History Professor Breaks Down "1917" [Part 1]

[@Philtopy]

12:00 I also have a very interesting addition to that: The Mud was highly acidic. There was many many gas attacks in these days. and when the air was cold, the gas clouds didnt really vanish, but collect at the floor or trenches and the bottom of craters. And over time the gas collected in morning dew. This way the poison was absorbed by the ground. And every time the ground was then hit by an artillery shell, the top most layer of poisoned soil was mingled with everything else. So after months and months of this, the soil itself became higly poisonous and acidic. And when rain fell, the water also became acidic and poisonous. In addition aaaaall the barbed wire was constantly mingled into the shelled soil every time a grenade hit it, so every inch youd walk, you could step on barbed wire hidden beneath the mud or under the waters surface. In ANOTHER addition death was *everywhere*. decaying bodies were piled up in the ground. sometimes dug up by artillery or when somebody dug a trench. So the water combined all that: Poison, decay bacteria, barbed wire and waist deep mud. Now imagine if somebody fell in a crater filled with that stuff. I know stories from my great grandfather, who fought at the Somme and later. many new recruits died before they even reached the first line, because if they would slip and fell into a crater, they were dead. they could scream for help, but if somebody else came to help, they also slipped into the crater and both would perish. so they had the order to ignore any man stuck in deep craters filled with water. He lost his best friend to such a hole. War isnt hell. its worse.

[@liamedwards8394]

I was lucky enough to be an extra in this film, loved watching this. Thank you from across the pond. :-)

[@ReelHistory]

That's excellent, hopefully it was fun. Next episode out in a week and a half or so. So keep an eye out, thanks for watching!

[@krishnamurtiism]

Liam Edwards wonderful film film, one of my favourites. Makes me teary-eyed thinking of my great-grandfather. How I’d love to sit down and watch this film with him

[@liamedwards8394]

@@krishnamurtiism it truly was a masterpiece so elegantly told, I got to watch it with all my family including my grandad on IMAX in England, London. A really really special project to of been part of.

[@rionholiday6313]

What scenes where you in.

[@ontarioguyincalgary4845]

@@ReelHistory I love your educational reviews.. hopefully part 2 will come out soon 🙏

[@docswatchbox8321]

As a retired Hospital Corpsman, I always pay close attention to the wounds / moulage and physiological condition of "wounded" soldiers played by actors in these war films. I was pleased (and impressed) with the speed and believability of Blake's loss of blood & shock secondary to blood loss. He had a significant abdominal stab wound that no doubt punctured the abdominal aorta or one of it's significant branches. The pale ghostly look of his flesh is steady and rapid throughout the scene (or moments of this section - as it's shot as one long scene). Also, he gets somewhat confused with his thoughts & speech towards the end of his life. Tragic, and true to war. I loved this film.

[@rowk_art]

It is so satisfying to see historians being extremly happy with those little trophies from their collections :3

[@ronbrown6272]

Great to have a historical perspective, and dialogue for these motion pictures. Thank you.

[@cleverusername9369]

I remember being very shaken by how Blake turned ghastly pale before our eyes as he was dying. Heartbreaking

[@DonnyBaker45]

I was physically tired when this movie ended. It’s such a tense movie.

[@tonyking7714]

Thanks for sharing the 'Over The Top' origin. Never knew that.

[@youngmelanin7653]

WOOW I learned so much from watching this. I can’t wait for new content!

[@jamesgould28]

Both my Great Grandfathers fought in this war. I still have a brass artillery shell case that my Great Grandfather brought home in my living room. I treasure it. He was an artillery man, My other Great Grandfather was a Levis Gunner. Both survived and made it home. Great video mate. 👍🏻🇬🇧

[@jamesgould28]

My apologies I meant Lewis Gunner.

[@joelspringman7748]

That's incredible! May your family be richly blessed.

[@TrigonixZeNW]

One of my great grandfathers got shot through the lung, he survived ww1 but later died in a pow camp in Russia at the end of ww2

[@jamesgould28]

@@TrigonixZeNW Lest we forget. 🇬🇧 Heroes all. Hard times make hard men. 🇬🇧

[@Bigrago1]

21:30 I found, for this scene, that the German wasn't being portrayed as evil(same with the other Germans in the movie) but just in shock and confused. Plus we don't actually see what caused him to act out one could argue that Blake was unstrapping the knife belt and the German got the wrong impression.

[@lindsayjohnston7465]

Natural reaction haven't been brainwashed to Nazi ideology yet might have even been Jewish like many WWI soldiers fighting for love of country

[@ethansmith4202]

I think it portrays the madness of war and how you can die at any moment, in any way.

