History Abridged: The Axis

[@daevious_]

Don't forget Spain, which had a fascist government but refused to join the Axis because: a) They didn't like Hitler siding with the Japanese, who went on to genocide several Spanish people living in the Phillippines. b) They were too busy holding together a Spain that had just gone through an incredibly destructive, convoluted civil war. and c) They had the actual patience to wait and see if the war was worth supporting.

[@Mrkabrat]

If I recall correctly, franco's regime went from supporting the axis, to non-beligerant (but still much on the axis side), to neutral as the war turned against them. This caused spain to not be included in the Marshall Plan, to be ostrazised by most of europe and thus only beong able to trade with saudi arabia and argentina (both with totalitarian goverments), and *only* after he allowed the US to build military bases in the country to threaten the USSR (bases that still remain active, mind you) were they allowed to trade with other european countries.

[@joendeo1890]

​@@Mrkabratand even then I think Franco did it mostly because he feared the communists that much. A big policy of Franco was Autarky (internal self reliance for industry).

[@Mrkabrat]

@@joendeo1890 Don't think spain was in any position for autarky; a country ruined by a civil war, the gold reserves having been sent away (if rumours are to be believed), and POWs (mostly spanish citizens on the losing side or those demeaned "enemies") used as slave labour. Its baffling how some people adore that pint sized jackass and how the franco fundation was permited to be legal for years in a democratic europe

[@kingofcards9]

Thanks Franco.

[@jonathanwebster7091]

@@daevious_ while Franco *was* (far-) right and an ultra-nationalist authoritarian dictator, his regime wasn't exactly 'fascist' in the same way Fascist Italy was, and neither-uniformly- were the Nationalists that supported him during the Spanish Civil War. *Some* were, absolutely, but there were as many who were simply traditionalist right-wing Catholics and monarchists of varying types. Franco himself was much more a traditionalist catholic nationalist and monarchist than a straight-up fascist a la Mussolini. Which is why he shipped most of the ultra-fascist (the Falangists) members of the Spanish Army off to fight on the Eastern Front, and he later merged those that didn't freeze to death fighting the Soviets into his own political party (the FETS Les JONS). That's also why he nominated the future Juan Carlos I as his heir and declared Spain officially a monarchy in 1947 (skipping Juan Carlo's father, who was a liberal, and after he had purged the regime of the more 'fascist' elements), because he wanted Juan Carlos I to rule as an near-absolute monarch, and Juan Carlos had made out that he was supportive of the Francoist regime and its continuation. Turns out Juan Carlos was just playing Franco, and he swiftly turned Spain into a democracy and constitutional monarchy when Franco's body wasn't even cold yet.

[@TheOsis181]

Finland often gets forgotten >Germany sells out Finland with Molotov-Ribbentrop pact >Finland gives Soviet a bloody nose and lunch money >Germany sees this and allies itself with Finland against Soviets in the hopes of an easy blitz >Finland gives a noncommittal sure whatever bro if we get our pennies back >Barbarossa >Finland cuts a deal with Soviets to betray Germans in exchange of peace and no occupation >Finland kicks Germans out of Finland >Sits quietly in the corner for the rest of the war and the peace negotiations hoping to be forgotten >Was mostly forgotten >Had to give more lunch money to the Soviets >Remained a democracy

[@DBZHGWgamer]

Finland kinda got forced into it. USSR invaded, and if they didn't tacitly agree to some minimal cooperation of the NAZIs they risked being invaded by Germany too.

[@tisFrancesfault]

Britain upon having to formally declare war on Finland: Sorry old chaps, appearances and all that. Don't worry, wont do anything.

[@EagleKai]

I mean, if you look back just a couple years prior, the Soviets invaded Finland in the Winter War, and Finland received support from France, Britain, Italy, Sweden, and America. There were even plans from France and Britain to intervene in the war. Then the Winter War ended, and a year later Germany invades the Soviets. Three days later, the Soviets declared a new war against Finland, and Finland found that their former friends were either gone or sided with the Soviets, so the only place they could really turn to was Germany.

[@Art-ey7xj]

Don't forget Finland also contributed to Leningrad blockade, one of the most brutal in history

[@Freekymoho]

succesful manoeuvre as far as im concerned

[@niku_alt4201]

"He did WHAT!" - the entire history of the Axis summarized

[@masterplokoon8803]

@@niku_alt4201 "Hold my beer! We are invading Russia!"

[@kate2create738]

It’s actually quite amazing the stupidity of each of these leaders, every time you’d think one made an error of judgment, the next country makes a huge blunder that affects their pact. Even the Soviets can’t escape from this stupidity.

[@JayJay-the-craycray]

​@@kate2create738I really thought they were smart for a while 😅

[@DiamondKingStudios]

Germany: “We’ll all win as long as no one upsets the United States. We here made that mistake back in the Great War and it won’t happen again.” Japan: “Question-“

[@masterplokoon8803]

@@DiamondKingStudios "HOLD MY SECOND BEER! WE'RE GOING TO WAR WITH AMERICA!"- moustache man

[@QwertiusMaximus]

Germany, Italy, Japan: "We have a deal." Also Germany, Italy, Japan: "I am altering the deal, pray I don't alter it any further." Again Germany, Italy, Japan: "This deal is getting worse all the time!"

