Issuing Orders in the Fog of War

If I'm perfectly honest, this video is really just a long ramble about how battles in the 18th and 19th Centuries were quite large. Of course we all know this- it's just a simple matter of looking up the number of men involved in engagements like Waterloo or Gettysburg. But just reading those numbers can make it difficult to truly comprehend just how large these engagements were, and the implications of this scale on how battles were fought.
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[@TheArmchairHistorian]

I know who I'm going to if I want to design an 18th-century video game! Haha. Great job with the video.

[@WraithSeer-uv6tv]

When is your duel with Brandon?

[@BrandonF]

I like WraithSeer's idea. We should duel.

[@33orion77]

That could be awesome. While watching, I was thinking about a total war game with an organisation mechanics a bit like Hearts of Iron 3. You Issue general order to your officers with some kind of delay ( a couple of messenger model in-game that could die from random canon fire or enemy cavalry would be awesome too but you would need to have a very good ai to make it work.

[@33orion77]

Or maybe a game more like a 3rd person shooter and ride your horse around and watch the battlefield with your spyglass, sending and receiving dispatch

[@WraithSeer-uv6tv]

Brandon F. How many pistol shots before the hand to hand? Fist on fist?

[@thevenator3955]

So, wait, are you saying that playing Total War *doesn't* automatically make you an amazing general in real life? *INCONCEIVABLE!*

[@Gamingmaster-jv9zj]

INCONCEIVABLE!

[@pedrobarbosaduarte3704]

INCONCEIVABLE

[@CallMeGeneWasTaken]

NOOOOOOOO1!11!!1!!!1111111

[@heitorkrammel2783]

HE IS LIAR I AM ALREADY BETTER THAN DUKE OF WELLINGTON AND NAPOLEON COMBINED

[@Tea_and_Cake]

19,000 men as extras in Waterloo; Brandon is still unimpressed

[@BrandonF]

Now, I wouldn't say that...

[@michaelmccabe3079]

@@BrandonF To be fair, Waterloo had similar numbers of men as Gettysburg (191,000 and ~179,000, respectively). That's 10x as many men as Waterloo had on set.

[@Nonsense010688]

watch "Sharpes Waterloo" to be unimpressed. Seriously. A TV show, especially anything under the budget of GoT, should refrain from trying to depict such big battles.

[@carbon4454]

@@michaelmccabe3079 Yes but those were actual Civil War re-enacters from America, in Waterloo, they were all Soviet Soldiers who had to spend months learning the drill, the weapons and the like, and all the uniforms had to be made whereas in Gettysburg, the re-enacters already had their own stuff.

[@owo5869]

Austerlizt is better for me so many genarals in one place.

[@BrandonF]

I repeat myself an awful lot in this one, but there's also a lot less jump cuts than usual! We're making progress...

[@Tea_and_Cake]

Brandon F. At this point it would be odd without the repetition :)

[@jadenk1409]

Brandon could you make video about what did horsemen do when his horse been killed in action? Obviously they died with his horse like total war, if he's not in gallop speed.

[@Tea_and_Cake]

jaden k they would return to their own line if they were unhurt and couldn’t get a horse who’s rider had become a casualty, I would suspect

[@nealsterling8151]

It's great and full of fascinating info. I could literary listen to you for hours on such interesting topics. I wonder if you could do some more videos about naval military and battles one day. (Perhaps rank structure on board these ships or maybe ship construction and types of ships in general.)

[@Tea_and_Cake]

Neal Sterling not to get Brandon out of views but military history visualised actually made the first video in the bracket, also Brandon made the second video in the bracket, will find links for you

[@doctorzoidberg1715]

Before I even watch this video the the words "issuing orders in the fog of battle or war" reminds of when I went to Gettysburg as a kid and the cd driving tour said that many officers and such carried sabers not so much as for actual fighting with them (they were probably often neglected and not kept sharp) was more for directing men in battle as they could see a sabre better than them hearing a order as most men would lose there hearing very quickly in battle, I think this some what stands true in other militaries of the time.

[@BrandonF]

Absolutely, and in earlier periods it was common for officers to carry spontoons/pikes for the same reason.

