How to Raise a Medieval Army DOCUMENTARY

[@InvictaHistory]

You can get Crusader Kings III and start raising your own armies using this link: play.crusaderkings.com/Invicta

[@timrobinson513]

Invicta I’d love to see a video on how armies were controlled in the field. How did the common soldiers know what to do? How were they paid? Did they have well known words of command? Did armies train as a whole? How were they supplied etc...

[@jorgenoname6062]

the new voice is more official I guess you could say but I miss the original tbh not that I'm hateing just a bit resistant to change I guess

[@IronMoose95]

Thats a crazy good sponsor

[@mathgasm8484]

I pre ordered it months ago its quite fun.

[@petermills3814]

Hey ladies + gentlemen at Invicta... as a die-hard fan of your great series for 5 years or so now, as an idea and request for later on = can you please do a part 3 or 4 video about this raising of Medieval armies series throughout from the Byzantine Empire?, of their armies and how they themselves organized their forces throughout their eras differently as time progressed from the late 300's to 1453 AD pretty please!. The Byzantine Greek Eastern Roman Empire is a playable faction in Crusader Kings, and most of us fans love this great civilization, and I personally think it would be a great addition addon to your series if mentioned = unless you've already got it planned already right now in development for a later episode, then that's great anyway and looking forward to it all. I'm just saying in case you accidently forget, so don't mind it too much ok = it's just a reminder that Byzantium was there during those whole periods as well and we would love to know more about them from this type of history series. Anyway, thanks for these great videos about history that you all put so much time and effort into them all = it's really appreciated by all of us! 😃😉😊😎😍😘🤩👍❤✔X

[@yoggz]

Never know when this sorta thing could come in handy

[@daviddosani7500]

We’re more than ready when the time comes around

[@spaceytracey1237]

Like now. In some parts of the world anyway. Coming to a town near you soon.

[@AxeBearWhoCares]

Exactly, I’m waiting for the world to end to use all the knowledge I’ve accumulated to form a city-state and kingdom.

[@napolien1310]

After WW3 apparently

[@apollodivine]

Time to raise some legions

[@jsthecanuck6804]

press “raise levies” in the military tab

[@sovietstar6703]

Aways remember to press “Disband” after

[@crazydinosaur8945]

@@sovietstar6703 it some nice money u have, would be a shame if someone forgot to disband your army

[@WellBattle6]

CrazyDinosaur Yourself. It’s always your own god fearing fault.

[@MrRushSkies]

Raise vassal levies at your own risk.

[@Sovietube]

@JS the Canuck lmfao

[@MichaelSmith-ij2ut]

So you're telling me that armies don't just stay permanently mustered inside towns for over 200 turns?

[@TheStapleGunKid]

Nah cause if they did that, their general would get the "procrastinator" debuff.

[@Root174]

@@TheStapleGunKid Heh. In Shogun 2, generals can develop the trait 'An eye for the ladies'. Which, if I recall correctly, lowers the movement range of the general's army.

[@TheStapleGunKid]

@@Root174 Despite playing hundreds of hours of Shogun 2, I don't remember that. But I certainly remember the procrastinator Debuff from Warhammer 2. So infuriating because as your empire gets large, you have to lave armies at strategic points along your border.

[@Root174]

@@TheStapleGunKid Well, it only happens if you keep a general in one region for a little too long :P . I vaguely remember that generals could develop a similar trait in Rome Total War, but it's been a while. Which reminds me: if you use a general too often in Shogun 2, then he can develop the trait 'Delusions of grandeur'. Which lowers the general's loyalty. I've had that twice thus far (one for each of my two playthroughs).

[@benlex5672]

If you are Byzantine, then yes. Otherwise, no.

[@ОлегКозлов-ю9т]

You first need to build a mead hall and then warriors hall and then just click recruiting and raise armies

[@daliberista4344]

@Publius Vorenus Sextus don't forget the single scout equites unit who single handedly slew the general and his elite retinue

[@jamesboulger8705]

Lol

[@ThePhantom712]

lol

[@stjarnar]

Ah yes, the smell from the mead hall will serve as bait to attract the warriors to stay at the warrior hall. Legit tactic back in the day. 10/10

[@ahmadalraisi2217]

What game

[@clevermcgenericname891]

Call the banners Summon the elector counts *WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!* That's how you do it, humie.

[@carloreytansiongco8741]

Medieval Humans: You must pick up arms because it is your moral and social obligation as a vassal to your liege. Orks: Oi, I hear dis Nob be goin to a proppa fightin. We can’t be missing the acshun! We can’t be missin da LOOTIN! Vikings: How is that weird?

[@Sorutirei]

We didn't hav enug TEEF, Boss!

[@jascrandom9855]

DEUS VOLT!!!

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

@@carloreytansiongco8741 *vikings: lets go steal stuff and hope we don't run into soldiers other scandinavians: naa, lets go conquer remember folks, the vikings were just a bunch of sea bandits. they didn't want real fights. norse/danish/etc did launch invasions but they weren't vikings when they did so.

[@carloreytansiongco8741]

Lord Solar Matthius confirmed Vikings are just sea orks. While actual Scandinavian invasions are all just a big WAAAGH

[@tunneller]

The Romans sure made logistics look easy

[@TEverettReynolds]

With unlimited slave labor, anything can be easy. Seriously, slaves also help keep the economy grounded with the minimum price for labor being $0 (think minimum wage). Once the supply of slaves dries up, costs go up, and before you know it, you are in the Middle Ages where you go broke trying to build and supply an army.

[@y.z.6517]

@@TEverettReynolds Slaves are poorly nurished and very hard to moltivate (read writings from slave owners in history). In agrian society, there was little surplus. Even moltivated laborers often starved in farmine. Keeping slaves fed was not easy. A country with people working for themselves tend to gain much more in taxation.