[@davidbuckley2435]

Germany to Italy, circa 1943: "From now on, you shall wear these clown shoes and ride a unicycle"

[@DigitalLife3000]

When everyone wants to be Darth Vader, no one is 🤣🤣

[@christopherg2347]

@@DigitalLife3000 "Be careful not to choke on your aspirations."

[@thomasedwardharrison2879]

The allies: well done you pissed off like every country in the world and they all want you dead.

[@peika8324]

So their worse enemy is actually themselves, man why didn’t my education told me about all this little details haha

[@Dragoran5836]

President of Finland, Risto Ryti made a promise to Hitler that as long as he was in power Finland would stay Reich’s friend. When natzi started to lose, he stepped down and gave presidency for Mannerheim who made peace with USSR and West.

[@CollinMcLean]

That is some finnish folktale deal making right there.

[@ThatOliveMrT]

Gotta do what you gotta to survive. Finland has a rough history because of it's neighbors in this timeframe

[@nitesy381]

Accountability, the power of true democracy

[@chasemcnab7610]

Democratic exploits at their best

[@jweb7289]

Finland’s involvement wasn’t so much out of any love for Nazi Germany and more a desire to stick it to Russia.

[@enoughothis]

As much of an unorganized mess as the Allied war effort was at times, the Axis was far worse.

[@Stevie-J]

Americans and Brits were very integrated. Soviets mostly did their own thing while receiving massive materiel deliveries from the USA. Postwar Soviets pretended they didn't beg the USA for supplies and Americans pretended they weren't vital to the success of the communists

[@enoughothis]

@@Stevie-J, The Americans and Brits were integrated by the end of the war but not at the beginning. That took a lot of effort, blood, sweat and tears to hash out. Eisenhower's genius was as a diplomat to keep such strong personalities working together.

[@avishalom2000lm]

@@enoughothis Also, by the time WW 2 was ramping up it was clear that the US was top dog among the Allies and could dictate the terms of what direction the war was going, and how things would be settled afterwards. They were not losing territory or getting their resources seized, their cities bombed or besieged. They had the money and guns to bankroll and arm themselves and anyone they wanted. The Axis powers, it seems, were still in the mentality of "entangling alliances" that led to WW1.

[@tntsummers926]

to be fair, just going by industry alone, and no other factor, for WW2 to be an even fight, the US should've fought the entire rest of the world.

[@IsaiahRichards692]

@@Stevie-JThe Americans gave the Soviets some transport trucks and people act as if America won the war for Stalin! Stalin lost at first due to a gap in technology, slowed the Germans to a crawl due to the freezing winter, industrialized Russia, steamrolled a Germany that was running out of oil and took Berlin using Soviet tanks, planes and rifles! Also, the Soviets did all the fighting in Europe before D-Day!

[@lordMartiya]

Fun fact: most Italian Fascists actually liked France and Britain far more than Germany, and Mussolini would have continued treating Hitler as a clown had the utter political idiocy of the 1936 war with Ethiopia not forced the Italian Fascists to change plans. Even then, Mussolini had to gift Gabriele D'Annunzio with a decommissioned warship to keep in the backyard of his mountain house (I'm not joking, and the warship is still there) to keep him quiet... And in 1940, most of the population still liked France more.

[@StoatedWithTheSauce]

Tell me more about the whole warship thing, shit sounds hilarious.

[@lordMartiya]

@@StoatedWithTheSauce Long story short, D'Annunzio had an immense influenza and Mussolini did everything he could to keep him retired in his mountain villa, but when there was the chance Italy would ally with Germany he wouldn't stay silent... Up until they sent him the protected cruiser Puglia to keep him busy, and he had it reassembled in the backyard aimed to the general direction of Jugoslavia ready to conquer it. D'Annunzio was a gigantic weirdo, to the point you can say anything about him and it would be believable (I'm not sure if the warship was a bribe or a birthday present. Though I know he didn't have two ribs removed to better service himself, the autopsy revealed he still had all of them).

[@mohdauzan6206]

"Immense influenza" 💀💀

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

@@lordMartiya Well, that last part was a mental picture I could have done without! Literally lol.

[@lordMartiya]

@@jed-henrywitkowski6470 Everyone in Italy has to live with It.

[@masterplokoon8803]

"To be united by hate is a fragile alliance at best"- Darth Kreia. Whenever I think of the Axis this quote always comes to mind.

[@GA_Thrawn445]

its a great quote

[@seamusfinnerty5897]

imagine referencing real life history with a star wars quote

[@GA_Thrawn445]

@@seamusfinnerty5897 its still a god damn good quote

[@fuadlabib703]

​@@seamusfinnerty5897 imagine thinking Wait what

[@ryancialone3045]

It worked for the forces united against Napoleon. They got A LOT of things done because they hated him

[@happysadsmile7628]

You forgot to mention other minor axis allies in the video like Bulgaria or Thailand which both later switch sides later in the war.

[@Fruzhin5483]

All minors switched sides, lol.

