Private Armies: How Mercenaries Fight Today's Wars | Animated History

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Sources:
Brass, Paul R., ed. Routledge Handbook of South Asian Politics: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. London: Taylor & Francis Group, 2010. Accessed July 5, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Stanley, Bruce E. Outsourcing Security: Private Military Contractors and U.S. Foreign Policy. Lincoln, NE: Potomac Books, 2015. search-ebscohost-com.proxy112....
Clarke, Colin P. "Bad Company: Wagner Group and Prigozhin at Crossroads in Ukraine." (2023).
Goga, Ramona Ioana. "PRIVATIZATION OF SECURITY IN THE 20TH CENTURY. FROM MERCENARIES TO PRIVATE MILITARY CORPORATIONS." Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai.Studia Europaea 63, no. 1 (07, 2018): 251-264. ProQuest.
Hagedorn, Ann. The Invisible Soldiers: How America Outsourced our Security. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014. Google Books.
Harden, Marina. "Blackwater USA: The Success and Failures of the Worlds most Powerful Mercenary Army in the War on Terror." Pepperdine Policy Review 9, (2017): 1-22. ProQuest.
"'Keenie Meenie' Private Military Companies: Mercenaries and the Old-New Rules of War." Al Bawaba, Aug 27, 2020. ProQuest.
Kirby, Paul. "Wagner chief's 24 hours of chaos in Russia." BBC, June 24, 2023. www.bbc.com/news/world-europe....
Knight, Miriya. "21,000 Wagner mercenaries killed in Ukraine and ‘world wants to kill’ Putin, Zelensky says." CNN, July 1, 2023. www.cnn.com/2023/07/01/world/....
Kumar, Rohan. "RUSSIAN MERCENARIES IN AFRICA." (2022).
L., Albert. "Private Military Contractor Executive Outcomes Revived After 22 Years." overtdefense.com, November 27, 2020. www.overtdefense.com/2020/11/....
Luna, Nathan, Leah Vredenbregt, and Ivan Pereira. "What is the Wagner Group? The 'brutal' Russian military unit in Ukraine." ABC News, June 23, 2023. abcnews.go.com/International/....
Lyammouri, Rida, and Youssef Eddazi. "Russian interference in Africa: Disinformation and mercenaries." (2020).
Park, Jaehan. "Whither Westphalia?: Sean McFate's the Modern Mercenary." The SAIS Review of International Affairs 36, no. 1 (Winter, 2016): 143-146. ProQuest.
Petersohn, Ulrich. "Reframing the Anti-Mercenary Norm: Private Military and Security Companies and Mercenarism." International Journal 69, no. 4 (12, 2014): 475-493. doi:doi.org/10.1177/0020702014544915. ProQuest.
Peterson, Carl H., IV. "GUNS-FOR-HIRE: CHINESE MERCENARIES ON THE 21ST CENTURY SILK ROAD." Washington International Law Journal 30, no. 1 (12, 2020): 116-143. ProQuest.
Miller, Phil. Keenie Meenie: The British Mercenaries Who Got Away with War Crimes. London: Pluto Press, 2020. EBSCO.
Pressly, Linda. "'Bay of Piglets': A 'bizarre' plot to capture a president." BBC, July 30, 2020. www.bbc.com/news/stories-5355....
Reynolds, Nathaniel. Putin's Not-so-secret Mercenaries: Patronage, Geopolitics, and the Wagner Group. Vol. 8. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2019.
Rizzotti, Michael A. "Russian Mercenaries, State Responsibility, and Conflict in Syria: Examining the Wagner Group Under International Law."
Shinkman, Paul D. "Wagner Group Chief Denies Coup Rumors as Animosity With Putin Regime Grows." U.S. News & World Report, May 30 2023. www.usnews.com/news/world-rep....
Sukhankin, Sergey. "Russian PMCs in the Syrian civil war: from Slavonic Corps to Wagner Group and beyond." Jamestown Foundation”[online] 18 (2019).
Sukhankin, Sergey. "Wagner group in Libya: Weapon of war or geopolitical tool?." Publication: Terrorism Monitor 11, no. 13 (2020).
Thurnher, Jeffrey S. "Are Mercenaries the Future of Warfare?" The Army Lawyer no. 1 (2021): 44-48. ProQuest.
United Nations, International Convention Against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries (1990).
"Wagner Group Becomes Legal Entity in Russia - BBC." The Moscow Times, January 17, 2023. www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/0....
Armchair Team Credits:
docs.google.com/document/d/1s...