[@alganhar1]

@@y.z.6517 Roman slavery was more complex than the modern view of slavery. There were different levels, a slave in some of the hideously dangerous mines around the Empire for example could probably expect a rather short, brutal life. Other slaves however were highly valued, any slave with a trade for example. These would generally be well looked after, and even permitted to sell some of what they made for their own personal profit. Educated slaves were also highly prized, indeed, educated slaves could in fact become VERY powerful and wealthy in Roman society. The strange relationship Romans had with their slaves can be seen in Roman cemetaries. Often the slaves are buried in the same complexes as the families who owned them, just as interestingly a large proportion of them were buried free, in that they had been freed at some point but chose to remain with the family they had once served as slaves. The number of inscriptions detailing former slaves buried alongside Roman citizens is actually both extensive and remarkable. The point is the Roman system of slavery was very different to the one we are most familiar with, and while obviously brutal and terrible in many respects, was actually far more lenient in many others than more modern examples of slavery. Emancipation of slaves was typically fairly common in Roman society, in fact the Ancient Greeks used to comment on the Romans prediliction for freeing slaves that had pleased them. Another thing to bear in mind, is that slavery was pretty much universal at thise time, it was something that EVERYONE pretty much indulged in, it was not limited to Romans. More than half the population of Athens at its height were slaves, Spartans were in a distinct minority in Sparta, the Persians kept slaves, the Ethiopians, the Egyptians, the Gauls and various Celtic Tribes, the list goes on. Pretty much the whole known world during the Ancient Period was, to some extent, dependant on slavery.....

[@y.z.6517]

@@alganhar1 Sure, my point was that paying $0 wage does not mean costless. If you expect anyone to work hard and find solution with his own initiative, you have to convince him that doing so will benefit himself. At the first glance, mistreating slaves who will die soon in a dangerous mine may seem to make sense. Until you realized that slaves who are under stress will make far more mistakes, meaning that the mine will collapse more often. That means the mine needs to be dug again, and the lost slaves and tools need to be bought again. In addition, slaves who are expected to die soon will do anything to run away. That means that you need to hire more guards who are expensive to maintain.

[@y.z.6517]

@@alganhar1 A common practice for managing slaves who were expected to die was to let them indulge themselves with alcohol and hoes. Slaves enjoying immediate pleasure are more likely to forget their stress and remote danger. Roman gladiators, for example, were paid 7 times more than legionary soldiers.

[@benjaminmcclelland2464]

Kingdom Come Deliverance is a good example of small scale warfare and large. Large scale being sigismunds invasion, and the smaller scale being the battles fought by the lords against what the game calls bandits, but could be seen as an actual army under the command of the Robber Barron Istvan Toth.

[@soundgfx7166]

ah yes, KCD I love that game even if it constantly shits on my face with realistic gameplay.

[@benjaminmcclelland2464]

@Super Aventail those types of smaller conflicts were common between lords. It was interesting when they talked to Konrad Kyeser and he wanted to build a bunch of fancy rockets like what they used at Nicopolis to siege Talmberg, and the lords looked at him dumbly like he was an idiot for thinking small lords like them had access to explosives.

[@EroticOnion23]

Basically like modern day gangsters and mafia war, small scale hit and run...

[@muaowa]

Thank you for this, I was wondering what games include this kind of content 😁

[@requiemaeternam3406]

So glad they changed the name of high tier bandits in Men at Arms. Just real life if you see 3 shining bushes you run away asap.

[@didelphidae5228]

Uh, a Swadian recruit is just like 10 denars.

[@bificommander]

Then you just spend some time strolling around the country side beating up half-naked bandits with clubs and, presto, your recruits will turn into knights in full plate.

[@f0rk16]

Bruh I've been paying 40 denars for Sarranid recruits

[@agustintrivino9365]

@@f0rk16 disregard the Sarranids until you can fund your own crusade

[@GanjaMasterBlaster]

Well All you really need are Rhodok Sharpshooters

[@agustintrivino9365]

@@GanjaMasterBlaster heavy cavalry goes swooosh

[@NeroIML]

A small detail from LotR (this might be in the extended cut) I liked was that we see Theoden ride through the camp where his armies are mustering and is informed how many men have arrived from different areas.

[@jessepigram1039]

It is in the theatrical release. It is a nice touch. Tolkien was a meticulous man (for clarity, I'm not saying Tolkien wrote the film, rather this detail, or similar, was in the books)

[@untruelie2640]

@@Madhattersinjeans The movies are crap when it comes to details. Tolkien had been a soldier in WW1 and was a skilled linguist and historian. He was indeed quite meticulous when it came to small details. In the book, Théoden is already gathering his forces (due to Gandalf's advice) in Dunharg, when the messengers of Gondor arrive to request his help and he isn't hesitant at all.

[@MDP1702]

@@untruelie2640 The fact that he had to think about it was actually a nice touch in the movies. I'd say this is one example where a change wasn't bad.

[@untruelie2640]

@@MDP1702 I beg to differ. It is more of a needless dramatisation in my opinion. Théoden had a gondorian mother (according to Tolkien) and did grow up in Gondor; he had been a loyal ally of Gondor during his entire reign. Asking the dramatic question "Were was Gondor when the Westfold fell?" does complete injustice to his character and pretty much ignores his backstory. The alliance between the Rohirrim and Gondor was the backbone of Rohan's foreign policy for over 200 years; the land Calenardhon (Rohan) was given to them under the explicit condition that they would be allied to Gondor under all circumstances. (Not to mention the fact that Gondor was in no position at all to send troops to help Rohan in its fight against Saruman's army, because it was already occupied with defending Osgiliath, Cair Andros and its coast.) There are other great injustices to characters and events in the movies. Denethor, for example, is not reluctant to ignite the signal beacons of Gondor; they are already burning (!) while Gandalf and Pippin are still on their way to Minas Tirith and even before the gondorian messengers arrive at Dunharg. The movie completely ignores Denethor's skillfull and rational war conduct in order transform him into a cheesy antagonist. He only descents into madness and hopelessness, after Faramir is wounded.