[@doomdrake123]

Well it's easy to switch sides when you're forced at gunpoint to join in first place.

[@warlordofbritannia]

@@doomdrake123 Romania and Hungary were quite willing, until the Red Army reached the Carpathians.

[@timesnewlogan2032]

And Croatia, where the Ustase were so brutal that several Nazis were disturbed.

[@rebelfriend9006]

For like 4 days Bulgaria was at war with the Germans, Soviets, and western allies.

[@MrWaterlionmonkey]

Fun fact: Japan had good relations with Poland and Ethiopia before the war and were not happy with German and Italian aggression against them. Japan refused to respond to the polish government in exiles declaration of war. Germany also attacked the island of Nauru to destroy British and Australian Phosphate production to harm their agriculture because it made great fertiliser, however Japan was furious because they bought their phospphuus from Nauru. Japan also refused to give over its jews in shanghai to Germany because it did not understand nazi antisemitism. Another fact. When Hitler was trying to court britian it offered the British German military support against Japan in the event of a Japanese British war. Another fun fact, nazi member John Heinrich Detlef Rabe saved hundreds of thousands of Chinese from the genocidal massacres in Nanjing because he, amoung other Germans, did not understand Japanese hatred for the Chinese. Another fact: Japan had been asked much earlier in the war to join and attack Britain but it refused. Later it was asked to attack the soviets, not only did they refuse they kept refusing all the way till the end of the war until the soviets attacked them. Finally: the Indian ocean theatre was the only theatre in the whole war where German and Japanese were both fighting at the same time with ships and subs against the allies. The Germans targeted merchant shipping and the Japanese targeted warships. And in 1943 Japan repeatedly tried to convince Germany to stop attacking the soviets, give them back their territory back and a large piece of the Mediterranean in order to bribe the soviets to join the axis or at the very least so German forces could put more pressure on the west, Germany refused. Japan also attacked Italian troops in China after the Italian surrender.

[@lendasgamer4403]

I've saw more stable relations in toxic reality TV shows.

[@MrWaterlionmonkey]

@@lendasgamer4403 you should read about how much the Japanese army and Navy hated eachother during ww2. That's pretty crazy

[@bickyboo7789]

Thank you. This was very informative and shows just a smidgen the utterly baffling geopolitical and cultural complexities of WW2. What a mindfu*k of a conflict.

[@beelunder8433]

the way you could make them into characters and just make a netflix show about it...

[@MrWaterlionmonkey]

@@beelunder8433 there is an anime Hetalia: Axis Powers where ww2 is retold, but each country is a person, the main character is Italy. It is a comedy series.

[@leolinguini260]

"And to be honest, we kinda just all forgot about Finland" Seems like you forgot Bulgaria too.

[@thedeadlysquidward1641]

And Thailand

[@Emperor_Hirohito_]

And croatia

[@AnakinSkywakka]

who?

[@stevelucky7579]

Italy actually stopping Germany’s first big push is actually surprising because I don’t recall if I have heard that being so impactful before. But it does help explain some things.

[@muksimulmaad7413]

Austria here acting like they didnt start both world wars

[@Archon3960]

One of them, at least. X)

[@Czarwren]

Technically Serbia nationalism started ww1

[@nucleja]

yugoslavian nationalism*​@@Czarwren

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

At that point they are totally neutered and they have no more power to influence European politics unlike before ..

[@dstinnettmusic]

@@Czarwrentechnically the Serbian nationalism only exists and was localized to the Balkans was because the Ottomons. And technically they were just emulating Rome. So no wonder the Gauls resisted Caesar, he was about to start World War I!

[@apiwichteralapsuwan2660]

Thailand out there acting like nothing ever happen

[@vacuousbard6410]

Nah, we did make a romance story about it.

[@DeptalJexus]

Schhhh. don't tell the world we're still in love with Japan till this day.

[@Pyotyr]

​@@vacuousbard6410 LMAO! Is it the movie Sunset at Chaophraya?? 😆

[@rejvaik00]

Thailand is extremely lucky because it is one of 6 countries on the planet that was never colonized The only way nations were not colonized was because they became colonial empires themselves like how Turkey and Japan were or nations were seen as buffer States between two competing colonial empires themselves Thailand found itself in the buffer state category and escaped colonialism but just barely

[@gimmeyourrights8292]

This is why villains don't make good teams. Egos clash, strategies fall to the wayside and everyone is trying to turn against each other.

[@CollinMcLean]

And that's why they always fail in comic books.

[@full-timepog6844]

@@CollinMcLean what the video talked about does sound like something from a comic book 😆

[@OsirisLord]

This is literally happening in real time with the American Fascist Party and they haven't even gotten into power yet.

[@iverkjellkken6569]

One Axis nation you forgot to mention is Siam (Thailand). They joined the axis (japanese umbrella) because they were tired of being kicked around by the colonial powers that bordered them and saw the war as an opportunity to gain back lost territory and get leg up on the world stage. Joining the war was a poor decision, even before the tide started turning. Allied bombing and natural disasters held the country down for much of the duration of the war. Their own military activities were limited, the most notable event was a failed incursion into China. They more famously granted military access for Japan into Burma and India. This is not imply that the nation was united in support of Japan. Violence between the thai and japanese was not unheard of. Resistance movements were widespread. Some were led and organized by member of government. These groups also cooperated heavily with the allies. They never officially surrendered. But did something similar to Finland, Bulgaria and Italy. They knew they couldn't win, so did what they could to make sure they didn't lose.