[@AlexSaysHi2013]

I definitely thought it was him panicking, I was still angry but not at him, the whole fucked up situation

[@Jermster_91]

If the Pilot understood any English, hearing the soldiers saying they should put him out of his misery would be very concerning.

[@ISawABear]

4:21 Carrier pigeons (homing pigeons) are one way, they'd be able to find their way home but not seek a unit that's moved beyond their original position. The plane makes more sense although i wonder if the dogfight later on was supposed to indicate air cover.

[@Mottleydude1]

I just wanted point out that the actual death scene, when he was stabbed in the liver, was very accurate of the bodily progression to death. First the shock of the injury, followed by progressively worse waves of pain, then weakening into shock (sudden drop in blood pressure) and death. The process of finally bleeding out from having your hepatic artery sliced open would last about three to five minutes before you lost consciousness and death. BTW, the lead actor is the spitting image of my nephew. So that also added to the pathos of this movie for me. What a great film. It’s not often you see a war film with cinematography this good that is both historically authentic and accurate. Some other war movies I would love to see you review out of my list of favorites would be. Come and See Das Boot Bridge over the River Kwai Glory All Quiet on the Western Front King Rat If I didn’t mention Saving Private Ryan as it’s been reviewed and reacted to a zillion times. There’s no arguing the D-Day scene is one of the best war scenes ever filmed. The rest of the movie is kinda….meh.

[@Lrules0202]

I remember vividly going to the battlefields experience whilst I was in school. I went to Ypre, the Somme and other battles, I was fortunate enough to go to the different memorials and over see the ceremony in Ypre in memorial for those that fought at the battles for Ypre. We went to a extremely large crater that was caused by an engineering team, so it’s good to see that authenticity within the movie, the film just gave me the feel of what it was like so it gets a massive thumbs up from me.

[@hughjazz1009]

Great and informative video. Bro with this editing and video quality, this channel is destined for greatness. Glad to be the 27th sub. God speed laddies*

[@ReelHistory]

Thanks! We love our new adventure here on youtube, just 2 of us, but things are naturally off to a slow start with current events and such. Filming the next movie in a week or so. Be sure to keep an eye out!

[@caniphobia]

enjoyed this a lot, some great bits of information, cheers

[@Jakal-pw8yq]

My grandfather was a medic for the US Army during World War I, stationed in France. He was the kindest, gentlest soul that I've ever known! He never did talk about his experience during the war but I remember him being very upset about the Vietnam War but he didn't say why and I was just a kid. Rest in peace Granddad, I love you eternally!💕

[@rimmy9054]

Excellent info! In future videos are you able to keep your Picture in Picture out of the middle of the screen? Helps to follow along with the action you’re describing. Otherwise, great stuff!

[@tangyorange6509]

SCREAM FORTRESS XIII

[@alancranford3398]

I was four or five years old when my father took me on a tour of the Maginot Line and in 1961 or 1962. That was one of my early history lessons and I wasn't able to read and write at the time. Most of the stuff I saw went over my head at the time. I was aware of war history in my first memories.

[@dorfmanjones]

A question to our historian. How would a carrier pigeon be able to deliver a message to a mobile command station that had just moved to a new location? How would that work?

[@justinschrank4806]

The "run" is one of the all time epic scenes. I get chills every time

[@brendanlillie7037]

Have you ever considered doing a breakdown of the 2015 mini-series Gallipoli? I would love to hear your analysis on it. Thank you for your lectures.

[@luketrottier9388]

11 subs? I have a feeling you will have MUCH, much more than that this time next year if you continue with KZbin. I'm 7:29 in, great video. PS: I was 'lucky' enough to have went to 1917 in theatres shortly before lockdown, and went in blind. I saw the movie title image and name and presumed it was a WWI movie, and I was already simply looking to go the cinema to watch a movie, any movie, and looked up what was playing. I had a great time, and in hindsight I feel like I am the only person on earth who didn't know about the pseudo-one shot aspect. Going in blind, within 5 mins it was certainly very present in my mind, then I started to really kind of pay attention and watch for a cut (also noted the 'tricks' of the camera that were clever) but by about 10 mins, I concluded oh wow, I think the entire movie is going to play out in this form.

[@ReelHistory]

Thank you for the very kind words and congratulations for being our very first comment! We have big plans and things in the works but with any project, the beginning is the largest hurdle. Hoping to get a somewhat regular schedule going before too long.

[@luketrottier9388]

@@ReelHistory Oh, right on! Neat, I didn't consider I may be first comment. 'our', 'we', I interpret this channel is a group effort. Awesome! Keep at it, if keeping at it is what you want to do! This is literally just one person's opinion, far too little to base a business model around lol, but I think you can and will do great if you stick to it. And absolutely, I think it's important to not over-expect a certain outcome or over-commit or burn oneself out, or even provide an unsustainable upload frequency to a growing user-base, etc. Just do what you're going to do, in your own time, and maintain your ethics and integrity, and I am confidence (IMO) that you will foster a climbing, and mostly non-toxic viewership. Cheers!