[@MDP1702]

@@untruelie2640 *Théoden had a gondorian mother (according to Tolkien) and did grow up in Gondor; he had been a loyal ally of Gondor during his entire reign.* Which you don't know if you watch the movie and is thus irrelevant in terms of the movie. *Asking the dramatic question "Were was Gondor when the Westfold fell?" does complete injustice to his character and pretty much ignores his backstory.* Actually I personally think that asking this question, being upset that Gondor didn't help at all and still going to Gondors aid is a much more intriguing character than just the typical loyal vassal/ally. *The alliance between the Rohirrim and Gondor was the backbone of Rohan's foreign policy for over 200 years* 1. People that didn't read the books, but just watched the movies didn't necessarily know this. 2. This gives even more reason for Theoden to ask why Gondor didn't send any help. *the land Calenardhon (Rohan) was given to them under the explicit condition that they would be allied to Gondor under all circumstances.* I know, people watching the movie don't. And if they are allied, then where was Gondor when Rohan needed them? Seems like Theodens question still could very much apply. *(Not to mention the fact that Gondor was in no position at all to send troops to help Rohan in its fight against Saruman's army, because it was already occupied with defending Osgiliath, Cair Andros and its coast.)* And? Theoden might not be completely aware of Gondors truly precarious situation and nevertheless Gondor could have send a small detachment of troops, even just symbolically. And Theoden might have said the question more out of a feeling, not knowledge. Afterall he almost immediately decides to help Gondor. It sounds like they might have messed up Denethor indeed. But I still think the "Where was gondor" followed by a small pause and "master the rohirrim" was not necessarily a bad change. I think both this and the book version might have worked well. Though from what I hear the book version seems a little "bland". Personally I stopt reading the first book when I was maybe a third or less in. I didn't really like it. Maybe it is because of the older nature of the writing/language, though I didn't like the story much too up to that point. I think it was a good choice not putting Bombadil in the movie for example.

[@Sky_Guy]

So basically, popular media depicts assembly of a medieval army as a ruler tapping ~ and typing "spawn_rohirrim 6000" into the console.

[@skyworm8006]

It depicts it more like modern national militaries and the king a dictator of a nationstate. I think the reality is more interesting and fairer than the modern style.

[@lordbeetrot]

@@skyworm8006yeah and the civilisations are always centralised in media, while they in reality where really decentralised

[@SerbyTPA]

I appreciate you giving our savior, the Prince of Altdorf, Sigmar’s Heir, Son of Emperors and Emperor Himsef Karl Franz a spotlight.

[@solwen]

I'm sure this action has his consent.

[@SerbyTPA]

@@solwen He is Franz. They will obey

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

Well his empire is based on the holy roman empire (but much more organized and have more solid boarders) and is a bit closer to a real king as he has to deal with his many lower ranking counts (electors) as they can basically veto his moves. In some cases even revolt or in Marianburgs case secide

[@theZXDgames]

@@forickgrimaldus8301 Marienburg bought it's independence from a lousy emperor of old though

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

That just demonstrate the power of the elector counts though as the emperor at the time of the secession is so weak

[@Jaymo00]

Writing a middle ages novel. The hard part for me is being able to keep everything realistic without bloating the story with history terms and jargon. This is VERY valuable information for me! Thank you.

[@suisiwara2036]

Yoo bro im kinda curious about ur novel. Is it a webnovel? If so where can i read it

[@Jaymo00]

@@suisiwara2036 thank you for the interest!! Ive had it saved on a google doc for years. Slowly been evolving and changing as i get older. Its tough to get substantial work on it because i am so busy with college. It’s nowhere near done but i am determined to finish it one day. I dont want to make any money off it im doing it just for fun. Might release it online when it’s completed

[@Jaymo00]

@Jeremiah Boyd thank you much appreciated! I feel you. Writing books are so time consuming its been a work in progress for over 7 years now i think. Sometimes i feel like i will never finish but i just do it as a creative outlet not for my income. I just tell myself “i want to finish my story before i die” hahaha

[@suisiwara2036]

@@Jaymo00 i feel you. I started a novel when i was in grade school i havent finished it too :/. Anyways ill wait for you to release your novel

[@siddheshkakade2888]

You guys are inspiring me to write one as welll

[@incanusolorin2607]

Hey the muster of Rohan wasn’t just a random line in the books. It took a whole chapter!

[@milankadar4864]

And "summon the banners" is explained in details in the books for example it took Rob a month to assemble a rushed army

[@Jalil8171]

Big caveat. In the BOOKS! I think narrator was mostly referring to depiction in movies. The Witcher books also details a lot about mustering armies. When Temeria is prepping it's army against Nilfgaard and the whole ordeal Jarre goes thru to get enlisted and just ends up in the PIF (poor fucking infantry) is golden 😂

[@requiemaeternam3406]

In the books Gondor got an absolute tons of allies with parades going on for days. The only fantasy series that i’ve seen showing almost accurate logistics(if you don’t count magic) is the Wheel of Time. In Lotr armies simply eat out of thin air.

[@colinsanders9397]

To be fair, that'ss not just a regular chapter; its a Tolkien chapter.

[@incanusolorin2607]

Requiem Aeternam As far as I remember the parade of the armies of the Southern Fiefs marching into Minas Tirith only took a few hours and people were even disappointed about how few soldiers arrived. So there weren’t tons of allies. Actually, I think the Lords leading those armies should be considered vassals of the Lord of Minas Tirith, not allies. Also, there is mention of large stocks of provisions in Minas Tirith, the daily food rations were reduced when the siege started and all useless mouths were sent away from the city beforehand, so the armies were not eating out of thin air. I’m not saying LotR is realistic, just trying to clarify some points, ok?

[@CABOOSEBOB]

That’s why King Arthur went around recruiting local knights and explaining how to know if someone is a witch

[@rinck17]

Who are you who are so wise in the ways of science?

[@rohitrai6187]

Anarcho-syndicalist communes

[@microwaveenthusiast7410]

She turned me into a newt

[@velveteensallet949]

@@rinck17 An enlightened man who learned that the Earth is in the shape of a banana.

[@MrDalisclock]

@@microwaveenthusiast7410 considering you can type i can only assume you got better

[@thebadjoker9117]

Recruiting armies is the easiest thing. Just have enough money and spawn complete armies in a few rounds in total war

[@lazy_nyt]

True. Hard part is maintaining them for longer period and having patience in amassing which takes forever lmao

[@miguelmontenegro3520]

Screw levies. Imperial Red Coats are the best

[@sztypettto]

One round in TW (Rome, Attila, Britannia, Medieval) is a season. That's 3 months.

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

@@sztypettto medieval 2 had 2 years per turn.

[@sztypettto]

@@matthiuskoenig3378 , thanks for the correction. Been almost a decade since I played.

[@setiawansetiawan5103]

That "summon the elector counts" was unexpected and brought shivers to my spine

[@latter-daysaintbatman2679]

I already knew the quote was going to be included as I had expected that scene from the Kingdom of Heaven.