[@hidefreek6905]

Other reason for us Thai to join force with Japan (not an actual Axis power.) Is to protect ourselves from both the British and the Japanese. The British wanted Thailand as ground zero to stall the Imperial Japanese army for them and as we today know very well how sly and evil Churchill was. And we don't want to be a second Nanking. So, after much consideration and our angry fishermen, policemen and boy scouts engage the short-tempered Japanese...We surrender and join forces with Japan. Then, join with the US. Also, the relationship between Thai and Japanese during that time are very good. The Free Thai and Japanese resistance movements didn't do anything that much accept show off to the Americans that we exist as a legitimate government. Yep, we play two-heads snake. The government was the Japanese best bud while the other was the Allied friend. Either side wins, and we can have a large room for negotiation. During the negotiation. We support the US. So when the greedy British tried to use the aftermath and turn Thailand into its centralized colony in SEAs. The US steps in and said "F*ck *ff, Thai is my bro"

[@nitesy381]

So they were like italy

[@hidefreek6905]

@@nitesy381 Italy of Asia.

[@krism.6598]

Supposedly the US foreign office deliberately ignored Thailand’s declaration of war because they didn’t consider them any kind of threat (also meant afterwards they could keep the old government in charge for the Cold War because it was anti communist)

[@SeanHartnett-t8c]

Apparently the ambassador was supposed to deliver a declaration of war to america after pearl harborm he just forgot.

[@MalikF15]

Man with so many alliance shifts I was thinking I was back in the mid 1700s Austrian succession war

[@CollinMcLean]

I was thinking of the Italian wars.

[@MalikF15]

@@CollinMcLean oh yeah, I forgot didn’t Venice switch sides like four times

[@CollinMcLean]

@@MalikF15 It was mostly the Pope, Julius II aka The Warrior Pope. He formed the League of Cambrai to curb Venetian influence in Northern Italy which while not entirely baseless raises so many questions... Until you look at his wikipedia page and realize Julius was from Genoa.

[@attemptedunkindness3632]

@@CollinMcLean Pretty much this. The Italian Wars showed the world that Italy plays with a deck of only Uno Reverse Cards, you see it in WW1, and though they attempt to modernize before WW2 they still very clearly have a majority reverse cards in their deck.

[@sizanogreen9900]

Ah yes, making fun content out of WW2, truly never gonna get old. They've been doing it for over a hundred years by now.

[@chris1141987]

Not yet a hundred, but decades none the less.

[@Omni_Shambles]

Almost. 🤣

[@Jack-uy7ie]

​@@chris1141987 Crazy to think though in 21 years we will reach 100 years since the last world war.

[@Ayem427]

Eighty years man, not 100 until 2039 at least

[@ender7278]

It hasn't even been a hundred years yet.

[@Danthesane]

“Too strong und powerful to make you angy” lol. Amazing dialogue.

[@akramgimmini8165]

Just the average Groupchat buds hanging out

[@ShadowTigerYT]

I know that the Axis is two VERY different things One is a force for tormenting regular people the other One is the exact same

[@autonomas8083]

L take

[@ShadowTigerYT]

@@autonomas8083 I’m scared of Axis’, like what’s the difference between a XY Axis or a YX Axis (math is confusing me)

[@autonomas8083]

@@ShadowTigerYT 😔

[@Spiderfisch]

​​@@ShadowTigerYTjust wait until you find out about the z axis

[@ShadowTigerYT]

@@Spiderfisch WHAT WHAT HOLD ON WHAT THE HECK

[@jamiemartin1434]

To be fair to Finland it's the only one who really had a melody wise good reason to join these bunch of clowns being invaded by the Soviet Union.They did end up losing territory by the end and it was an example of opportunistic Russia imperialism that they were even in the war at all.

[@aradat9671]

Russains wanted to secure St. Petersburg American British France capitalist imperialism is far worse

[@Warmaker01]

The Finns deserve a pass because when they asked for help, the only substantial aid came from Germany. From the British, US, etc, it was "Thoughts and prayers."

[@health019]

To be fair we wanted to take back Karelia since the soviets had plans to Russify it. Liberation war if you ask me

[@gegecry]

2 things 1: small missinfo italy did strugle immensly against ethiopia taking over a year to win and even then having to fight constant rebelions. 2: fun fact: Germany actually offered poland membership in the anticommintern.

[@Jame5man]

Germany: Were invading Russia The Axis: Sign. Us. Up Bulgaria: Did someone say something?

[@christopherevans2445]

" Dolfy, I think it's the beginning of a beautiful friendship". Classic

[@Moponen]

Really is abridged isn't it? Finland was "Fighting over some land the USSR took from them" That's one way of putting it. You could also say Japan sank some of USAs fishing boats and Germany was walking around on some French land

[@edisonlima4647]

Eh, when we are talking about nations, nobody reads "some land" as a farm. We first thing about a whole State.