[@gunperson2906]

sPaDrOoN

[@JBGARINGAN]

Also following the regimental standard/colors. It is always next to the commander in the formation so the flagbearer definitely hears his orders. If you see the flag go somewhere you follow it. This is why it is so crucial that the colors aren't lost as they are a major part of morale. You see the flag goes down, the colonel might've went down with it. What do we do now where do we go, oh god the enemy are winning they killed our colonel and have taken the colors run! Thus confusion and panic.

[@thebelfastvikingmartinbrow3603]

As a old ex soldier. And part time Viking (doing shield walls) I have always found that as a single warrior you only really appreciate what's going on in front of you and what's happening around you. And you don't really worry about the whole battle field. Yes someone higher up the ranks might tell you what you are going to do and what they hope going to happen. But you really just follow every one else. And worry about not letting your mate's down. Many years ago an old friend told me the story of his 1st time going over the top in the 1st WW .He was a cpl so he wasn't told a lot. Climb over stay in line and not to run. Within two minutes after they started that changed . They ran the line broke up and with the noise smoke etc. He just followed the person In front. He never knew who won or lost just that after a long time he ended up back where he started. Anyway he finished one war went on to 2nd and became a RSM. And died at 96 in a Belfast nursing home still not sure who won the battle. The battle was the Somme .

[@gaslightstudiosrebooted3432]

Battles are confusing too...

[@BrandonF]

Quite.

[@philipdoesit6098]

Brandon is the most nitpicky man I've ever seen and I love it

[@EliotChildress]

Also I would LOVE to see modern generals have to command famous battles with the same sort of communication limitations they had at the time and see how they do. I have no idea how it would turn out but I would spend all day watching that.

[@thomasbaagaard]

An interesting detail of Waterloo is how small that battlefield was. It was tiny and there are other "musket period" battles with way fewer men, that covered much larger areas.

[@keysean999]

After watching this, Moltke I understand how much of a general he is, a modern army, a modern division cannot be solely commanded by one man

[@arfyego0682]

9:34 *"STOP THAT USELESS NOISE!* ...You'll hurt yourself"

[@khartog01]

Love that scene

[@stephanl1983]

One of the best Scenes in this movie!

[@Nelson-rh7og]

"Get back! Get Back! Sound the recall!" french lancers move in for the kill on those poor scots greys

[@lkvideos7181]

@@Nelson-rh7og The poor unarmed artillerymen they slaughtered !

[@Nelson-rh7og]

LKVideos true

[@haelscheirs_haven]

For scale and simulation of the fog of war, I am not sure if you may have heard of the _Scourge of War_ series by NorbSoftDev, particularly, _Scourge of War: Waterloo_ - they started off with a title simulating the Battle of Gettysburg at full scale. Ever since I started playing it, alongside learning about proper French battalion compositions on the napolun/napoleonistyka sites (I am still unsure of the difference between them), I instantly found the playing styles and "formations" seen in _Napoleon: Total War_ , even with NTW3 or the DarthMod, to be quite a disgrace. The game features scenarios for the battles of Quatre Bras, Ligny and Waterloo, the latter taking upwards of 9 hours, and I can tell you, other than speeding up the game on long "rides" across the map (you can follow your brigade, division, corps or army commander from horseback in what is called HITS, or "Headquarters in the Saddle"), you'll be needing to pay close attention at all times to make sure you are aware of the situation. And in lines with what you were saying, sometimes, you can have a division commander that you want to advance upon Saint-Amand, but your dispatch may take a minute or two to arrive, followed by the overhead of that commander sending dispatches to his brigadiers and then their respective battalions. Sometimes, I can spend minutes galloping on horseback to the other side of the battlefield to see how an attack I ordered 20 minutes ago is progressing. Likewise, you can sometimes even see your subordinates completely disobeying your orders and moving far from where you want them (and likewise sometimes "accidentally" ending up where you never knew you would want them). The game also really lets you observe the dynamics between cavalry stunting troop movements and squares stunting the progression of cavalry. It is truly a marvelous game. With 1:1 sprite ratios, you can see cavalry squadrons in their whole glory, yet battalions are always limited to 200 sprites, but make for an impressive sight nonetheless. There are still some flaws like your commander having an "infinite supply of couriers" to deliver orders, and the inability to solicit information from your subordinates. Actually, if you are interested, here is a plethora of screenshots: bit.ly/2DKcDKB . I would also recommend that you look into the Kriegsspiel group that runs multiplayer battles or campaigns with this game.