[@TheArmchairHistorian]

Play Enlisted for FREE on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS5: playen.link/armchairhistorianen Follow the link to download the game and get your exclusive bonus now. See you in battle! (CODE: MERCENARY50) Sign up for Armchair History TV today! armchairhistory.tv/ Merchandise available at store.armchairhistory.tv/ Discord: discord.gg/thearmchairhistorian Twitter: twitter.com/ArmchairHist

[@pyeitme508]

Meh

[@nicholascecil6733]

Not to be a stickler. But your AKs are firing on safe in the animations. The selector lever should be down, not parallel to the bolt

[@robertjarman3703]

Perun covered this very well.

[@JagdhussarUAS]

Can I still use the code if I already downloaded it

[@ulysses1476]

it says since 2015 on the animation but the audio says 2005 at 10:24

[@theprofessional155]

I like how you criticized both Wagner and Blackwater . Both the US and Russia criticize mercenaries in the other countries but ignore what their own mercenaries are doing .

[@casesater]

Agreed

[@ilikepigeons6101]

this

[@user-sl4hx8vs9w]

I love seeing your comments in the wild after my breakup with gta.

[@natheriver8910]

👏👏👏

[@corrat4866]

Wagner is more just an extension of russian foreign policy

[@shutup2751]

the unique thing about PMC's is that it has made expanding influence of major powers a lot easier since they can claim denial

[@Tom-jt1mr]

plausible deniability is a very dangerous thing

[@firaasmygls9307]

So is jihad every action has an equal reaction

[@EnigmaticLucas]

The same is true for proxies

[@scottanno8861]

​​@@Tom-jt1mrHuman rights don't exist when your PMC never signed the Geneva Convention

[@edge1247]

​@firaasmygls9307 So I Guess Mercenaries just sprung uo after 9/11 in some eyes? Can't justify a Mercenarie dawg. With that logic in 1066 Islam should have had legions of Mercs cause. "Deus Vult" lunatics all around save it

[@jacopoabbruscato9271]

Mercenaries experienced a decline in popularity in the 18th-20th centuries because young men were readily available and weapons required very little training. Nowadays they're back because the conditions are similar to their golden age in the Renaissance: young men aren't as plentiful (or easily expendable without massive backlash), warfare technology requires a lot of training to be mastered and experienced professionals can easily dominate the battlefield against a conscription army.

[@kurousagi8155]

Wouldn’t it be the opposite? I would expect mercenary groups to flourish when there are plenty of expendable recruits around. Young men are unfortunately not worth very much in modern societies.

[@Audentior_Ito]

​@@kurousagi8155nope, he's pretty much nailed it. War is labour, albeit destructive not productive. Lots of young, desperate men means easy conscription for state-militaries. Why would a state pay a premium for what its citizens/subjects do for pennies? The calculus is different in, say, Late Medieval or Early Modern Europe where fighting age men are harder to come-by after war/plague. Technology, tactics, & statecraft plays a role too, of course. Most modern (18th - 20th century) states presumed fair, fair more control over their subjects bodies, particularly men's for war-labour, than Europe's Medievel or 15th - 17th century societies ever could.

[@kurousagi8155]

@@Audentior_Ito because the conscripts aren’t motivated to fight and will leave as soon as possible which doesn’t work for militaries field high tech capabilities. Meanwhile, mercenary groups can promise high wages and just not pay it out when the kid dies.

[@jacopoabbruscato9271]

@@kurousagi8155 Europe and North America are facing a demographic crisis, young people are not the majority of the population anymore. Any war with a lot of casualties could doom a country's future given there's no baby boom in sight like it was after WW2. Young men may not be valued very much, but they aren't as expendable either. In the late 1700s Europe and North America experienced an unprecedented population boom, and thus recruiting national armies became easier than ever before. Streamlined firearms design/line tactics made inexperienced conscripts just as effective as seasoned veterans, making conscripts viable. Before that, armies were smaller, firearms were much more complicated to use and melee combat rewarded experience more than anything, making expert mercenaries very valuable.

[@Audentior_Ito]

@@jacopoabbruscato9271 yep, bingo - you completely nailed it! Not to mention, there's an increasing return to non-state power & disillusionment with neoliberal regimes by young men. Couple that with a rising complexity of contemporary warfare/weapon-systems (i.e. the best cyber guys don't enlist, they go private) & mercenaries are likely to see an return to prominence this century.