[@attemptedunkindness3632]

Dont get me started on the war U.S. had to protect a Michelin rubber plant in Vietnam.

[@Carewolf]

That was pretty much it. Finland end up losing it anyway.

[@giogio51592]

also, finland had set up concentration camps in karelia, that gets glossed over often. not that i blame them too much, atrocities were par for the course in that war, everyone was doing a little warcriming.

[@frederickthegreatpodcast382]

You also forgot about Bulgaria. The only Axis country to gain territory in World War 2

[@luna_macaroni]

to gain and keep it after WW2

[@WelloBello]

“Bulgaria, join the war already dude” “Nuh Uh” “The fuck you mean nuh uh?”

[@DozyBinsh]

Woah woah woah. Hitler was NOT a bald-faced liar. He famously had a moustache.

[@joshkorte9020]

The world wars started and ended with an Austrian man getting shot

[@soonerproud]

Not technically. VJ day didn't happen until August of 1945 and marked the official end to WWII.

[@Elenrai]

@@soonerproud Good thing the horrible things began ending by May that year which matters way more if your a human being :)

[@comettamer]

Not wrong

[@TheRobot13]

​​@@Elenraiwdym the horrible things began ending in May? Imperial Japan was still there Sure a good amount, but there was still some left

[@soonerproud]

@@Elenrai I disagree that horrible things began to end by may. Two atomic bombs in August and post war violence, along with the beginnings of the Cold War contradict that assertion. You should brush up on your post WWII history, it was incrediby violent, especially for the conquered in the Soviet sphere of influence.

[@gamebawesome]

So, you're saying the Axis Powers were basically Alway Sunny in Philadelphia

[@aasante3437]

I am playing both sides so I always come out on top.

[@CollinMcLean]

The Gang accidentally helps invade Poland

[@CollinMcLean]

@@aasante3437 "It's four Ls, I didn't know it was going to come off like that"

[@jaykubisanidiot8657]

They're... They're just the Three Stooges... Weaponized idiocy

[@Tomszpl]

If yes, then how hitler outsmarted europe and made them not invade him?

[@WelloBello]

⁠@@TomszplI mean I get what you’re saying. But Hitler very much got invaded, that very much did happen. Clearly he didn’t outsmart them that much.

[@Tomszpl]

@@WelloBello by they i mean france, poland czechoslovakia UK countries when germany was weaponizing, Poland and Czechoslovakia if they worked togheter they could deffend till West arrived, germany had peace with USSR, the USA wanted to join war anyway Pearl Harbor just made it faster

[@SoughtApple]

​​@@Tomszplthe British actually stall the war because they were waiting to finish industrilise and actually let Hitler invade country to stall him.Also,both Britain and france people cannot start a waris except defensive war because they need a good reason to call people to wars after bloody ww1.

[@pietrofassina3400]

Another very cool video! A suggestion for a future one: The Life and Times of Norodom Sihanouk

[@jonathanwebster7091]

The man who was King of Cambodia (twice), Prime Minister of Cambodia, President of a Democratic Kampuchea government in exile, and figurehead head of state of Democratic Kampuchea for a year? The man who was about as politically cunning as a fox who has just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University? Yes please.

[@JenniferinIllinois]

"We all just kinda forgot about Finland'. Well, until Nokia phones took over the world. 🤣🤣🤣

[@health019]

“And to be honest , we all just kinda forgot about Finland” as a Finn that has family roots to the Second World War that had me dying, we really did get off good

[@H_Eli]

Finland out there doing The Continuation War while everyone else is doing WW2

[@HunBaneTheBest]

0:15 you mean severely?

[@jurassicmatthew6640]

Oh doth thou also surmise the meaning towards that of being a certain degree of that being radical or harsh

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Jack! What happened to the clowns?

[@Archon3960]

_"They're all dead, Daniel! _*_Dead!!"_*

[@themaskedmysadaean8885]

With the exception of Finland, and technically Romania... ish?

[@Archon3960]

@@themaskedmysadaean8885 Yeah... weird how they got here. B/

[@giladpellaeon1691]

I would love to see a video about the guy who helped break Mussolini out, Otto Skorzeny. The guy is pretty much a Bond villain.

[@oliversherman2414]

This is the most hilarious explanation of WW2 I've ever seen lol

[@saidtoshimaru1832]

"Is this my turn to fu*k up?"- The axis unofficial lema.

[@thepostapocalyptictrio4762]

2:10 only on KZbin will someone sell a trip to a country you never been, on the advice of someone who won’t tell your real name. Generally that’s how horror movies start.

[@ramseykeilani9569]

I'm somewhat confused by the bit at 5:44 about Britain and France "standing up for their morals" and stopping the Italians in Ethiopia. France and Britain had the two biggest colonial empires on the planet at this point in time, its not exactly like either of them ever took some principled stand against Imperialism

[@Burgerzaza]

Not to mention the fact that they still were massive colonial empires at the time, their only objection would have been Italy threatening Sudan and Kenya after taking Ethiopia. A concern they wouldn't have had if he was on their side. Sometimes I wonder if Jack really means to lose a lot of historical nuance for the sake of short comedy documentaries directed at people who presumably don't know what he's talking about in depth beforehand

[@Reefer-Rampage69]

I know right I was like 😅😅 morals?