[@danballe]

I just ran into this reaction until now, I also enjoyed this on theater right before the lockdown. my favourite movies/books/stories are often War themed. Awesome movie.

[@rangerluxray4343]

14k subs

[@luketrottier9388]

@@rangerluxray4343 nice!

[@PHXDOG]

Beersheba The Charge of the 4th Light Horse, 1917 The charge of the 4th Australian Light Horse at Beersheba late in the afternoon of 31 October 1917, is remembered as the last great cavalry charge.

[@gunslingre]

Yes I wanted to bring that up as well when he said the age of the cavalry charge had ended long ago. I guess being American and just joining the war he was referring to the last time US forces mounted a cavalry charge.

[@haggis525]

Enjoying the content here. Going back in the lineup to before I subbed. I'm somewhat surprised not to see Platoon in the lineup. I'd also love to see Blackhawk Down... early 90"s was when I was still serving. Early 80's through to mid 2000's... quite a lot happening in films of that period regarding our various conflicts then. Of course - one of the best war films, in my opinion, is Das Boot. Talking about age of soldiers.... absolutely, too many actors in their mid 40's playing junior enlisted types. I think in War 1 it was slightly different, though, because many men in their late 20's and 30's joined up as Private soldiers. My paternal grandfather was one - he volunteered at age 28 and spent over 3 years in France and Belgium. Perhaps because of his age he rose rapidly and by early 1918 he was a Battery Sergeant Major... like a First Sergeant today in the US. Though he served Canada 🇨🇦 so like a Warrant Officer, I reckon. Lots of promotion available during wartime.

[@thedude1316]

This channel is going to be big. Subscribed.

[@ontarioguyincalgary4845]

Nice reaction.. waiting for part 2 👍

[@ReelHistory]

ironically, so are we. We have to refilm it, as the footage was lost. It will happen soon though!

[@jayp6990]

Your take on the documentary "They Shall Not Grow Old" by Peter Jackson would be interesting.

[@Pluisje96]

yes!

[@jeffserrano2646]

cool concept! looking forward to more content

[@falcon3268]

You should do Dunkirk for your next break down.

[@vomeronasal]

The cut on his hand by the barbed wire at 10:05 was enough to be lethal in pre-antibiotic eras. Ouch.

[@forksandspoons7272]

Hello, I recently found your channel and I'm slowly watching them all, hence commenting on an older video. You said the casting was good on that "front". I'm curious if that particular expression, like many others has a military origin, as in the front line of a conflict. Keep the videos coming, they are well done, thoughtful and educational.👍

[@ReelHistory]

Thanks! You are correct, the term "front" is used in that way often, with it's origins referring to the front line in a battle.

[@arthurd6495]

Lot's of great info! Thanks.

[@pshehan1]

My great grandfather, Harry Hill MM was in the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) and in early April 1917 his battalion had followed the Germans who had withdrawn to the Hindenburg line in front of the village of Mouvres. In the dark the Australians dug a series of outposts as they were thinly spread with most troops concentrated for an attack on the line at Bullecourt further to the north east. The Germans attacked in the night and Harry's post and another had been placed too far forward and they were cut off and surrounded with the German's getting in a sunken road behind them. Two off the five men in Harry's post were killed and harry and two others were taken prisoner when they ran out of ammunition before dawn. In 1918 I visited the area and from google earth, the Australian official history account of the action and maps showing the posts, I was able to park by the sunken road and stand within a few tens of metres of Harry's post. As the ground had not been chewed up by artillery, the ground looks pretty much today as is it does in photographs of the time, except that wind turbines are now in no man's land. Harry escaped from the POW camp, made it to the Baltic coast, but after a few days of seeing nothing but German ships going past, walked back to the camp. I never met my great grandfather but I did meet a great uncle, a Gallipoli veteran served on the western front as a machine gun officer. He was gassed and though he returned home died at a relatively young age, in his sixties.

[@hallsocker]

Love the commentary and insight. Jumping from movie scene to the circular picture of the host first on the lower left, then bigger and in the middle and back is very distracting. Suggestion? Keep the circular host picture off to the side and keep the movie running and in focus. Is this done because of copyright issues? Anyway, love the commentary.

[@ReelHistory]

Your guess is correct

[@wattsnottaken1]

Imma have to rewatch this soon. I’ve only seen it once. But i remember enjoying it. 15:01 reminds me of the “Wire Cutters” scene in season 1 of Peaky Blinders.