[@war_designer8763]

When everything is going so well Notification: Your King gains the trait *generous* you lose 90% of your annual income

[@linhhoang1363]

when 'supposedly' nice traits become annoying

[@SOLARITY333]

i swear, charitable and kind are the worst personality traits in ck2

[@what-oy8il]

@@SOLARITY333 not in ck2 they not

[@veryangryduckpl2122]

King without traits is better than king with 7 virtues

[@ragzaugustus]

Interestingly enough, Canute the IV of Denmark actually got overthrown because he assembled his levies, in their longboats, and held the trigger for too long, as his levies were peasants, they had a harvest to handle. The levies eventually elected his brother to try and reason with him, that brother was then shipped off to Flanders for "unknown" reasons, and even though Canute the IV did disperse his levies from their anchorage, he did make it clear he was going to assemble them next year. Unfortunately, he did hand out fines to the peasants that had gone home and this was 1085, Danish peasants were fairly powerful back then, he stayed at a Royal Farm in northern Jytland and the local peasants rose up in revolt. The end would happen half a country away, in the city of Odense on the island of Fyn, King Canute the IV was killed on the very altar of Saint Albany's Church (The First one, not the present one) after being chased all the way from start of the revolt. His brother would take over as King, Olaf "Hunger", and yes, that's a king who's was called "famine", as such, people got the idea that Canute the IV was a martyr and God was pissed, Canute the Holy was what he became after this, his skeleton can be seen today at the Church of Canute the Holy in Odense. A few more notes, Olaf the Hunger's burial site is unknown, a theory is that he was essentially a human sacrifice, the old days of the Norse wasn't that far away at the time, and that his body parts were spread all over the country, as a form of blood price to regain favour from the God(s). Interestingly enough, both Canute and Olaf were illegitimate, add in another two half brother who were also kings, their father King Svend Estridsen did not keep it in his pants.

[@cccpredarmy]

You really talk about Danmark? Or... KHORNES REALM??!!!

[@r.u.s.e3586]

This is interesting history!

[@thenoblepoptart]

lmao, just danish things

[@animeyahallo3887]

I heard my neighbor watching this so I'm assuming he's planning on something. Nevertheless I will join his army and liberate some land!

[@cerridianempire1653]

or loot some gold hopefully I'm in the rear

[@colinsanders9397]

This is medieval warfare, boy! We don't liberate land. We subjugate it.

[@cerridianempire1653]

@@colinsanders9397 or loot it at least

[@dubuyajay9964]

Arrange a political marriage with his family while you still can.

[@cerridianempire1653]

@@dubuyajay9964 but what if he dies

[@dimesonhiseyes9134]

I always just mass clicked "train" on the zerglings and hoped for the best.

[@justdracir8197]

We found our next Overmind guys.

[@sirBrouwer]

there where no trains in the middle ages. that is where it went wrong.

[@epicfail5473]

You mean "Morph"

[@firejuggler31]

Zerg was always my bane. Best chance was to build the Supply Depots in a narrow part of the most likely line of approach, then hope the Zerglings get delayed.

[@eyesofstatic9641]

@@firejuggler31 My turtle brethren!

[@domuka]

Ck2 thought me that medieval warfare is ez. Just: >Become the Irish emperor of Alba >Make an antipope >Raise up 2 of the biggest merc armies in the map and sail them near rome >Press antipope's claim on the papalcy >win, since the pope's raised army is at 0 moral >use new pope vassal to make claims on all catholics that are not your vassals >profit

[@bajlozi6873]

I never bothered with antipopes but this makes sense...

[@romyarmada9580]

Stonks

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Something new? Something medieval? Hell yeah!

[@facundocadaa9020]

I believe that if something is medieval it won't be something new

[@benm5913]

Don't you get too excited there. You're supposed to keep doing early modern stuff. P..Please?

[@sirBrouwer]

something blue

[@facundocadaa9020]

@@sirBrouwer I got that

[@AnthroTsuneon]

While I'm not huge on the writer and some content, I feel the Witcher books did a surprisingly decent job on showing off aspects of the mustering, rallying and disbanding

[@austinflint8671]

The game Dragon Age: Origins covered this very well. Despite looming doom they had their own issues and needed time to assemble, and even then you only get a limited amount of troops to handle it while lords keep a force behind to defend themselves

[@codysing1223]

The Roman's really had it made for awhile there, Discipline and their theater of combat via land or sea is incredible to read about. Sure many armies could fight and conquer... the Roman's always brought hammers with builders to fights to Campaigns. Tools and logistics are what made Rome admirable and effective.

[@joshuaiam485]

@Black Solid true caesar and his many wall building's won him countless battles..even when the odds were impossible..

[@VarietyGamerChannel]

@Black Solid No, this would have been the babylonians.

[@ZacharyReaper]

YES! I was having a debate about this recently! Thanks for the great video!

[@8888stealth]

Ya win?

[@danielseager-smithdanzo2345]

Knew this was Paradox-sponsored before I even opened the video, great that Iove both Invicta and Paradox Games ❤️

[@darter9000]

Two months to mobilize? No wonder countries were fretting about being first to mobilize right up to WW I.

[@guardiadecivil6777]

victoria 2 captures this feeling perfectly where if you mobilize your economy collapses, rebellion appears imminent and you increase the chance of a great war happening where every nation who will fight in it will see a shitton of their populations or even their empire falling apart but hey at least you got like a shitton of farmers to send as meatshields

[@pretzelbomb6105]

It took even longer to mobilize once World War 1 came around. Train schedules and standing forces helped a little, but artillery pieces and airplanes require a lot more logistical support than a guy with a spear. And that’s not even mentioning the titanic quantities of ammunition and rations required for the average soldiers and even more support for specialized equipment like trench mortars and machine guns. Replacement parts, cleaning kits, gasoline, tires, horse feed, whetstones, telegraph wire, medical supplies, gas masks, and more all had to be sourced and supplied en masse before you could even THINK about declaring war. War is hard and exponentially expensive.

[@artruisjoew5473]

Meanwhile in Ancient Rome: logistical preparation for a small scale campaign can be done in a week, legion can move out immediately afterwards. Took Europe a millennia to re-learn what it destroyed.