[@SHDUStudios]

I think morals is in quotes in the script.

[@fyeahusa]

Britain was already starting to move away from total colonial dominance and had been slowly transfering more and more autonomy to their colonies in the lead up to this, while WWII and its aftermath accelerated decolonization, it was already starting in this period. France not so much, they clung to their colonial empire, which in theory goes even more against the morals and principals of the French republic. But part of the 'morals' is also that Ethiopia was a Christian country, and part of excuse often used by European powers to justify their colonization was that they were bring civilization to barbarians, and being a Christian state Ethiopia was seen as more civilized than other African polities.

[@CollinMcLean]

@@Burgerzaza More like... if you watch Jack already you probably are already aware of these facts. Which is why his tone sounded very sarcastic.

[@MarcMagma]

"How dare Italy invade and colonize other countries?!" - Britain and France, the two biggest colonial powers in the world at that time. Really a missed opportunity to make fun of that blatant hypocracy...

[@CollinMcLean]

India and Rhodesia are just glaring at them then fall over from starvation, Vietnam is giving them the finger, and Ireland is covered in bandages with a half empty bottle of whiskey grumbling to himself.

[@Shaun_Jones]

To be entirely fair, the British and French empires weren’t actively EXPANDING at that time. They were still holding their colonies with an iron fist, but they weren’t invading new colonies. It’s still hypocritical, but it’s just enough of a difference that they could claim the moral high ground with a straight face.

[@Based_n_Boredpilled]

Who needs Allies when you’re the Axis.

[@loganicfilms1388]

This doesn't mention Polish and Japanese relations against the soviets lol.

[@Petrico94]

In Finland's defense, Russia had it coming.

[@sirrliv]

To be fair to Japan, it was more than just Britain worrying about a war with the US in the 20's. For one, Japan got royally screwed at the Versailles Treaty negotiations. Yes, they got to sit at the table, but they were largely ignored by the European powers who were 1. still very racist against Asian nations, and 2. already kinda nervous about Japanese expansion in Asia and the Pacific after their colonization of Korea in 1910 and their refusal to give up any seized German territory during WWI. In the end, the Japanese delegation left Versailles in disgust after they were left out of one too many meetings. The big strike that started the rift though was the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922; in order to stop another battleship arms race like the kind that had been a big factor in raising tensions in the lead-up to WWI, one which promised to basically tank the economies of everyone involved for how ruinously expensive it would be, the major naval powers of the world signed an agreement to limit the size of their fleets and put restrictions on any new ships they would build. Britain, having the biggest global empire and the biggest "Because we say so" was given the top spot. The USA, the police of world democracy and the second biggest "Because we say so" came in a close second. And way down the pecking order was Japan, who was permitted to maintain a fleet roughly 1/5th the size of the British fleet. Naturally, this was met with a resounding "What the actual F*CK, Bro?!" by Japan, doubly so as much of their naval strength had been built by their British allies, only for Britain to then stab them in the back. There were some attempts to get around the restrictions, including devoting a lot more new build tonnage to aircraft carriers instead of battleships, but the London Naval Treaties of 1930 & 36 put a stop to that (Way to ruin it for everyone, France. You just had to stick battleship guns on a submarine, didn't you? Oh wait, Britain tried that too. Neither of them worked.). The last straw came over the question of Manchukuo. The Great Depression hit Japan HARD. They'd never really recovered after WWI; part of what caused their role in the Versailles negotiations to fall apart was a rice famine in 1919 that led to peasant riots across the country. Then there was the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 that basically wiped Tokyo and Yokohama off the map. By the time the Wall Street Crash came along, basically the only thing keeping the Japanese economy afloat was the military. Between subjugation of Korea and aiding the expansion of the South Manchuria Railway and the entire cities that sprang up along its tracks to extract resources back to the homeland, military investment had never been higher. This coincided with the rise of Militarism in Japanese society, a sort of bastardization of the old Samurai ideals that preached that the military was the true soul of Japan, that it was their Gods-given right to rule over the squabbling indolent Chinese, and that the Western Powers were jealous and racist to try and stop them from taking their rightful place in the sun. So when Japanese expansion in Manchuria was publicly denounced in the League of Nations in 1933, the Japanese delegate had no hesitation in packing his bags and leaving the League. From then on, any hope of reconciliation between Britain and Japan was shattered. Then some Japanese army units in Manchukuo went rogue, blew up a train, blamed it on the Chinese, and the rest is history. Well, it's all history, but...

[@Cellaghney]

Just wanted to say, have only just found your channel today, and I have binged - I love it, keep up the amazing work!

