procured for NATO use in European weather with NATO standard ammunition and sometimes performs so badly because of this. It was already known at the time that it had disadvantages compared to the G3. But it had many novel features such as lightweight construction, left-handed operability and visible magazines. - The Bundeswehr is seen as a parliamentary army and is therefore unfortunately highly politicised, which led to many problems when one had to decide how to master the unification of the BW and the NVA and at the same time steer the task profile away from the Cold War. A lot of money is lost for political prestige projects. Financially, the Bundeswehr is on a par with the French or British army, it just handles it worse. At least that's what I've heard from people I know in the service. Maybe that's asking too much, but I would have expected more context from a historian. Nevertheless, a very very nice video. Thank you very much.

[@alterego480]

Ive been waiting for this, keep it up this is exactly why i watch

[@maxiona714]

"Gentlemen, you have fought like lions and have been led by donkeys." - Erwin Rommel Damn, Rommel was predicting the future.

[@ommsterlitz1805]

Emperor Napoleon : "An army of lions commanded by a deer will never be an army of lions."

[@maxiona714]

@@ommsterlitz1805 the German government is more like a rabbit avoiding absolutely everything and not making a move unless the USA agrees with them. We are basically an American puppet at this point.

[@ommsterlitz1805]

@@maxiona714 Well France said it was time Europe became there own Superpower and become the third world influence, the wish of De Gaulle, between China and USA no one listened in the EU, and it was including Russia. Now Russia is pushed into China arms witch is truly the worst thing that could have happened for Europe, because again sorry for the Ukrainians but we have no business interfering there we gain nothing from it except the USA and UK that own all compagnies that exploit gas fields and oil fields in Ukraine especially around Crimea, but where are EU interest in this ??? To get in a permanent state of proxy war with Russia is really something we should have avoided...

[@maxiona714]

@@ommsterlitz1805 for real.

[@thelad9434]

​@@ommsterlitz1805 Pretty sure that's not how the quote went...

[@geibenbedivan3433]

Very well done! amazing, how you focussed on the really important facts and made correct connections. This from a former Major from the Bundeswehr.

[@TheLH86]

Griffin I thought you'd be more diligent in your research. The G36 might have been dropped to an alleged overheating issue, but as has been explained below by others, that was a fault created by a political decision to save money, which gave rise to a complaint that actually has almost zero basis in reality, based on later testing. The fact that nations with comparably hot if not hotter weather used and still use that weapon platform with no issues should tell you everything you need to know about the spurious complaint.

[@void-creature]

As Germans, the actions of our armed forces from 1938-1945 are a great source of shame. The state of our armed forces nowadays is a great source of embarrassment.

[@toastbuster9050]

It's incredible how a Nation like Germany with its educated population, industrial capacity and wealth would allow their military structure to be so ineffective.

[@KRSHW91]

Would love a series like this on modern militaries! Australia would be interesting

[@DrTrax1887]

Na Bro, they lost a war against emu’s

[@DiabeetoGaming]

Listen mate, I come for Armchair history, and after 2 years I still haven’t learned the Armchair lore. I would totally be willing to wait, if you would at least give us a date at which you will release the Armchair History video.