[@Scientist118]

There is an interesting book I came across a decade ago and I think this might interesting. It's called "Soldiers of Fortune: A History of the Mercenary in Modern Warfare" by Tony Geraghty which has various examples of modern mercenaries ranging from PMCs in Africa, third-party guys experimenting weaponry on Hind helicopters before the US sent Stingers to the Mujahadeen, and even the humanitarian efforts at demining operations.

[@supergriz4673]

GET OUT OF HERE STALKER

[@Better_Clean_Than_Green]

​@@supergriz4673Get some sleep in your pfp

[@mansoorkhanjadoon1360]

I'll check it out

[@aswaltan8962]

Most power mercenaries army are gourkha from nepali mountain tribal.

[@hufismissing]

​@@supergriz4673 cheeki breeki

[@lucianoosorio5942]

“Unlike the government we don't keep secrets of our capabilities. We don't sell policy, we sell power. We are a super power for hire.” Johnathan Irons

[@Lolzyeets]

“What you’re seeing is advanced warfare”

[@yuigiluigi2866]

​@@LolzyeetsI love that game

[@christophermarkee5445]

"What we're saying is give war a chance."

[@pyeitme508]

Ha

[@ultrashockalt.6577]

I fuckin hate the Atlas Corporation

[@compatriot852]

It would be interesting doing an evolution video on mercenaries going from antiquity to the modern day

[@Grisha_VR]

YESSSS

[@DanHageeStuff]

I third this idea.....YESSSS

[@cOOLray13]

I fourth this idea!

[@corporategunner5972]

AGREED!

[@amazingfantasy7879]

Agree on the point buddy!

[@redjaypictures4528]

Supposedly there was a period of time in American history where two rich gravel barons had each owned almost half of the land in modern-day new Mexico and bought up all of the local mercenary forces to fight a massive land war over it, only ending in 1971 when both land owners were assassinated by their secret third brother and their mercenary forces replaced with robots

[@badfoody]

Team Fortress 2?

[@redjaypictures4528]

@@badfoody correct

[@WhoAmIHmmm]

And also valve never made the ending of the comic which tf2 deserved

[@JeanLucCaptain]

now the robots run the country lol.

[@lilal8848]

You made me smile today, thank you for the reference.

[@ivanandriyanov4426]

Fun fact, Prigozhin's food company "Konkord" was infamous for bad food quality and multiple incidents where children from kindergarten and schools were hospitalized after consuming company's food.

[@user-tx7yx1ks5v]

ложь

[@megaknightisgaygay1144]

That was also debunked

[@Chaz_Enjoyer]

​@@user-tx7yx1ks5vproof?

[@Chaz_Enjoyer]

Proof?

[@omargerardolopez3294]

fun?

[@pabcu2507]

Obviously, the best PMC is merryweather

[@Butter_Warrior99]

My favorite npc to off in GTA V.

[@MangleTime]

Merrywheater fleet is here bro!

[@ricebro7044]

I hate that I got this reference Edit: nvm thought the wrong merrywheather

[@whyareyouevenreadingmyname950]

Shepherd's Shadow Company

[@pathosofmine]

Diamond Dogs

[@WOLF36554]

Thank you for making this video. Now I finally understand why PMCs are stock villains in video games.

[@ArmyofFallenOnesOfficial]

depends in future things can change,goverment armies does not choose their morale compass they do whatever the new president says, maybe more independet armies can change that and we dont see more "accidents" from our militaries

[@hia5235]

Theyre called Mercenaries.

[@akedus44]

​@ArmyofFallenOnesOfficial Thing is that PMCs inherently have a lot of traits that make them prime for antagonists in video games. Their interests will always primarily be private gain and profit so you can count on them being selfish and callous. They are do not directly represent any group or nation so it's easy to use them as a stand-in without directly representing real life factions and countries and enemies.

[@Veryrandomman7261]

​@@hia5235PMCs and mercenaries are the same thing

[@tiggytheimpaler5483]

Mercs make convenient villians because it's an easy way to make them villians without much thought put into story telling

[@indianajones4321]

You can always tell where someone stands on PMCs if they refer to them as “mercenaries” or “contractors”

[@panos1117]

Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe; for they are disunited, ambitious, and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is deferred only so long as the attack is; for in peace one is robbed by them, and in war by the enemy. Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

[@hia5235]

Theyre all mercenaries: killing for money is the lowest occupation.