[@holstorrsceadus1990]

Thanks for taking up 17 whole minutes of my day🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@hagay12003]

Only one person has reminded us about Finland. And only after a bowling ball to the head. 16:59

[@slayermcrx7519]

so basically this sums it up Three guys walk into a bar, get blackout drunk, wake up the next day with a piece of paper stating theyre all best friends. They go to the bar again the next night, one gets into a fight with a group of bikers. Asks if his friends can help him with the fight. Then the one helping gets into a fight with a bunch of oil field workers and asks the third for help. The third THEN gets into a fight with some construction workers and the cycle continues. At this point the whole bar is fighting these three dudes and they get rocked, and thrown out the front window of the bar.

[@Yoylekoso]

I can't believe that the Axis was more fucking hilarious than i thought.

[@Zerum69]

France and the UK casually owns 85% of Africa, Italy wants to get the last little bit of Africa yet to be colonialized France and the UK: hey! not cool dude, colonialism is wrong... unless we do it

[@Zombiemancz]

That the reason for Germany being an economic ruin is because of war reparation is big misconception. Its largely because of imperial government economy mismanagement during WW1, which led towards hyperinflation and high debt, because they chose to print more money instead of taxing their citizens more to fund the war effort

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love your content Jack ❤❤❤

[@pyeitme508]

Bruh 😅. Wish for video about John Moses Browning, please 🥺

[@just_a_casual_viewer]

The more the video goes in, the sadder on how the Axis works as defensive alliance.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

That thumbnail is perfect 🤡🤡🤡

[@greenoftreeblackofblue6625]

What are these guys, some sort of Compass?

[@Languslangus]

You forgot Croatia joining Hitler.

[@petarpoljak6918]

To quote geography now: We're not proud of that.

[@muhammadrifqi7308]

It was a puppet state invented by the nazis. Doesn't really count.

[@muhammadrifqi7308]

It was a puppet state invented by the germans. Doesn't really count.

[@kg7162]

We don't talk about that

[@WelloBello]

Speaking of murder tourism. *shudders*

[@Kisamon]

Not gonna lie. The new thumbnail sold it to me.

[@planderlinde1969]

Hot Take: The treaty of Versailles wasnt all that harsh nor did the war reparations strain the German economy. The sole responsibility for German economic ruin in the 1930s lies on the incompetence of the Weimar Government.

[@Willie5000]

There was also a global economic crisis during the 1930s.

[@lif3andthings763]

Or the Great Depression which definitely didn’t do anything bad to Germanys economy.

[@Tomszpl]

But look, isnt germany to big and with that good potential actually being strongest country in europe being so stricted, when other powers were doing whatever they want

[@planderlinde1969]

@@lif3andthings763 I didn't bring up the great depression because it was an outside factor that the German government had no control over. However they did have control over their response to it and they failed

[@BigMeatyclaws69]

​the Weimar economy was actually starting to recover in the mid to late 20's. then the great depression ruined the entire comeback

[@phastinemoon]

I think the funniest part is how Hitler is depicted as wanting to be BFFs with Italy so bad, and then Japan makes Hetalia, where Italy is a doofy twink and GERMANY is the super cool senpai just looking out for hapless Italy. Wild

[@svenvogelaar8472]

Another great video!

[@TheSpearkan]

I can't get over how good Jacks assortment of English accents are.

[@n543576]

Somewhere out there, theres someone getting upset you're calling Hitler a "Manchild" and pissing all over him with all the little animations you have for him in the video. And that makes me smile 😁

[@williamchamberlain2263]

Don't forget Adolf was sleeping with his 17 year old half cousin when he was 38

[@Krakenborn654]

I bet you support Israel

[@villejag5963]

I've not been watching fro few years now but I gotta say, I love this new style and vibe!

[@KimFareseed]

14:49 So, Afghanistan, Butan, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal (and colonies), Spain (and colonies), Sweden, Tibet, and Yamen. Though I don't think the baltics enjoyed the new management.

[@jonathanwebster7091]

Also Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Ireland, Vatican City, Monaco (Monaco was occupied by the Axis though), and Andorra.

[@genericname3206]

It's funny how people tend to forget that Mussolini and Hitler were friends of circumstance than ideologies I mean it's no joke that Benito thought Adolf was crazy to down right insane

[@Hanzo_theodd]

Greatest gift I can ask for my bday!!!!

[@raymondhamill6702]

Happy Birthday!

[@QwertiusMaximus]

I didn't know history was a bridge. Learn something everyday.

[@deasttttt]

If it was a bridged it implies someone made it a bridge. But who?

[@paulenka5]

Italiy-Germany Pact was in 39,not in 36,patto d'acciaio,pact of steel.

[@grantgoodman8415]

One of my favorite videos you’ve ever done

[@colonelx185]

U should do WW1 next... I for one would love too see your impression of the Kaiser 😂

[@CollinMcLean]

He already has a video on Kaiser Wilhelm II actually and yes it's funny.

[@colonelx185]

​@CollinMcLean thanks for telling me this, just watched his videos on both kaiser wilhelm I and ii as well as his one on fredrick the great, truly some great stuff 👏

[@Deadbeat-Senpai]

Nice tie

[@mabonagrininogi3303]

Downloaded it. As if that will stay live uncensored 😅

[@JoDoSa]

This video shows how complicated is international diplomacy and how reality surpasses any kind of fiction

[@3bostonboys]

I can’t believe you forgot the most important member of the axis! (Siam) You also forgot Bulgaria who was, funnily enough despite its obscurity in the wars, Germany’s consistent and only competent European ally during both World Wars.