[@haelscheirs_haven]

@@leviath401 That may be the case, but I do suggest that you look into the KS Mod (bit.ly/2DKVr7P) and the "HITS" mode of gameplay which largely fixes most of the AI issues. Indeed, there may have been meager changes from the Gettysburg engine, yet no other game as of yet offers the level of fog of war that Scourge of War provides as is referenced by Brandon, especially as an accurate depiction of the chain of command and formations of this era.

[@haelscheirs_haven]

​@@leviath401 Glad to be of help. Hopefully, my screenshots from bit.ly/2DKcDKB should attest to the glorious sights and experiences this game may provide which Total War could never give you. I do agree that the game engine still fails to provide properly sized "hitboxes" for spacing out the countless battalions. Having them so close together can lead to disproportionate casualty rates.

[@brig.gen.georgiiisserson7226]

Napolun and Napoleonstyka have a slight French bias and overgeneralise however they are two great beginner sources to read if you are interested in the Napoleonic wars

[@keysean999]

Video games and paintings and videos can only show 1/8 to 1/400th of battle if we look at battles like StalinGrad and Waterloo, Kursk, Gettysburg, Cannae, or a seige. The size of a battle can be 80,000 vs. 60,000 in a month long conflict we something only actually know about 25% of it (I wrote this before the video started to see how much I got right)

[@BrandonF]

I can't speak to the exact numbers...but it sounds about right!

[@Oversamma]

You were talking about this topic in one of your streams the other day; glad to see a full video on it. And don't worry about getting a bit rambly, I can only speak for myself but I'm always delighted to hear your voice. By the way, speaking of good commanders: remember the Rose? Poor Nelson. lol

[@yankeedoodle7365]

I'll just talk a few mins *18 mins later*

[@BrandonF]

Now I never *promised* to make it short. I was just foolishly optimistic.

[@yankeedoodle7365]

@@BrandonF I prefer long videos any ways

[@Moabkilr45]

It do be like that tho 👀👀👀

[@Rory_Herbert]

Hi Brandon, my wife's great-great uncle, Private George C. Platt (6th U.S Cavalry), was awarded the Medal of Honor after Gettysburg for saving his regimental flag. If you ever fly into Philadelphia and go into the City you will, most likely, drive over the memorial bridge in his name. Thank you for the post.

[@abmong]

Love that scene "Stop that useless noise!... You'll hurt yourself"

[@peterblood50]

An excellent explanation of the reality of large and not-so-large battles. “For the want of a nail the shoe was lost, For the want of a shoe the horse was lost, For the want of a horse the rider was lost, For the want of a rider the battle was lost, For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost, And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail.” - Ben Franklin

[@michaelsnyder3871]