[@tatankaiyotanka1]

This is quite good, but there were many soldiers from the Commonwealth that were over 30 years of age. But typically you reference that the commonwealth and French were waiting for the Americans to rush in to save the day and win the war. Ultimately what won the war was General Monash's use of tanks supported by infantry and air dropping ammunition to the advancing troops. The main players in the final battles of WW1 were the ANZAC, British and Canadians. General Monash did not rate the inexperienced Americans highly as a fighting force. They did however provide fresh troops.

[@joshfeathers4841]

8:30 the “trench humour” he’s on about is actually just British humour, it’s dark and banterous at the same time

[@DJRockford83]

Re the German pilot, it's a 50:50 there was far less sense of chivalry between the ordinary soldiers and pilots and by that point in the war things had become very bitter between the ordinary soldiers of each side (no instances of Xmas truces after 1915)

[@98765zach]

I find you analysis and reaction quite pleasant and I like your attention to detail, but you seemed to somewhat disapprove of the German Pilot scene and I would perhaps offer an explanation in defense. Purely anecdotal sure, but a defense none the less. What I believe to be shown here is not the stereotypical monstrous hun, depicted in all his propaganda poster glory, rising from the darkness of germany in all his apelike brutality to steal away the lady liberty and grind the innocent and honorable beneath his boots, but something more simple, a trauma and shock response. I am no stranger to injury, but I have only experienced shock and truly traumatic injury once. While weightlifting in high school, I was setting up for calf raises, lifting a bar with about 285 lbs onto my back and stepping up onto a raised platform to begin, when I lost control of the bar. an imbalance in weight caused me to lean, i lost weight, and then the horrible see saw effect brought me falling the other way. I decided to abandon any attempts to stabilize it and fell down towards the safety rack below me, where by accident my index finger was crushed by the weight and 95% severed from my hand at its middle, hanging on by a string of my own skin, bone exposed to open air. I immediately dropped into shock, the body's natural defense against such, and my adrenaline surged. I was in immense immense pain, but not fully processing it, as it would likely overload my brain, I nearly punched the first of my friends who rushed to me, and my coach, despite the fact that I never would have done that normally. And therein lies my personal explanation for the actions of the pilot. This pilot could already, as far as we know, have suffered a bullet wound, his plane was machinegunned after all, and he is also likely riding an insane adrenaline rush from the combat and subsequent crash landing. As soon as he lands his craft bursts into flames, as do his legs as can be seen horrifically burned through his torn leggings. He could also have broken bones, and is likely in no state to think carefully. In fact all he can do is cry out for his mother, as the movie shows. He is likely in the most pain he has ever been in in his life. He has had his open, burned, and bleeding legs dragged across the hard ground by two men who he only knows as hostile soldiers, and then one runs off to do something he has no idea what. He reacts in fear, in panic, and the only way he knows how, he fights back. Even after he stabs Blake he just sort of... sits there. He barely looks at Blake or Schofield, he just allows the shots to happen. The man isn't a villain, he's dying, and he doesn't really know how to react. nobody does.

[@napluvr4173]

I really enjoyed the breakdown of part 1. I get that this is a movie and timelines and distances need to be compressed, but one thing that sticks of to me is the German artillery is well within range of the British rear safe area. Should that have been many miles behind the front line?

[@ReelHistory]

You are correct. But it is a damn good visual.

[@matrixphotodesign]

You should also watch: Passchendaele , its a Canadian film set in WW I

[@EffequalsMA]

Me girlfriend's great grandad was in signals, was at Vimy Ridge and was shot and wounded doing exactly what these soldiers were attempting to do, deliver messages/orders. That connected me to the film.

[@alecmiddleton1842]

Similar thing here. My granddad was a despatch rider in WW2. Had to deliver packages and messages day or night without always knowing where the enemy and booby traps were. Same job as those two boys but on a motorbike. He lived through what they acted through and that really pulled me in to the film.

[@williamacheson3569]

Would it be possible for you to move your camera to the side so we can see what you are commenting on ( if possible) many thanks !

[@robertamato358]

I like your content but have one small suggestion. Consider shrinking the size of the frame with you speaking. It often covers the scene and is somewhat distracting from that which you are commenting. Again, love the content and I intend to follow going forward. Thanks.

[@thesteaksaignant]

This was very insightful I'd love to see you react to "happy christmas" (2005), about the truce of December 1914

[@Clementinewoofwoof]

I’m glad I’m not the only one impressed with 1917

[@cgjoe64]

Don’t know how many people picked up on the scene when they are riding in the truck It’s a sort of shout out to the opening Scene on Sunshine on Leith. A musical based on the music of the Proclaimers. George Mackay played the lead role.

[@michaelhurley6072]

love your input... maybe put your commentary face to the left? so we can actually see what is happening behind you.