[@tamriel_x]

abridged is an understatement for the amount of info crammed into every second of this video...

[@GremlinScribe]

5:15 the UK against France in the 30s?? That's a throwback XD

[@Tommy-nh4su]

15:25 Fun fact: Finland didn't just join up to retake land. A good amount of finns were convinced that the USSR would inevitably attack again and with that belief they declared war alongside Germany since a dead opponent couldn't hurt you. Also Germany already was planning on sending troops through Finland if they didn't join so they had to choose between: "Defend against Germany with the USSR" or "Fight against the USSR with Germany"

[@GamerX13X]

As a fan of history in this era who knows a lot of the wider contexts, I approve of this approachable simplification xD

[@dengaming0850]

4:39 luxembourg wasnt german

[@joshuadunford3171]

You forgot Thailand!! They had their monarchy overthrown, allied with Imperial Japan fought against America, got the monarchy reinstalled, then declared war on Japan

[@TheRavenLord1]

Treaty of Versailles was a joke of a treaty towards the Germans.

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

(Treaty of Sevres and Treaty of Trianon which were far worse than the Treaty of Versailles) "Side eyes nervously"...

[@TheRavenLord1]

And a shame they were signed into effect.

[@Reflox1]

As a German i can tell you that Versailles wasn't that bad of a peace deal for Germany. Austria and the Ottomans really got the short end of the stick with that one, but Germany being a newly debuted power felt like they were being crippled so the whole "no armies" was going to be violated at some point or another when Germany had their house in order again.

[@ElliotVinyard]

I can’t tell whether he was being satirical when he said punish Germany super hard 0:18. Especially when you remember that France’s punishments towards Germany were held back by American self determination and British “forgiveness”. And compare the Treaty of Versailles to the Treaty of Trianon and you see that Germany was a crybaby.

[@bondbond8260]

He was talking about versailles tho

[@ElliotVinyard]

@@bondbond8260 I know, compare the treaty of Versailles with the treaty of Trianon and you see that Hungary lost way more than Germany

[@Awesomewithaz]

​@@ElliotVinyardwell they got uppity so they got stripped of their shit harder for trying to start the war back up. Different shit is different

[@ElliotVinyard]

@@Awesomewithaz Yes but but look at Sevres and plus the Germans were going to punish the entente harder than the entente punished Germany

[@BodenPflanze]

Ah yes... Inflation, poverty and the Besetzung of the Reihnland was definetly not caused by the treaty... He was not sarcastic. The treaty was rough if you look at what it did

[@NewtypeCommander]

4:44 It should be noted that the Anglo-German Naval Agreement (which you are referring to here) was made for a couple of reasons: 1) it would allow the Royal Navy to rearm after the massive cuts suffered by both the Washington Naval Conference of 1922 and the subsequent London Naval Conference of 1930, wnd 2) the British public in general saw the naval restrictions placed upon Germany by the Treaty of Versailles (at least post-1919) as overtly harsh and thus had some sympathy towards lifting some of the restrictions. They didn't want all the restrictions lifted, but just enough so as to act as a counter-balance against Stalinist Russia. Of course, it didn't work out the way Britain wanted it to be, but the objective of naval rearmament was met (if slowly and they didn't get everything they wanted.)

[@TeRenner123]

a long way of saying everything is Brittains fault and calling WW2 the Clown war

[@huntervelicky7502]

Top notch vid, brother

[@kabir3510]

I've always wondered what and why Thailand got involved in the Axis?

[@CollinMcLean]

Because Thailand was in invasion range of Japan.

[@michaelgalloway9362]

Just fantastic. You never get these parts of the story. At least I don't. The top comment on Finland is great too. Top-of-your-game storytelling, Jack.

[@Kuudere-Kun]

You forgot Thailand.

[@Ryzard]

"no, you don't get it guys, they would have won if everyone else made 10000 bad decisions, and they made 10000 less bad decisions, and they actually succeeded in their insane superweapons, and said superweapons were practical, and they had creative mode, and and and"

[@mra4521]

15:54 what about the Shah of Iran? Does he not count?

[@republicafederalcentroamer5368]

“WE COME IN PEACE! WE ARE ONLY HERE TO DEPOSE YOUR LEADER!”

[@mra4521]

@@republicafederalcentroamer5368 and replace him with his 21 year old son.

[@timschutz9068]

The slideshow format is really nice. Would love to see it more

[@aasante3437]

Fascism and Nazism are two different things.

[@CollinMcLean]

Different but also similar... I'd call Nazism a modifier of Fascism. Like an Eveelution. Give Fascism the nordicism stone and it evolves into Nazism

[@anngarth]

both stink of shit.

[@glitterpixels99]

I love how the Axis leaders are just portrayed as a trio of obnoxious college roommates 😂

[@Nxtymg]

6:54 I’ll let you in but we’re not happy about it 😂😂😂

[@luisangelrodriguezvazquez6076]

Love this video format. You got a new sub 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👌🏻