One of the main reasons that dense columns remained the primary method of moving troops onto and around the battlefield was the lack of mission command systems, ie. radio, in particular, lightweight, man-portable and reliable transceivers. Such radios didn't become available in numbers until the late 1930s. Radios allowed mission command down to platoon and with hand-held radios by 1943, down to squad levels. But even in 1945, the Soviets and Japanese armies had insufficient radios to regularly equip even their battalions. Which is why Soviets and Japanese used denser formations than the US, British and Germans. As children of the 21st and 20th century, communications tech is integrated fully into society. It is difficult to imagine the mission command situation in the 19th century or even in WW1. Command was through voice, drum, trumpet and messenger. So unless the tactical unit was kept within a certain distance of their commander, mission command would be lost. Troops would become confused, or execute the last valid command or simply do nothing. So even in 1914 and 1918, unless troops were well trained and of high morale with very good leadership down to NCO level, troops could not be allowed to disperse across the battlefield. That is why dense columns survived into the era of the machine gun. When you read of columns attacking troops with machine guns in a prepared defense, what usually happened was that the attacking troops had been in column of movement and had come on the enemy by surprise and the only possible response was to simply charge and hope you get enough troops through the killing zone to overwhelm the defenders. Many times this situation involved German reserve divisions whose troops were not as well trained, but green and eager to get into combat. But the column was not meant as an attack formation. A battalion moved toward the enemy in company columns, which then broke down into skirmish lines backed by formed platoons, depending on the competence of your junior officers to execute the attack. Going backward, to the American Civil War, people criticize the commanders for continuing to use "Napoleonic" tactics in a world of rifled cannons and rifle-musket. These same people have never had to maneuver a platoon in line, as I did when executing "police call", sweeping across an area picking up trash. I had 40+ Soldiers spread in an open line, which meant all I could really do was ensure the platoon stayed on line at a reasonable pace. I had to depend on my junior NCOs to make sure trash was spotted and picked by individual Soldiers. Imagine that that was a skirmish line on a black powder battlefield covered in smoke and with a tidal wave of noise crashing down on us. I probably could barely make myself heard by my squad leaders on either flank. So how do I retain control? I would collapse the line to close order, which would remain more open than a marching column but still open enough for troops to take advantage of cover and concealment and load and fire their weapons. When you read about skirmishing even in the Napoleonic Wars, the skirmishing "buddy teams" were usually only a arms distance apart and only half a company would be in the skirmish line, because without radios, the company commander would have to rely on bugles and voice commands, which is why he kept half the company in a platoon column under his direct control. It doesn't matter if your individual weapon has an effective range over 500 meters if you can't get the troops to fire on the priority targets because they can't hear you. Which is why commanders retained the two deep close order line at battalion level, with a mounted adjutant to relay orders and only a couple companies committed to the skirmish line. And as far as the actual effectiveness of the rifled musket, rifles and rifle-muskets in the Civil War, I refer you to Paddy Griffith. And I would note that one of the most successful attacks in the war occurred at the Mule Shoe at Spotsylvania in 1864, where an entire corps formed with divisions on line in columns of battalions in line, the entire mass attacking with unloaded weapons at first light and catching the Rebels by surprise. Dispersion on the Napoleonic battlefield was even more dangerous, with large quantities of battlefield cavalry. The worst thing that could happen to a skirmish line was being caught in open order by light cavalry. The same applied to troops in line taken in the flank. Commanders had to maintain reasonably dense formations to retain mission command and to be able to respond correctly to a cavalry charge. Good video. More people should walk the battlefield at Gettysburg on a hot, muggy July day, with limited fresh water and in wool and linen carrying forty pounds of equipment before criticizing Meade, Lee and the their subordinate commanders. Also I highly recommend John Tiller's games played with Fog of War on and with AI subordinate commanders. It eliminates much of the omnipotence of army command in computer games.

[@inTIMMYdator44]

Great video! I thought a lot of the same things when I went to Gettysburg. Its one thing to hear "battles are big" and another to see the birds eye view from those towers and go "oh they're not just big. They're BIG." Its really amazing that battles were able to be organized at all

[@quercingtime]

I just wanted to tell you that videos like these are very interesting and I learn so much from them. Keep on doing this. You are fantastic. Remember that.

[@erwin669]

Before I left the US Army we were doing a training exercise and the dismounted troop from the cavalry squadron I was in was covering a front that was about two miles long through pine barrens and swampy terrain. Being in the modern army at battalion staff really gave me an idea of the size of operations and how complex they can be. I can remember helping to write operations orders that were in the hundreds of pages.

[@exploatores]

alredy a a company is complex. I have screamed in the radio as the plutonradio men didn´t report their position and the captain "lead from the front", I think he played soldier. yes and the battalion staf asked how things are going. /former company radio signalier.

[@landarjohnson5741]

Its awesome to see the passion you have for history! (especially 19-18th century). This is definitely one of my favorite channels. Keep up the good work Brandon.

[@bradmiller2329]

Avalon Hill Gettysburg game ... Our group worked out rules for couriers, misunderstood orders, and disobedient subordinates. COMPLETELY changed the feel of the game

[@MinecraftWithPAPike]

Greetings Brandon. I am somewhat ignorant of the British army's tactics, uniforms, organization, equipment etc. specifically during the American War of Independence. I was wondering if there were any sources (esp. books) that you could recommend on these topics, as you are quite knowledgeable on them.Thanks for the help!

[@bradmiller2329]

Osprey series is a good start

[@b1laxson]

Well done lad. Being older by greys in my beard its good to see the combination of research and presentation you bring to the world as it's most obedient and humble servant.