[@darter9000]

@@artruisjoew5473 I do think having a far more centralized government helped the Roman Empire. Having no need to negotiate with nobles does seem to help mobilization.

[@alganhar1]

@@pretzelbomb6105 Many of those weapons did not exist in 1914, or existed in small numbers. Gas masks, did not exist, Gas was not used until 1915, arguably the french were first with a tear Gas attack, but the Germans were first with a fatal agent at Ypres. Trench Mortars were not developed until 1915 - 1916, the most useful being the Stokes Mortar, which is the basis of all modern mortars. Heavy artillery was rare even in the German Army in 1914, and they only had more of it than anyone else because they knew they were going to have to go through the Belgian Border Forts, which would need a seige train. Pretty much everyone else relied on Field Artillery..... Aircraft as well were relatively minor logistically in 1914. Of course, all these would change during the war! But other than those little nitpicks, pretty much spot on, as you mentioned (and so many forget) the mobilisation timetables of all the major powers with the exception of Britain (which traditionally had a very small, professional Army) was wholly dependant on train timetables. Indeed, both France and Germany had literally planned out their entire rail networks with war against the other in mind. This is why you see so many rail lines in those days running parrallel to the borders with other lines meeting them from within, this was done for easy movement of troops from one part of the country to another to meet potential attacks. This, and the fact that the only exploitation arm, the cavalry, was obsolete is actually a large part of the problem the Generals faced. An attack could only proceed at walking pace, but the defenders could quickly train in reserves to plug any gap. The logistics issues only got worse as the war went on, modern warfare was essentially born in the Trenches of WWI. In 1914 an infantry platoon in every major army was fairly large, and was comprised of 100% riflemen. In contrast, by 1918 a British Infantry Platoon consisted of two rifle sections (a section is the British term for a squad at the time), each built around a Lewis gun, a gun section built around two Lewis guns, a Grenadier Section, and a heavy section which was made up of rifle grenadiers and a couple of 3 inch mortars. This is a combined arms unit that looks in many ways similar to a modern Infantry platoon. Of course, though these extra weapons gave the platoon more firepower, it also meant far more equipment had to be supplied to each platoon. The real logistics explosion however was artillery shells! There are photographs of dumps of expended shells that number literally hundreds of thousands of empty brass shell cases. These would be shipped back and recycled! They were shooting so many shells that they literally had to recycle the brass cases to keep up with demand.

[@thechargeblade]

Your content is Netflix worth dude, the production quality is top notch.

[@antoinemonks4187]

Finally! I've researched this topic a lot and I can see how much work you guys have done, plus it's so great to see the information consolodated this way. Please, we need a part two soon. Keep up the good work.

[@ValerianLincinius]

I think Karl-Franz is an odd choice. Although it's true that the electoral counts are his feudal subjects, the different imperial provinces employ standing, professional armies, which they send to aid their emperor. Karl-Franz himself commands the troops of his own province

[@enriquecabrera2137]

Ok... And?

[@ValerianLincinius]

@@enriquecabrera2137 nothing in particular. I just mentioned that their example regariding Karl-Franz is not that well choosen :)

[@enriquecabrera2137]

@@ValerianLincinius ok

[@Archris17]

The Empire is actually a really fascinating example of worldbuilding for how they go into detail about each province keeping a standing army and how the Free Companies feature in the Imperial army. Old GW really put in the work to make it feel real.

[@enriquecabrera2137]

@@Archris17 it was a proper example since a lot if not MOST empires did their army building that way. But turbonerd Valerian apparently didnt likenit because it wasn't super ultra specific enough

[@dariustiapula]

Instructions unclear: accidentally cause the apocalypse. Sent for Mongols, Templars, Samurais. Send everyone. HELP!.

[@lastone9744]

The Knights of Europe come to your aid!!!

[@witchhunter6755]

Rome laughs at your desperate situation

[@dariustiapula]

@@witchhunter6755 *Suddenly demons in the middle of the Vatican*

[@Sin526]

@@dariustiapula *"the SLAYER has entered the facility"*

[@MK_ULTRA420]

I told the Pentagon the apocalypse has crude oil and is trying to sell it for a non-USD currency. There problem solved.

[@JohnnyMacLeod01]

I hear "Summon the elector counts!" i press like!

[@zachjuarez9421]

Excellent video I’m also curious as to how the soldiers of this time period would be trained. I suspect that in many kingdoms and empires the quality of training might have been inferior to Rome during its prime, but that the quality of soldiers supplied might vary even among villages. How were various medieval units trained, such as heavy Calvary or archers, and who would be responsible for training them?

[@kskaiseraaron]

It would've been a lot of self teaching and sustainment. Squires learning and training under Knights. Possibly a concept similar to the modern reserves where the "peasants" were equipped and paid to train occasionally. There is evidence that often the fyrd (levies) would be somewhat equipped and allowed to keep those weapons as a result of military service when called upon. Furthermore, as far as the skirmishers and archers, hunting was a major way of life and many bowmen would've mastered their craft hunting. My two cents worth anyway

[@JustGrowingUp84]

@Zach Juarez I'm curios too, I could find extremely little information about it, especially about lower class soldiers. Rich people usually used the services of a master-at-arms, who would train nobles and their retinue. Wealthy nobles could even afford the services of a personal trainer. From these masters we have a plethora of combat treatises starting from the Late Middle Ages - check out Wiktenauer for many such treatises who are translated into modern English. As for lower class soldiers, as far as I can tell, it was either their father, or a veteran from their village/town, or a during a campaign a veteran soldier or even a master-at-arms could train the levies (not during marching, obviously, but during camping, sieges etc.). However, a lot of this info is conjecture, assumptions and guessing. I don't know of any source from that time that clearly tell us the situation and gives us details, when it comes to who does the training of commoners... :(

[@EroticOnion23]

The Brit longbowman trained every Sunday after church iirc

[@monsiercochrane77]

@@kskaiseraaron Makes a lot of sense. That's actually quite a logical explanation. Most of these peasants, who volunteered for service, had a considerably large family, who took care of the land(s)/craft/business, while they did some soldiering for a bit of extra cash. (By wages paid to them, AND, preferably by looting enemy/neutral lands, as they paid more, on their way to, and from battle.) More the loot, better the savings for home, and better the equipment they could afford, for the next battle.( better equipment translated into better pay.) After a few battles, (if they managed to survive long enough, and were lucky enough to get lots of loot), they naturally developed better combat skills, and had much better gear. Guess, what that means? It means, that, the next time they go to battle/war, their status would automatically be increased from a member of a peasant levy, to that of a MERCENARY. Now, obviously, mercenaries had far better pay, and had much less to worry about regarding sharing of loot, since, they were less in number, and didn't have to pay a bigger share to the lords, who led the peasants, since mercenaries were generally granted a much higher degree of freedom. Thus, more pay, more loot, more share. They basically got rich. THAT IS, if they survived long enough for, and after that. (Which was rare.)