[@mjelves]

«Never be first, never be last, and never volunteer»

[@joelspringman7748]

HELLISH! HELLISH! I'm glad that at least we came in very late in the war! My grandfather was in NYC, waiting to board a troop ship for France, on 11/11/18. My father's generation and mine would never have existed, if not for the Armistice. He was a proud German-American, who once punched a man who called him a "Hun". Poppy had served in the U.S. Army for years, even serving under "Blackjack" Pershing as a sergeant, in the Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa. He ended as a lieutenant in the 5th Signal Corps, ready and willing to fight the Kaiser and his allys. My other grandfather's father was a politician who used his influence to keep Grandpa out of the war, which angered, and possibly humiliated him.

[@Myo24]

Where is part 2?

[@Gunbudder]

9:37 not true at all, the last US cavalry charge is considered to be in 1942 in the Philippines although there were cavalry (with actual horses) as late as the Korean war. By the Korean war though, it was fairly rare to see a war horse and they weren't used in combat except for a few rare exceptions

[@ReelHistory]

These were exceptions and not rules, as you suggest.

[@eddhardy1054]

​​@@ReelHistory But as other folks have pointed out there were still a fair few cavalry charges during WW1 (the Australian Light Horse & the British Warwickshire & Worcestershire yeomanry regiments in Palestine in 1917).

[@jlynn2724]

Lt. Leslie cracks me up, he is just DONE. Kept waiting for him to yell "shut your f*ing guinea trap Gonorrhea!"

[@jimomaha7809]

The first helmets the Americans used were British before they were issued with US manufactured helmets. You mentioned a patch on top of the (American) helmet you have. I noticed it does not have a liner. There was a hole on the crown of the helmet were a screw passes through to attach the helmet liner. On the inner sides there are the attachments for the helmet strap. The strap was not attached to the liner.

[@wxmyjnsn]

well done!

[@jomac2046]

Cavalry charges in WW1 were long gone, I think not. On 31st October 1917 the 40,000 strong Australian Light Horse Brigade attacked the German/Turkish stronghold of Beersheba. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Beersheba_(1917)

[@emmwal8084]

Movie The Lighthorsemen was about that charge

[@edclarkson638]

The Fort Garry Horse (CEF) charge on Nov. 20 1917 at the Battle Of Cambrai.There were others and many on the Eastern Front as well as you noted the Middle East.

[@tadrunkle8549]

Where's part 2?

[@ReelHistory]

It will be put back out eventually. it was early on in my youtube experience and had a copyright issue. It had to be taken down. sorry for the confusion. Working on finishing Band of Brothers before I get to it.

[@joelspringman7748]

"Never volunteer for anything" was still a caution when I joined the Army in the 1970's.

[@johnkowlok3231]

You said, “behooved.” I have never heard that outside of the Army. 1SG’s love that word!

[@ReelHistory]

I have hung around plenty of sergeants!

[@Samu25]

pt. 2 please :)

[@ReelHistory]

It exists, it may be blocked in your area for copyright. The dispute is in

[@Samu25]

@@ReelHistory Thanks, I will try to find it! Love your guys' stuff(especially the BoB series). Sad you have to deal with a lot copyright claims even though your content seems to fall under fair use. Hang tough, sending love from Finland!

[@timb9363]

Did part 2 ever come out?

[@ReelHistory]

It did months ago, then youtube took it down. We're getting to it before too long

[@timb9363]

@@ReelHistory thanks for the reply! Making my way through all of your videos, they’re fantastic. Keep plugging away and you’ll get the recognition in subscriber numbers

[@nadw]

Just FYI, the huge crater the navigate around as they are crossing no-man's land might be the result of a mine detonation, intended to blow a gap in the German defences before an attack, like at the Battle of Messines.

[@RonnieG]

You make it sound so easy. You'd have had it easy with your cell phone in 1917...

[@40hup]

@21:40 "Gott mit uns" comes from the roman "Nobiscum deus" and is historically indeed a phrase to make sure of Gods support for your own troops for over 2000 years now (every battlefield chaplain on every side tells his soldiers, that god is with them... how can that be...?). On the other hand, in german the phrase "Gott mit uns" is also short for "Gott sei mit uns" which is in meaning very similar to the church prayer "Gott steh uns bei" which means rather "God stand by us / god help us" than "god is on our side", so it can also be interpreted more as a more humble plea of the soldier to get through all of this alive with the help of god, than as an aggressive statement of (spiritual) superiority.

[@kaytow6645]

Personally, I believe the part with the German pilot, stabbing Blake was to showcase that the latter half of the war ideas like honor, chivalry, and the rules of war were being replaced, with a desire to end the war by any means necessary, and the hatred has slowly developed over the course of the war

[@michaelswami]

Hard to see anything in this video with you in the middle.