[@calibateman]

I really enjoyed the video. You are such a great presenter and host. Please keep up the great work.

[@d.m.collins1501]

I love your relative lack of contractions! Great enthusiasm, and great concept for a video.

[@BrandonF]

How very specific a compliment...but thank you all the same!

[@hammertoolz]

I loved the very old game Waterloo because it made you quickly understand how long it take to get an order to your far flank with dispatch rider

[@Weirdude777]

I'm well aware you're told this in the comment section of every single video you upload, but two things: 1. Thanks for such extraordinary work covering in depth often lesser known time periods. 2. You're the American Lindybeige, but with your own flavour. Mark's my words, you'll be part of the history of KZbin.

[@BrandonF]

Hah, well thank you! It's never a pain to hear kind words twice, after all...

[@MikeDubya]

Your points are valid and you clearly understand more than most who consider themselves learned in this area. Solid video.

[@mao162]

You know I've often though this would make an amazing game. A true simulation. Then I realize how stupidity hard and expensive it would be to actually do that. One day, maybe one day.

[@rogueraven1333]

Glad someone addressed this

[@xpl0rer551]

I just stumbled across your channel and I must say you are doing a great job!!!

[@jesseusgrantcanales]

18th - 19th Century War: Organized chaos/madness. Also being at Gettysburg it is a powerful place to see, when I took part in the 150th, the field we got to reenact for the last day of the battle you could see B. Round Top from our spot. :)

[@Stickyburrs]

I've always thought the most amazing aspect of such large battles is the supply line, especially food back in the day. This video really illustrates just how big these gatherings were, and it boggles my mind even more how such troops were fed.

[@jamesm3142]

I make sure I visit Gettysburg once a year. Because of the enormity of it, I’m overwhelmed. I always try to use maps and books to learn more and more about what happened, but I’m always trying to imagine the scale of it all and what it would look like from where I am. I love it.

[@keithorbell8946]

Into the Valley of Death rode the 600. Yes, I picked up on that reference, and it is the perfect example of the difference between a “God’s eye” view, and the actual linear, ground level view generals would have had.

[@saadkhan1128]

Honestly i never thought of this concept this fundamental error an eye opening video great job man

[@xavierrequejo1316]

There is a great scene in the Rome series (second season) where Augustus os sitting with Marc Anthony and Agrippa and a battle is raging. He is impatient and asks Marc Anthony what is happening, and if they are winning. He answers "I have no idea". I found that very enlightening regarding what you say in this video.

[@simplymadness8849]

Gettysburg is such an eye opening place to visit. The topography makes it so easy to visualize the scale of these battles. I remember climbing up that tower but I wasn’t able to enjoy a second of it. It made me feel sick being up that high lol

[@armorsmith43]

I think that this was one of your most important videos

[@xavierbara3365]

I have watched and listenend to many of your videos, very interesting and pleasant ones by the way, and you are the most British of the Americans, if I may say.

[@petrosguasos530]

Well said.

[@yeahman.9262]

When I play total war, I imagine I’m just commanding a single wing of the full battle.

[@zook420000]

good vid, kept me interested

[@stephanl1983]

When your Talking About the orders for the cavalry, it reminds me on Captain Nolan during the Charge of the Light Brigade!

[@khairulhelmihashim2510]

That's also why colours/standards were carried into battle. Not only as serving as rallying point for each regiment, but as visual marker on the status of advance.

[@TheGuy-kb5mh]

Love the video idea, very good execution aswell

[@aldenrodzik3011]

This is why our great and dear Brandon the Brigadier can’t get all of subscribers to pass in review again. Such a large force would be to difficult to wield.

[@Blinkshinati]

Great video Brandon, I truly love the channel. Would you ever consider doing a video on the historical accuracy of a movie like Waterloo, Gettysburg, Zulu or some other historical movie?

[@atomicexistentialism8428]

Check out History Buffs for that kind of thing

[@Blinkshinati]

@@atomicexistentialism8428 Yeah ik, just wanted another view on them from more of a military stance

[@emorynguyen1583]

Your videos are very entertaining

[@MrZuul25]

You sound like a military history professor. So I smashed that Subscribe button.

[@newperve]

I'm quite proud I got the reference after you said "taking away your guns".