[@shadowslayer9988]

​@@hia5235So basically every body in a countries military?

[@carlbruh6059]

​@shadowslayer9988 There is a difference. When you join the military, you think you will be defending your nation's ideals. When you join a PMC you have no loyalty to anything but money.😊

[@L0CKD0WN34]

Contractor here, Mercenary is a dirty word now that can get me in a lot of trouble as its a different route entirely in our scope of operations. I can lose a lot of things as it is illegal for me to take that kind of work. Armed security operations of US personnel and assets in a SECURITY aspect is legal and defines us as contractors. Cheers

[@ghostsniperable353]

I'm a military contractor who has worked in Afghanistan, Ascension Island, and Israel. I wont disclose what company I worked for but it was a PMC and it was all about security not offense operations, literally had weapons and sometimes a plate carrier for protection to protect military personal and facilities. There are mercenaries out there, Russia, USA, Africans etc all use them. Its honestly a great job to have, I travel for free, get paid a good amount, good training, and got to visit world famous historical places like Petra on my free time.

[@user-xe5ts7rk3h]

Your still going to hell brother

[@weaver1507]

What was your mos? 11b?

[@rajbiswas9077]

Total fake

[@Briselance]

So you were some body guards.

[@ghostsniperable353]

@@weaver1507 0811 arty cannoneer. They take any combat MOS for static guards.

[@grandadmiralzaarin4962]

"War has changed. It's no longer about nations, ideologies, or ethnicity. It's an endless series of proxy battles, fought by mercenaries and machines. War--and it's consumption of life--has become a well-oiled machine."- Old Snake

[@magikarp.4612]

Was looking for this

[@panos1117]

Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe; for they are disunited, ambitious, and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is deferred only so long as the attack is; for in peace one is robbed by them, and in war by the enemy. Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

[@janeisklar3923]

War, war never changes.

[@EzekielDeLaCroix]

OUTER... Heaven...

[@KaiHung-wv3ul]

It's weird to see warfare shifting backwards toward the 1600s.

[@anasevi9456]

seeing how long modern PMC's go back, and how tightly they mirror eachother is mindblowing.

[@karlik4861]

why? there where always mercenaries

[@lidianane536]

​@@karlik4861Some people had never heard of mercenaries before Wagner and the Russo-Ukrainian War

[@Jebu911]

@@lidianane536 Its just information is more available these days and also media wants to paint russia as even more cruel by saying they use PMC:s even tho everyone uses them so its kinda hypocritical.

[@hia5235]

Theyre called Mercenaries, they kill for money. Dont allow them to escape their bad connotation.

[@karlik4861]

@@Jebu911 why doesnt ukraine simply hire wagner?

[@sjcobra84]

The whole merc culture is like something out of Metal Gear Solid.

[@mastoner20]

This one's for all you gun nerds that didn't notice it in the video. Every AK is shot with the safety up but shows the bolt reciprocating. Now you cannot unsee it. But no, seriously, great video as always guys! Keep up the phenomenal content!

[@hv2134]

I was a bit confused when I saw it

[@TY-pf6vb]

Special Russian magic Kalashnikov

[@Thigamabob]

You don't even need to be a gun nerd to understand that. Also the description of the eelam war in this video has the most biased, one-sided information I've ever seen.

[@ReverendMeat51]

And the M16s are shown firing with the ejection ports closed, and all guns are simply mirrored when shown from the left side. Always bothered me about these videos

[@brandonsaquariumsandterrar8985]

I noticed that too

[@Of_Your_Volition]

Mercenaries are in my opinion a very unique and effective for those who need it so I agree that they will not end anytime soon

[@Butter_Warrior99]

They’re an old tradition. It’s neat that they’ve made a comeback.

[@yaya2breezy591]

Sure. Black water abuse there power and so do Wagner in places like Africa. They need to be Abolished

[@christophermarkee5445]

"At the end of the day, as long as there's two people left on the planet, someone's gonna want someone dead." Sniper tf2

[@boozecruiser]

@@Butter_Warrior99 Saying that mercenaries are "neat" has to be the most 'sheltered middle class kid who's never even had a fistfight' tier opinion I've seen here

[@jacko2244]

​@@boozecruiseryou're saying this in a armchair historian comment section. Very awesome wow. Mercenary armies are much better cause they'd actually want to go to war. Its much more humane then mass conscripting the innocent like russia and ukraine are doing.

[@asswhip]

You guys forgot Big Boss, he was very important

[@AisarShamsul]

Militaires Sans Frontières right?