[@mcsquisherton]

@@monsiercochrane77 holy crap this is actually a well thought out explanation. Thanks for this.

[@caprikoziol4150]

Digging the art style :))

[@CrimsonSp33d]

"However discusions of this will have to wait for another video." Nooooo I want it now!

[@istoppedcaring6209]

importantly, militairy camps were usually made up of huts, made of wood and thatch rather than tents, and that was during long term encampments, on the short term it is more likely that soldiers would not have any significant shelter at all, asside from maybe leanto's or basic overhangs tents were expensive and thus reserved for those who could afford them, after all these required a lot of work and material to produce.

[@rizkaarifiandi5670]

raising army need lots of gold and food me : *typed "Robin Hood" and "Cheese steak jimmy's"

[@abrancullen7402]

Studying how armies work so that I can make a comprehensive war setting in my DnD campaign. 😌✨

[@andreibogorodski288]

Well from what i know, during the ancient Egypt war campaigns and the famous Alexander the Great conquest, they didnt had much issues with gathering the army. Egypt and Greece had trained military forces, they were on stand-by and lived their lifes up until a war broke. The Roman empire, that was there long before the Medieval era, already had an army that served as one on daily basis, so no farming or doing any other things for them. The idea was to pass a law where ALL able men are to be trained, and when needed called to arms something that is still used today "Hollywood" movies such as Games of Thrones (which is not a Hollywood movie), shows it well. Every city\castle have soldiers, who work as peasants on daily basis, but when needed they instantly recruited by the local lord. the lord provide them with weapons\armor. While some landlords provided supplies like food. They then joined up and form a part of an army, that joins with others into a larger army. Untrained peasants are BAD fighters, so every lord wanted his peasants to master the art of war at least to some basic form. and it is much cheaper to train a peasant then to give an untrained peasant cheap weapons, and he will then just instantly die, loosing all the equipment, and the lord himself loosing a men who now can no longer work the fields

[@pinkysuspegasus]

THANK. YOU. SO. MUCH. I was always wondering how did raising of an medieval army happen and now you answered that question for me. Again, thank you Invicta!

[@neckripperoni]

BY THE COMET. *SUMMON THE ELECTOR COUNTS!* (Elector Counts boop out of nowhere)

[@linhhoang1363]

The quality of the video is just astonishing. Great work !

[@oshywardlaw4375]

Love the art and looking forwards to your next episode, but to defend Theoden, it did show the army mustering in the mountain valley, it didn't take long because the Rohirrim were at a time of war and waiting to be called to arms.

[@Nebelkorona]

Absolutely love representing armies as figurines.

[@zappbrannigan4170]

Perfect timing. I was just about to raise a modern army.

[@khal7702]

I assume Crusader Kings III... great way to intertwine history n sponsorship. This is one of my favorite history channels.

[@juancarlosdegoya2757]

You recruit them from villages then you go fight bandits, also having a good amount of skill on training helps

[@geraltgrey-mane695]

Any plans on making a video or videos on how during the medieval time supply lines armys marching paths where choosen, and tactial war targets? LOVE! this kind of stuff :)

[@heretyk_1337]

I am so glad you adressed the issue of "unwashed pesants witch pitchforks", because it was insulting to the memory of all those people, who died at war... Including pesants. In my country, quite a big portion of pesantry(just below 40%) were "Kmiecie"(plural. Singular: Kmieć- don't know, if other nations have equivalent of those). Those were free men, who paid taxes directly to the king, not to some local lord and had a land to their name(about 20 hectares- some had over 25, some just over 17, but fucking about with this would take too much time). Those people often had time to train at least some time, and money for decent equipement, if they wanted to pursue military career- if they could be presuaded to fight, they could prove to be very good infantry- even in later times, when most armies had professional soldiers

[@Vlad_Tepes_III]

I'm not entirely certain which country you're from, but in England (and in similarly Anglophone countries as well, I suppose), that type of combined professional soldier and wealthy land-owning peasant would be called a yeoman. These were the people who would wield the famed longbows the English were famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) for using to devastating effect against the French in the hundred years war. It would be intuitive to assume that almost every feudal culture would have elites even among the commoners, who, unlike most other levies, would be wealthy landowners in peace and bridge the gap between lesser trained levies and the professional warriors of the military aristocracy.

[@heretyk_1337]

@@Vlad_Tepes_III Well, i am slav, and we brought our own castes, then adapted them to fit feudal World better. And frankly, before XIIth century, word "kmieć" meant "prince's dignitary". But after XIIth century, when class of town and city dwellers was properly established- something between nobles and peasantry, as far as rights and priviliges were concerned, at least over here- "kmieć" meant basically a wealthy peasant. I guess every country has it's own little nuances- still it is good, that myth of unruly, pitchforks wielding, unwashed, cowardly rube is going away, one video at the time :)

[@MK_ULTRA420]

@@heretyk_1337 The perception of unwashed peasant soldiers fighting with pitchforks probably comes from media since costumes for armies can get very expensive or it's done as a joke like Monty Python.