[@TraceVandal]

Interesting to see you react to something you hadn't already seen. Do you have any other movies you haven't seen on the list? Black Hawk Down maybe?

[@ReelHistory]

That's a tall order. I'll try to find something

[@jaitao5656]

Thank you for calling out the common cinematic portrayal of Germans being evil, soulless heathens. I'm a proud American with German ancestry and I get sick of these constant Hollywood tropes. According to Hollywood, every single German is Adolf Hitler.

[@bro5jonny]

Wat about the soldiers at the of fury

[@lindsayjohnston7465]

Great Movie Great insights

[@NorthernUnion13]

1917 had a similar premise to the movie Gallipoli.

[@paulschofield3108]

Altoona/Johnstown accent?

[@ReelHistory]

Google will tell you how close you are!

[@rockstarJDP]

I love your vids, but may I just suggest that in terms of the editing you keep your screen to the side and not blur out the actual footage simply just to make it easier for us to understand which parts of the film you're talking about? Just my opinion, but I find it can be a little disorientating and distracting. Keep up the great work 🙂

[@ReelHistory]

Thanks, I wish I could but if I show too much at a time the video gets copyright claimed

[@rockstarJDP]

@@ReelHistory Ooh of course, yeah that makes sense, I'm sorry I hadn't considered that! Love the videos, it's really interesting to see the fact from fiction dissected 🙂 it would be really cool to see you do your take on all of the classic Vietnam films!

[@patrioticjustice9040]

12:01 What exactly could have made a crater that big? Was it a single massive shell or did multiple shells happen to hit that area during a barrage? I've seen photos of WWI shells as tall as a man, but even those seem too small to make a crater that big. EDIT: Regarding the German pilot, I don't think it was a trope for a cinematic godless enemy; more along the lines of realism of panic in the war. The Geneva Articles hadn't been written yet, so captured POWs would face torture and brutal treatment at the hands of the enemy as payback for how many fellow soldiers the opposing side has killed. It's unknown if this was fake news used to recruit more troops, but there were supposedly reports of soldiers being crucified to trees and the sides of barns by the enemy. So here we have a pilot who just got shot down in a dog fight, was in the process of burning alive, and had been captured by two enemy soldiers in what had been German territory, where the likelihood of being tortured for information was significant. Most likely the pilot panicked, and when fight or flight mode kicked in, he chose fight.

[@ReelHistory]

A heavy shell certainly could have done it. Also might have been a mine explosion.

[@patrioticjustice9040]

@@ReelHistory To think of the devastation that would have done to any troops trying to cross No Man's Land... There'd be nothing left of them. It boggles the mind what that must have been like.

[@Morrisseys7thFriend]

Are you from Philly?

[@ReelHistory]

No, but Pennsylvania.

[@lex1945]

Visited Ypres and Diksmuide last month. It is not that far from where I live. Especially Tyne Cot Cemetary was impressive. The death trench at Diksmuide, next to the Yser river is also very impressive and very nice to pay a visit. It struck me, how many 'unknown' soldiers are buried out there, and even more missing soldiers. At Tyne Cot, there's 11000 graves, from which some 8000 are unknown, plus a mere 30000 missing soldiers..Ages vary from 18 till mid 40's of age. In France, there's a part, called the 'red zone' which is still prohibited for visiting. It is still untouched after more than 100 years. Too dangerous and polluted to enter.

[@darrellpowell6042]

As the movie implies early on, don't trust technology to get the message to the commanding officer, some men just want to fight. Did you not realize that a messenger pigeon, phone line or air drops, can be ignored, killed or go missing and sabotaged? That's just how desperate they the forward command was to use two men that were ready. Maybe they had tried to use other means of communication before using two young men as a last resort. Who knows, but its a good movie.

[@MrJJuK]

Not the best film I've watched, but it's not meant to be. People expected this to be Saving Private Ryan. The story was ok and watchable, the main reason this movie is amazing is the cinematography and soundtrack 😍

[@thelizardkingdc]

First episode of RH!!

[@ReelHistory]

We were a bunch of happy amateurs back then!

[@thelizardkingdc]

@@ReelHistory finally saw 1917 so of course came for the historical / film review and realized this was the first one and it was still great. Classic!

[@VideoTasties]

The new Kingsman film could be fun for you to do, especially how they weave the story into history.

[@ReelHistory]

That's a good idea!

[@ProjectPaladin]

When hearing the term "carrier pigeon", I immediately am thinking of Blackadder Goes Forth". Another great and historically accurate documentation of WWI-era trench warfare from a british perspective. You should check that one out.

[@stevepirie8130]

Poor Speckled Jim

[@davidfunkhouser516]

Pittsburgh?

[@ReelHistory]

Very close, yinz.