[@da_riceboy161]

Big Boss did nothing wrong, in my opinion. He a legend.

[@DRACOFURY]

He's The God Father of pmc's He layed down the blueprint 😮

[@fortisxxx]

Im expecting someone will bring this up.

[@NavidIsANoob]

I had to scroll down way too far to find a Metal Gear Solid reference.

[@mikhilmuhuthan6903]

As a Sri Lankan Tamil, I didn't even know that PMC organizations were in Sri Lanka during thr civil war. Goes to show how our government covered up many things in that tragic petty conflict.

[@MissionSilo]

Modern war is enigmas upon enigmas. Rarely its just two parties having a go

[@dkbros1592]

and tamil side was highjakes by american church against both lanka and India

[@ej4458]

they were there to train not fight

[@Mici]

This is one of if not the most well made Armchair Historian video. For real, this is a huge step up in quality!

[@sector986]

the production is really good

[@rizkiramadhan9266]

What money and experience does to a mf

[@kingace6186]

Especially int terms of sound design

[@Fallout3131]

Every single gun is fired wrong in the video😂

[@Mici]

@@Fallout3131 How do you fire it wrong?

[@goncalonunes3203]

7:11 who ever did this deserves a big raise

[@liwalraven]

You guys should do a video on the barbary wars! Jefferson creating the marine core to fight pirates is something that's too good to pass up.

[@Googledeservestodie]

Good idea. Is it true that the USMC ceremonial sabers are still based off the swords taken as loot from the Mediterranean?

[@ghostsniperable353]

Marine Corps was around before the Barbary Wars.

[@belinskiniko]

marine corps were established with the independence of US …

[@Fallout3131]

Luke what the hell man this is unacceptable

[@spenceramey406]

“Snake…. We are not tools of the government or anyone else. Fighting was the only thing I was good at. But, at least I always fought for what I believe in. Snake, farewell…”

[@yis9259]

Griffin briefly showed it at the start of the video but if anyone is curious about how 20th century mercenaries and how the did their work in conflicts like in Katanga look up "The Dogs of War" by Frederick Forsyth. As research for the novel the guy spent months with actual mercenaries and arms dealers. He was also investigated by British intelligence because they thought he was legitimately planning a coup in Guinea with the help of mercenaries.

[@SB-129]

7:00 The way this channel can seamlessly combine history, memes and even bastardization art all at once is amazing.

[@Thigamabob]

That entire section is just total b*llsh1t when it comes what actually happened.

[@gab950912]

I'm pretty sure this was just archive footage

[@renel8964]

What the hell is even that?!

[@williammace7884]

@@renel8964looks like Margaret thatcher

[@Nomadith]

'WE'RE ALL SONS OF THE PATRIOTS NOW'

[@rags417]

I really like the depiction of Margaret Thatcher when talking about Keenie Meenie - it was a most flattering depiction.

[@Thigamabob]

I really (not) like the way armchair historian depicts LTTE as some sort of freedom fighter organization when in reality they were worse than ISIS and hamas.

[@DEstin100]

Mercenary in IRL: We are gunman for hire. Mercenary in TF2: WE CAN'T TELEPORT BREAD ANYMORE!!!

[@unfunnyserbian]

cant belive he forgot about the Builders League United and the Reliable Excavition Demoliton some of the best PMCs on earth

[@evanpeacock6103]

Today they are called PMCs (Private Military Contractors). They are used for everything from executive protection to fighting foreign armies or even terrorists and pirates. Their skills vary and a lot of them end up getting hired on by as defense contractors. I worked with a lot of them when I was protecting ships out near the horn of Africa. They are pretty much heavily armed security in most cases. Only a few take up offensive action now days like the Russian one. CIA did a crack down on Mercenary groups operating in Africa in the 70s and 80s but with the way South Africa is looking they might very well make a return on that continent.

[@Alan0000able]

No they are not, sorry to ruin your day but we live in a real world not a movie or video game. Tell me which countries have fought Blackwater? And how Blackwater can even fight a country?

[@philltheotherguy1868]

@@Alan0000ablethey fight other nation’s armies in conjunction with their employer’s army, like with Wagner fighting Ukraine alongside Russia

[@Alan0000able]

@@philltheotherguy1868 They are nothing alike. Again I ask the same question none of the fanboys here can answer, which countries has Blackwater fought? None Because true PMC can only provide security for some locations like convoys or embassies against insurgents. You will not find Blackwater flying military jets or driving tanks like with Wagner, because Wagner was essentially Russian army. Supplied and armed by state, trained by state, and employed only by state. Name me 1 PMC that has ever fought another nation's army?