[@cameronnedrow6017]

You sir, are a good KZbinr 💯

[@Quincy_Morris]

These kinds of constraints would make a great game.

[@Citizen_Kate]

best intro to a video i've ever seen :D

[@thyrampantpigeon]

Scourge of War and Scourge of War: Waterloo do a good job at simulating Napoleonic warfare imo. Like the way Corps, Divisions, Regiments etc work, plus orders have to move between units via couriers before any commands are executed, and these couriers can be intercepted blocking those orders from reaching your troops!

[@jaxsonh.266]

Like committing your cavalry into stakes and fences?

[@Healermain15]

@@SonsOfLorgar Just in time for the victory party.

[@iivin4233]

I imagine installing a picket fence every time you move your guns would be a pain in the ass.

[@Healermain15]

​@@iivin4233 It probably would be, especially during a battle. But if you don't plan to move your guns much, it's a valid tactic.

[@wesleycantrell332]

Going to Gettysburg really gave me the push I needed to start reenacting and I have now joined a Civil War reenacting group.

[@TomFynn]

There is an old BBC series (narrated by none finer than Brian Blessed) covering, amongst others, the Battle of Austerlitz. In it, one expert put it this way: Imagine two football (soccer, in more benighted places) teams. One has fine players, who have never been on the same team and the other is a well seasoned team of excellent players (the lesser having fallen by the wayside quite literally) who by now understand each other blindly. This enables them to which in modern jargon would be called "thinking inside the enemy's decision loop". Orders from on high were not needed, the guys on the spot could read the game even so.

[@nalzhaaaaaaay]

Daaaaammn this really puts Napoleon's success into perspective.

[@1Aldreth]

I feel like with modern day VR headsets it would be possible to convey an experience of what a real full scale battle in that time period would look like. In my opinion it would be enough to just let it play out like a movie for the consumer to just take everything in. Imagine if you could "be part of" a full line infantry attack and experience what it might be like to march against thousands of enemy soldiers, exchanging gun volleys, cannon fire all around you, smoke everywhere? I guess it would be utterly terrifying, but probably an incredible experience if done right. Would be great at war museums or the actual sights where they took place.

[@Soniclion1985]

Would recommend youtuber pixaled appolo's "life of a soldier" series. He uses total war to show the experience of an individual soldiers perspective of a battle. It's supposed to be taken in good humour, but it does show the lack of perriferal awareness a soldier has in a battle. Love the videos Brandon 👍🏼

[@Soniclion1985]

kzbin.info/aero/PLrTl4Dwx3uQKlassid_fg2kx6BGzpKzcD

[@SonsOfLorgar]

Thanks to innovators for the portable platoon level radio set I'm assigned to serve. 10kg of aluminium and electronics that enables instantish communication with company command and medic squad. Worth it's weight in gold.

[@BrandonF]

I can imagine so!

[@myTHself]

nice vid as usual. And a topic very worthy of explanation. Good work compressing complex stories into manageable history bitesize nuggets - but you do get to clarify your own thoughts in it's making. Walking battlefields lends great insight. With reference to gettysburg... on the map you displayed was the clue to the future of war - as I understand it horse powered armies were as big as they could be at about 100,000 men maximums and only that big for a relatively small window of time... unless they were moveing and could hunnishly plunder on the hoof... it was the horse powered supply of food,water and equipment that counted.... battle variables might be nearby towns with roads, and ports with merchant supplies etc. ,,, perhaps you've covered horse powered supply as a limiting factor of pre-modern war in another vid... On the Gettysburg map was a train station! ...with trains came the western front linking the battle-face with early modern industry... the one who runs out of 'motivated' men to man the machines looses. WW2 went super mobile (gimme oil!!) with the blitzkrieg style paradigm shift... as our technology becomes limitless with bio-hazard-farting-gene-aimed-robot-swarm-nano-soldier-launcher-hover-rockets the battle size and line length heads to up infinity - oh but on a limited planet infinity as denominator which will crash the battle size.time down toward.... zero... armageddon. thus ends military history. or at least mans appreciation of it ;0)... But it's good work whilst we can get it??? yes? ;0) Thanks.

[@michaelsommers2356]

The German army that invaded Russia in 1941 was mostly horse-powered, and it was considerably larger than 100,000 men. The railroad to Gettysburg did not work during the battle, because the Confederates had torn up the rails before the battle. As I recall, the closest railhead was at Westminster, Maryland.