[@davidfunkhouser516]

@@ReelHistory I live in Switzerland now but I am from just North of da burgh. Always fun to hear that accent. Keep up the cool videos.

[@solidus1995]

Only thing that annoyed me was how they made the pilot kill Blake. I rolled my eyes immediately because I was surprised. I thought they were trying to humanize all soldiers while they were roaming through the trapped bunker because for a moment they showed some sort of sentimental paraphernalia.

[@Ryan-0413]

Could chalk it up to being scared or disoriented. After all, Schofield was even insinuating they should kill him

[@nextube_owner]

21:29 yeah because of that. If i would be shot down, burning and whatever may happen i would be confused and maybe slash everything i saw moving

[@Lullaby454]

One thing I kept asking myself during the film, and my dad did too, is why didn't the British get a plane to drop a message over their trenches to tell them to call off the attack?

[@martinford4553]

That had a high likelihood of not succeeding. Parachutes and planes were not very sophisticated at that time. Many pilots didn't have parachutes themselves. Dropping a message in to a trench line could kill the dropper or they could land miles away from their location. There would be the risk they even drop in no man's land or enemy territory and now you've just given the enemy information on an (unsanctioned) attack. If you just wanted to drop the order (and no jumper with) then you've got the issue of navigation and wind still. You also need to hope an uninformed soilder is watching and not assuming that Jerry weren't dropping a bomb or weight to kill british troops. Better just to send a few runners.

[@larryraco7829]

We don't need such a large picture of the professor blocking our view of the film being commented upon.

[@ReelHistory]

Actually, you do so that the video doesn't get taken down due to copyright infringement.

[@larryraco7829]

@@ReelHistory okay I understand.

[@joshuasill1141]

I read an interesting paper on how the Germans would have punched through Verdun with even half of the battalions sent East to help the Austrians fend off the Russians in the Brusilov's Offensive. The theory this paper explored was had the Germans punched through Verdun would French morale drop so low they would sue for peace? According to the paper, yes they would have. Morale was already dangerously low in the French Army. The victory at Verdun was their Gettysburg or Midway, per se. After their supposed breakout from Verdun, there was really nothing in the way of stopping the German advance to Paris. Once the Germans take Paris the war would've probably ended, at least for the French. The remaining German army the swings north and encircles the British in Belgium and northern France and either forces the British to sue for peace or destroys the British army. Once the Brits are out of the war, the Germans sit back and let an exiled Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, with German aid, return to Russian and do his thing. That person happens to also go by the name Vladimir Lenin.

[@NovaScotiaNewfie]

Trench foot can still occur. There is a reason to this day infantry make sure to have extra socks and powder to keep,their feet dry.

[@saucyjk6453]

Newman is our greatest living film composer.

[@dbach1025]

Age appropriate actors? What? LOL. You mean a near 60 year old Brad Pitt wasn't a great choice for a tank commander in Fury? I agree actually. Great research for 1917 makes up for other lacking areas for sure. Great breakdown.

[@cezaryrak-ejma2436]

Your commentary is useful and informative. I find it a bit annoying that you constantly shift from your face in the middle of the screen with sharp background, with fuzzy background, with your room in the background, etc. Simply stick to your image in one of the corners (NOT IN THE MIDDLE!) so we actually get a sense what is being commented on ;) Thanks a lot in advance!

[@joshuasill1141]

One of those facts not really told about the Great War was that early on the British found and cut the undersea telegraph cables from Germany to the United States. The US got a lot of the news and stories about the Germans being worse than the Huns and all the stories of supposed war crimes came. In reality, the British and the French were just as guilty as the Germans, but those stories never made it across the pond due to the cables being severed. Also, at this time about 1/3 of the population of the United States had German heritage so in the eyes of the British anything to make the French and British look bad could sway the US on the side of the Germans. President Wilson was of English decent and wanted to help the British, but at the same time, didn't want to anger the US German population. During this time too, many of the officers on both sides were from aristocratic families. If captured, they were treated as such. I just heard to many complaints about why the two soldiers helped him. The other thing that gets on my nerves is when I hear complaints about why didn't they just radio the message to the front lines and why didn't they take the truck the front lines, or go to an air field and have a pilot deliver the message. That just shows, to me anyways, that those people didn't understand what was going on in 1917. Yes they had radios, but they were big and clunky and were prime targets for artillery because of the huge antenna masts. Those radios also didn't really use voice, but more so Morse code. The trucks would've gotten them close to the front lines, but not all the way there. This was still a very much horse drawn war. A truck would have an extremely hard time navigating all the shell craters and mud of the front lines. And it just wasn't the front lines, there were rest trenches, secondary position trenches, communication trenches, and resupply trenches that ran all the way up to the front lines. And a common soldier couldn't just commandeer a truck of His Majesty's Royal Army, especially if it was going in a different direction. Flying was risky business. First aerodromes were 10 -15 miles behind the front lines. There were no markers or land marks to distinguish who's line was who's, where in the line this unit would be. Second, the minute planes got near the front lines there were enemy planes and anti-aircraft guns looking to take them out of the sky. And you're not landing a plane along the trenches or No Man's Land to deliver a message, then hopping back in and taking off. You're going to crash because of the terrain, and then you and that plane become and instant target for every gunner on the line. Third, even if you drop the message from the plane and return back there's no guaranteeing it will make to the intended recipient. It could very well fall into enemy hands, or the recipient could believe it was a hoax. Lastly what gets me are those that complain there was no character development or something similar. Once again, know your history. There isn't a whole lot of character development to be had. The soldiers job were to deliver this message. Plus, the battle rhythm of most front line units were spending a week or two on the front lines getting shot to pieces, then spending 2 weeks in the rear resting and recouping, then doing it all over again. This war was just pure and simple carnage. There was no fighting for a good cause, no evil Nazi party, or surprise attack like Pearl Harbor (besides the Black Tom explosion). The Germans did say they were going to sink the Lusitania and to not to board it, and they did sink it.