[@heretyk_1337]

@@MK_ULTRA420 I'll be a paranoid one here, thank you very much, Mr. CIA Program(just fucking with you) But i think that myth comes from bit different source... If you watch ANY kind of historical drama, or even fantasy that is somewhat rooted in history, like "Game of Thrones", what will you get? Clegry i corrupted, and they do nothing but fuck nuns, drink wine, and lie through their teeth. Knights and nobles are always arrogant, they care not about their subjects, they even shoot for sport/rape/feed those subjects to the dogs/ do some other terrible shit for the fuck of it... They supress them, keep them uneducated, use them for their nefarious purposes, vent frustrations on them from time to time and try to keep the World within the norm... Peasants are stupid, cannot read, or count, are cowered in shit, no matter what they do(they could be writting, they will still have dirty hands...), and only thing, that separates them from farmyard animals is, that it is them, who hold the string attached to said animal's mouth piece, and not the other way around... They shovel shit from one heap to the other all day... AND THERE IS ALWAYS BRAVE, NEW HERO OUT THERE, TO CHALLENGE OLD, STIFF ORDER, AND TO CHANGE THIS TRAGIC WORLD INTO SOMETHING MORE AKIN TO OURS, WHICH IS, OH!, SO FAIR... Because admitting, that there were wealthy merchants, coming out of paesants' ranks, who climbed the ladders on ther own, or that free person could become a noble or city dweller- that there was upward movement in society, much like it happens today, just then it took some brave thing to be done-, or that lords very often fought to defend their people(some did it from the goodness of their hearts, but even if not, it was surely done to keep thier workers alive- mutually beneficial relationship), or that in times of drought or flood some nobles would give away food from their storages and wouldn't require commoners to work their fields, so they could tend to their own damaged propety, EVEN IF law fully allowed them to exploit their peasants further(in my country that would be XVIIth century, not medieval times, but example still stands), or that a knight, caught in act of raping, or killing a member of peasantry, for the fuck of it- would be tortured publicly(or at the very least, had to pay hefty sum of money and was tasked by some clergy representative to do something to wash away the blood)- admiting to all of that would require Hollywood to: 1. Actually caring about telling truth. 2. Realizing, that world was as complex, as ours is. 3. Get their heads out of their asses, and realizing tha: wealthy= bad, poor= good mentality from Vietnam War Era isn't exactly applicable to people living from 500 to 1000 years ago, with mentality so much different, than ours, that we could kind off think about them as of different planet inhabitants... When i tell people, that castes gave people stability, assurance in life, and certain freedoms in some aspects, while taking it in others- people look at me, like i just fell down from the Moon. Y'know, because they SAW THE MOVIES, AND IN THOSE MOVIES IT WASN"T LIKE I SAID... Because, as we all know(SARCASM): we are smarter, than people in medieval times, because we have computers...- to which i respond with "do you know, how to make computer? Toaster? Toilet paper? Penicillin? Any other miracle of science, that you are so keen to point out to me? Anyway- it is long rant, but i trust, you will get the point :)

[@AttilaKattila]

@@heretyk_1337 I think the reason why the medieval period is so interesting is that it is so incomparable to the world we live in today, even the world of antiquity is more similar to our contemporary world just with a few differences such as a different economic arrangement (slave economy) sustaining their growth-based market economy system than ours (capitalism), no high technology, and the fact that they never reached a point where a single state would reach superpower status and rule the oceans and dictate the commerce of the whole world. In the medieval period, people probably valued different things, or at least different classes of people valued different things or the rulers of the period valued different things. Chivalry and courage on the battlefield were seen as good things then. It's kind of ridiculous for people to think that in a period, in which supremacy on the battlefield meant success, rulers or nobles of the period, who climbed the ranks because of war, did not reach their positions legitimately, or that the period should be judged by modern ideals of equality, peace and profit. In those times it was probably pretty fair that some people had more property than others if they had to go to war for it anyways. So then it's not really unfair for some to have less if they have nothing at stake anyways. There were various kinds of estate based societies or feudal systems or whatever, in some countries such as Sweden (and Finland, which was its eastern part), there were no serfs at all for example, all peasants were land owners. This would only change later on during the modern period when you would get people who were rent farmers (torpare) who didn't own the land they farmed on for the profit of the landowners. Maybe it's because of the lower population density, which might be because people wouldn't want to move into such a remote region due to its cold climate.

[@wiwersewindemer4437]

This was so very interesting Though I'll have to re-watch it tomorrow to truly get the gist of it

[@deergod8292]

This is very valuable information. I definitely needed to know how to raise myself a medieval army.

[@pedja7525]

Animation and narrative are really awesome, good job for the music also, great video!

[@blakeprocter5818]

Thanks for this video. I'm working on a low fantasy novel that has a lot of armies and campaigning (albeit set in a pseudo bronze age instead of medieval), so this is pretty helpful.

[@insertname3293]

i genuinely love this thread

[@manu_spawn]

It surprises me how many similarities i found related to M&B: Warband and Bannerlord

[@kamikazemelon787]

Man the art and music in CKIII is SO GOOD. Glad you got to use it for this video.

[@hngh6404]

Me at 8PM: One moe video, then an early night. Me at 2AM:

[@jopo3616]

this is the gold standard for historical informative yt videos.

[@TESkyrimizer]

1241AD mod for Warband was pretty interesting in setting a difference between permanent retinue and village levies

[@lukewright3943]

I'm really jealous of how awesome this guys voice sounds.

[@thomasahrend4373]

All ready bought the game, absolutely amazing!!!

[@doubleonese7en]

Thank you for these videos. You are doing a noble thing by making all of these complex systems so much easier to understand and the art is attractive. The sponsor even goes along perfectly with your topic.

[@Byronthebull]

He forgot the magic words, " WAGHHHHHHHHH"

[@artruisjoew5473]

You don’t summon an ork army for war. The war summons the orks.

[@ryanf4106]

OI. YOUZ CALLED FER A SCRAP YA GIT?

[@hellacoorinna9995]

@@ryanf4106 "Yew fuggin wot, skrub?"

[@hellacoorinna9995]

@@artruisjoew5473 Orkz got mentul powahz wot fingz werk koz dey figga dey werk... In da foocher, derez onlee War, innit. Orkz luv a bit've a rumble,yeah? Ergo... Orkz iz wot makin fingz konstant war. Frink Maahk, Fink.

[@brutustheelder7413]

This voice actor is great. So, calm.

[@invinciblemindset6609]

France has a standing army since the late medieval era. Charles VII made an ordinnance to raise a standing army that help him to win the war.

[@VarietyGamerChannel]

It was smol. Very smol. Teeny tiny. Like a skeleton crew of 2000-3000 that would then be supplemented later. Nothing compared to rome's standing force of over 20 legions/600,000 troops or ming china's 1,000,000 full time troops in the 1300's.