[@nicolasorozco1477]

I think a video concerning an in-depth look at the systems of communication during this period of warfare would be very interesting

[@Bedfordshireman]

Loving the new upload schedule! Don't wear yourself out though.,

[@BrandonF]

As am I! And no worries, I have quite the amount of steam yet.

[@capacraft2735]

I think grand tactician civil war does an excellent job of doing the things you discussed in this video.

[@battlefieldcustoms873]

I really do love this channel. Its helped a ton with writing and the table top game I am working on. Full of info and facts in every video!

[@Nerval-kg9sm]

As I process this video, the most striking idea for understanding large battles from the 19th century back to the Ancient Near East is that once you've committed your cavalry, they're committed. The strategic and tactical value of cavalry in Western warfare is hard to overstate. It never occurred to me that the decision to commit them was so costly and conducive to prayer, so to speak. At least chariots sometimes had another rider who could look back for signals.

[@capscaps04]

Something that I want to add about the fog of war and how generals used to position themselves on top of hills to have a better view, is that in those times also there was in the USA and in some south american nations like Argentina (I don´t know if they had thhem in Europe) squad trained to use the flying hot ballons of those times with an ovbserver to anounce of the units movements that they could see from above. These squad also guided the artillery in order to hit their targets.

[@saintmichaelsarchangel2644]

My troop did the tour on horseback, at least those who could ride, me and two other guys rode ahead just going through the roads and trails in kaki uniform shirts olive drab pants, and for me at least a red beret and black polished jump boots

[@TherealStewey]

There's a mod for Total War Napoleon that fixes some of these problems (mainly just fog of war AND makes battles alot more bigger) and its called Napoleon Total War 3 mod!

[@stefankroik1083]

I had a game for the ACW that actually took what you talk about into account. The game is from mid 90 to late 90 and I can't remember it's name. Wasn't the greatest grapichs but man did it take time to order your units around. I would love to have a remake of it. ( There where different difficultys, but the the hardest defenetly accounted for this the era of command.)

[@icook1723]

It was Bull Run. I had it too. They were planning a serries, but sales were too small.

[@johntheknight3062]

Nobody can imagine it unless he experiences it.

[@michaelsommers2356]

For anyone visiting Gettysburg, I would suggest two books. First, Luvaas' guide to the battlefield, which is based on the staff rides done by the army war college. Second, Frassanito's book, in which he took old photographs of the battlefield, located the site, and took a modern shot of the same view.

[@grendelgrendelsson5493]

A slightly more modern example of the fog of war and difficulty with communications is the invasion of France in 1940. The French relied on telephones and when they broke down they then relied on dispatch riders who, if they even arrived at their destination, usually found the proposed recipients of the dispatch gone. If the rider was able to return to HQ, he then found that HQ had gone too. The British had more radios but these were of little use when the French had few. One major RAF fighter control unit in France had over twenty telephone lines from French units in and they all had the same ring tone. If the controller was able to take the message, by the time Allied aircraft got to the scene, it was almost always over or the Luftwaffe were waiting with the advantage of height and position. Lack of communications was the main reason for the victory of the German Army despite the fact that most of their tanks were inferior to French and British tanks and there were less of them too.

[@michaelmccabe3079]

Have you read S.L.A. Marshall's 1947 book 'Men Against Fire'? It talks a lot about communications, and how little has changed by the introduction of the radio. They also had similar problems during the 1940 Louisiana Maneuvers.

[@SpicyMediaReal]

There are walks at Gettysburg that take you across the battlefield. The walk where you follow the full distance of Picket's Charge puts into scale how destructive weapons of the time were.

[@operator9858]

as far as orders go some cultures had flags and various forms of marker projectiles like arrows and the equivalent of fireworks or flares...one would also have a relay network you could employ as well.

[@austenbin4068]

I remember standing on Little Round Top. You have a fair view of what is ahead and below you, all be it through trees, but there is very little visibility to the right or left. Being the extreme left of the line must have been really concerning for Chamberlain with a constant fear of being outflanked around the hill. I doubt he really could have seen the other Union units on his right at all because of how that hill is situated.