[@NovaScotiaNewfie]

In the British Emoire many young teens lied about their age to serve. Often in Acting young teen roles are played by actors in their late teens or early 20's. Many actors are not established at a really young age for movies so that may be why you will see many with actors older than actual troops.

[@romanrat5613]

couldn't you have just kept your facecam in the corner the whole time?

[@ReelHistory]

Nope

[@landsea7332]

The Americans entering WW I. We were told in High School that the Americans entered WW I because of the Zimmerman telegram and the German U boat campaign . However , as speculation , IMO the real reasons are . 1 ) Wilson , JP Morgan and all the other American war profiteers wanted to ensure they could get their loans back which would not have happened if the British and French lost . 2 ) Wilson wanted a major say at the negotiation table when the war was over - which he certainly did during the Treaty of Versailles 3 ) Economically , the US did not want Continental Europe controlled by a single power ( Germany ) . 4 ) With the disintegration of Russia , German troops could be transferred from the eastern front to the west which changed the balance of military power . .

[@pietervanlaer7750]

Jared - Great Channel! I am wondering if you could comment on a war film or films that you think represents the highest level of rote historical 'accuracy', as opposed to 'authenticity'. I have several friends/family members who are collectors and war buffs. We have over the years had countless conversations about our favorite, and not so favorite war films. With many films, my friends always seem to find some fatal flaw - a subtle historical inaccuracy, that they then use as grounds for dismissing the movie as a whole. If maybe an extra can be seen wearing a patch on the wrong shoulder, a movie is deemed a disappointment. I have no problem giving the filmmakers a pass in regards to minor historical inaccuracies and liberties taken with the story, so long as it remains 'authentic'. They are of course entitled to their opinions, despite my disagreement. Many thanks!

[@banjoman101145]

A minor issue of mine is their consistent use of a bayonet. Use of a bayonet attached to your weapon makes the rifle unwieldy and dangerous to non-belligerents around you. Have my doubts that use of a bayonet would have been so prolific.

[@eddhardy1054]

Not really. Bayonet drill & use was and still is a major part of British Army doctrine.

[@banjoman101145]

@@eddhardy1054 I was just recalling my own basic training. Those things scared the living daylights out of me.

[@eddhardy1054]

@@banjoman101145 But you did use your experience to express doubt as to whether the British Army (circa WW1) would have used bayonets as much as shown. Did you serve in the UK military or elsewhere?

[@banjoman101145]

@@eddhardy1054 Of course the circumstances in the trenches was far different than mine half a century later but the scenes of crossing no-man’s land with a bayonet attached seems unlikely. Meeting an enemy out there would far more likely be resolved by firing your weapon than running through open land to stab your foe. Your 1903 Enfield is better balanced without an unwieldy bayonet dangling off the front of it. If it were me the bayonet would have stayed in its sheaf. ( or however you spell it”sheaf”).

[@eddhardy1054]

@@banjoman101145 If you watch any film from this period you will often see men advancing or waiting to advance with bayonets fixed. Sorry if this seems strange but it's still a fact...oh and the word you're looking for is scabbard. 😉😊

[@NovaScotiaNewfie]

Never volunteer yup. But the chain of command can choose you if no one volunteers :) .

[@livelaffluv]

Next time consider making the commentators presents secondary to the film Looking at the commentator, speak does not add anything to the narrative. In fact, it's the tracks from his informative efforts.

[@ReelHistory]

It was our very first video. We have gotten better!

[@williamkirby3552]

It doesn't help to have your huge portrait blocking the view of the movie.