[@Dylan-pj7rv]

​@@VarietyGamerChannelFrench standing army in late Medieval era was of 9.000 men-at-arms, full professionals. Which for european standards was a significant and costly army to maintain, so it's useless to compare with the Romans or China

[@matthewjones39]

@@VarietyGamerChannelCompletely different circumstances.

[@Tiberon098]

An extremely informative video on a topic I never put a lot of thought into in spite of being a fan of this kind of thing, thank you Invcita.

[@martinschlegel9533]

I’ve been looking for this video for some time. Never found it. Well, now I did.

[@johnarnold8485]

Would love to see more about the logistics of medieval warfare, or more exact compositions of armies by country. That sort of thing. Great video for history buffs and writers!

[@carloreytansiongco8741]

I’m excited for the later time when you’ll eventually deal with the Chevauchee. And realise that chivalric knights being trained for “martial warfare” includes them being very cool with “raiding weakly defended villages and falling back from real engagements”.

[@davidespiritu4667]

Waste not, want not. It wouldn't do for you to be unable to have your cavaliers sweep the foe from the field because your best riders are lying in bed from infected otherwise non-serious injuries received in what amounted to a backroom brawl that wouldn't have decided anything. Bravado doesn't win wars, after all. Chivalry is in using your chevaliers well, and that includes burning the enemy's food stores and not giving them the satisfaction of fighting back.

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

your udnerstanding of chivalry is rather poor. chivalry is what ever a knight thought was honourable, it is not a monolithic ideology. and in somecases did include not fighting/burning civilians. in other cases it invokved following orders or doing what was nessisary for victory. romanisised chivilry comes from stories written to discourage 'barbaric' forms of chilvry that allowed the killing of innocents. also 'martial' warfare is redundant, marital means related to fighting and warfare.

[@AxeTheViking]

I'm currently writing a low-fantasy mercenary novel, so this will definitely come in handy!

[@TheAtomkilla]

I love the fact that almost every commenter here is a fan of Crusader Kings, Total War, Warhammer or all of the above.

[@human6310]

The heretical isekai warhammer or the euphoric dying imperium?

[@walkswithdominic6124]

The game is so insanely fun I almost never pay attention to ads but this one is gold. Absolute gem of a game. Definitely recommend.

[@ОлегКозлов-ю9т]

I never played paradox games (too complicated and expensive for me), but boy oh boy, do I appreciate an influx in ed-vids every time they make a new game

[@warlock2872]

Understanble for the expensive part. But some paradoxe game are not that hard. Eu4 is really hard, but CK is not that hard.

[@guardiadecivil6777]

the new games are pretty easy to understand granted your literate and have basic common sense, also yeah paradox's way of handling DLCs is pretty dogshit so just buy the base game and pirate a version with all the DLCs included

[@NWOLFF9719]

I don't usually subscribe to every channel i come across,but this channel for my attention And is interesting,plus explains in depth You earned my subscription for life

[@fuge74]

this seems like it might be very useful in explaining how the draft works in the US and the difference of conscripts, draftees, reserves, and compulsory enlistment.

[@judsonwall8615]

What an incredible channel you’ve built. Keep up the amazing work and thank you.

[@aayushniraula84]

I love that he included summon the elector counts 🤣🤣

[@BLUEKOMMEH]

This is my favorite history content right now! What a change from Total War playthroughs!

[@nowgoawayanddosomethinggoo8978]

expectations: an army reality: a whole city marches

[@nickgauden2332]

Im am so glad there is someone making this content.

[@piccolo917]

can this man please do nursery rhymes or bedtime stories? Holy shit that voice is soothing.

[@antonioclaudio5610]

I love the change of tone in the voice from the documentary to the advertisement, it always make me laugh.

[@aenorist2431]

Today is the day every video is sponsored by CK3. I love the game, but this is ridiculous :D My entire feed is full of this, and totally not because I am a nerd about games and history!

[@rpavangchhia8953]

yup and my facebook is full of some korean band hitting the billboard number 1. A memorable day!

[@franciskeough6416]

You guys are lucky. All I get is Democrat party lies and propaganda. I'd love to have CK3, or even k-pop bands adverts.

[@nenadmilovanovic5271]

Better than raid shadow legends

[@tada-kun982]

@@franciskeough6416 better tjan Trump

[@firedrakeillusional9862]

@@franciskeough6416 Haha you political people are all alike, everything you don't agree with are lies and propaganda 😂

[@notthebeaver1532]

This is Great. Nobody Ever talks about this. ENCORE!?! ENCORE!?!

[@joshscott7401]

“Bring me my men!” -Karl Franz.

[@amberswafford9305]

Finally, someone’s answering a question I’ve had for awhile.

[@whatevs53665]

Last time I was this early, I had to serve time.

[@saltherilshaven]

This was a very well designed and informative video! Thank you!

[@Reignor99]

I wish I knew all this back in Kindergarten, I had no clue how to rally the others to overthrow the teacher.

[@MilosAndric123]

The voice, the animations and art, realy explains in details, music...All of it. Thank you so much! Very useful for my DND campaign :D

[@uniguy2126]

To be fair the GoT part where Robb Stark says call the banners is a lot more nuanced in the books (they didn’t have the time or money to do it to its full extent in the show) and follows this more closely

[@beamng4youtube350]

Thank you! I've been needing this for a while!

[@jus9891]

girls google searches : "how to befriend popular girls" boys google searches : "How to raise an army"

[@tyree9055]

"Conan, what are the best things in life!?! To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of the women!" 😅

[@moonwolf8470]

Those girls need to invest in seducer focus tree.

[@1992zorro]

They only invest in Stewardship focus aka Only Fans

[@Specter_V]

I do not understand how a historical video gathert 300 dislikes. Disliking knowlage is just amazing property of the todays idiocracy. Next time people just click on the 3 points on the left up corner on the video and click not interested. Great video Sir you earned a subscreiber.

[@azazzelx]

gonna be able to use this knowledge later on....or...just press 'raise levies'

[@choirboyzcutleryoutdoors]

Awesome channel LOVE IT!!!

[@princeimrahil6557]

I love how every joke comment refers to a different game

[@colink563]

Love the artwork and voiceover/acting! Great video