[@michaelsommers2356]

Chamberlain definitely could not see anything. He was not on top of the hill, but down the (roughly) southern side of the hill, in the woods.

[@DatBrasss]

Robert Jordan does a good job of portraying the fog of war and the difficulty of maneuvering troops in the Wheel of Time. It's a fantasy series, but the battles are quite grounded, and the application of magic to warfare is logical.

[@Aranubis]

I would love to see a video about officers in the 18th century. When did they command from a horse, how can you identify the lower officers? Where did they stand in battle etc.

[@captainwafflez3630]

Please make videos on 18th century British ranks and organization, 18th century British uniforms, and the 18th century British Royal Navy. Please it would be much appreciated

[@lordbane6961]

i remember a line from a movie I don't remember witch one it was "a general must be the greatest of artists because he paints with the blood of his men "

[@Slafeys]

I would like to see a video of the transition from napoleonic line battles to WW1 warfare seeing as some concepts in WW1 originated from various smaller conflicts before it.

[@danyael777]

Regarding the general staff leading from the rear: _"Officers have more important things to do than shooting at each other."_

[@flippha]

I once tried to capture this in a pen & paper roleplaying session. The PCs were the generals. So they got a baking tray and some sand and stuff to build up their idea of the terrian according to the reports of the scouts. And later on whenever something happend, I rolled the dice to check how accurate and fast the reports reaching them were. Same with their orders: a dice roll determined if and how fast the order reached the unit and another, if the officer understood it right. And I did the same for the NPC part - trying not to outsmart anyone as the enemy general was decent but not excellent. They won the day but at large losses - and they stepped down from command the same day.

[@EliotChildress]

Ok ONE more comment. I blame whiskey ;) I love your passion for this stuff. You make me think about things I hadn't considered before. Thank you.

[@thewarmedic2330]

Keep it up

[@ronashapouri403]

Right now sir John Moore Just led a charge of 10 divisions of dragoon’s and hussars to defeat the swedes

[@speerdylan3]

Do you have a podcast? I could listen to you talk about these topics for hours.

[@gewehr36c89]

in the movie Gettysburg it was filmed during the battle reenactment i know this because i met someone who was a "extra" he was on the other side of the field

[@newperve]

In that situation you best send your best rider to recall them. Someone who is really flash on a horse.

[@einarbolstad8150]

A kind suggestion: A video on signalling in the field (bugles, drums, semaphores and the like).

[@OcarinaSapphr-]

I'm currently *still* researching for my novel on the English Civil Wars/ The Wars of the Three Kingdoms; Man, they were all over the country! I've been doing a deep dive into things like travel speeds, with different modes (foot, horse, wagons)- company (ie. a small group, large groups, a mixed group of soldiers & civilians/ camp followers)- as well as trying to see if there were references to weather, or any unusual phenomena- *&* getting an idea of the geography back then (Scotland has proven interesting; it was pre-Clearances at this time, obviously- so I've had to get past certain pre-held misconceptions/ misinformation) - as well as, obviously, looking at what feels like a million maps, & I find it frustrating that this much effort seems to rarely be put into movies/ TV shows, so the truth remains- only for a handful of people to know.... & everyone else has the same misperceptions regurgitated in a new decade. I also did some research on the 30 Years' War, to get some background for a few characters, both historical & fictional - heaven help us if anyone made a movie or series about that cluster-f*ck! Some executive morons or 'writers' as stupid as GoT's D & D would probably boil it down into some simplistic garbage, when it was anything but. I'm Australian, so I get the 'tyranny of distance'-thing that goes on; in Europe & America, often- go a thousand km/ miles, you could end up in another state, or even another country- here, you travel 1000 km... you're still in Queensland, 9/ 10! I would love if you could do more on this era- it might not be your specialty, or area of interest but you have such a great way of presenting the facts with sympathy & even humour at times. Sorry for the ramble, lol!

[@nebojsag.5871]

Today I learned that "Totally Accurate Battle Simulator" is the most accurate battle simulation ever made.

[@Rendarth1]

This could actually make for a very different RTS game. Battles fought from fixed (or very slowly moving) perspectives that the player could choose from. Cavalry not being able to be recalled once committed. Infantry orders severely delayed due to runners (that could be watched themselves). Yeah, I'd play that.