[@evanpeacock6103]

@@Alan0000able I would like to thank you Alan. I'll just ignore the past three thousand years of history of the second oldest profession out there. I'll ignore soldier of fortune which are the real life stories of mercenaries that fought across the globe to make profit. I'll ignore the current war in Europe going on right now where a PMC hired by the Russian government is literally fighting the Ukrainian military. I'll ignore the the pmc contractors I worked with for 4 years in the military that convinced me not to re-enlist and go private. I'll ignore the fact that the military industrial complex in the United States employs multiple contracting companies every year to perform the tasks I said in my initial comment. I'll ignore the fact that private companies also employ us to protect their workers, and installations around the world. You are right about one thing we aren't Hollywood where there is an action scene every five seconds. 90 to 95% of our job involves sitting around waiting for something to happen just like the actual military, but unlike the military we get paid much better and we have the opportunity to train more because it's our profession and it's a competitive market. I'll also ignore the websites I go to that give me my contracts (which I will post the link to in my next comment). I will strive to be as ignorant as you Alan!

[@evanpeacock6103]

@@Alan0000able And to answer your second question go look at Africa and Executive Outcomes

[@StockyDude]

This video makes me feel more badass than I really was. I worked for a PMC for a little while doing security at Saudi oil fields and later doing weapons training for some police and troops in multiple countries, but I didn’t see any action with that company. I saved up my money, invested wisely, then retired early.

[@adrianshephard378]

Honestly AH made you out to be evil or something the way this video was made It's hilarious how many actual Contractor people are scratching their heads at all his inaccuracies in the comments lol

[@brendanfrost2475]

How much does one have to pay to hire PMCs like you?

[@StockyDude]

@@brendanfrost2475It just depends on the job and the location. Saudi Arabia wasn’t a war zone, so the pay was less. I was basically an armed security guard in a supervisor role. Earning about $7K in the early 2010’s was pretty good at that time. Guys in Iraq were understandably paid a $1-2K more. It doesn’t seem like much but when you consider that you’re it paying for utilities and all your stuff is in storage, you realize that you can earn and save a lot more. Instructor jobs paid between $7-10K depending on what you taught. You’re more marketable if you not only teach about weapons , but also plan the drills used for training. Doing security on commercial ships was only $6K/month but it was a cakewalk. Pirate activity is rare, and a few warning shots is enough to scare them away. They want soft targets, not ships with machine guns pointed downward on them. The pay for being a PMC is not get-rich-quick money but you can definitely pay down your debts and save money to invest in other things.

[@akalichamp7030]

@@brendanfrost2475 Depending on the company and the job, the average PMC salary can range from $17,412 to $462,765. So it depends on how long you'd want to hire, but generally speaking, it's expensive

[@stefansteindl1017]

Utterly perfect depiction of Thatcher.

[@jamesgolightly5320]

Real classy from the channel.

[@entropy8429]

Not only was this incredibly informative and interesting, but the leap in presentation immersion and stylistic yet tasteful presentation (especially the sound effects and background ambient music) is massive. I would love to be a part of a team that does this some day. Keep up the amazing work!

[@ItsjustLavenderBB]

Crazy insightful piece. Glad to see you blew up after meeting you in person hope you and your people are doing well.

[@jesusc9972]

my older cousin was apart of blackwater during the mid 2000s he talked about it once and showed me lots of pictures on a digital camera. he turned our phones off before he talked about it.. he was very paranoid. rip anthony.

[@justanotherperson7774]

I love the videos recently are more about ancient and modern history. Seeing videos on a larger variety of eras is really intresting. It would be cool to see more about the 1600s and other lesser known eras that aren't talked about much.

[@IsaacRaiCastillo]

At a time when citizens' lives are increasingly valued, when keeping up appearances in foreign policy is important and when casualty numbers can bring down entire governments; mercenaries have re-emerged, gaining a level of importance that for me is equaling the levels that could be seen in antiquity during the Hellenistic Period and later in the Renaissance or early modern period. Don't be surprised that their power will increase in the coming decades, reaching the point of rivaling large private technology companies or even countries.

[@lordsiomai]

I really like how you included a story for each PMC to contextualize how useful they are for their client nations.

[@corporategunner5972]

"The shining beacon in a brave new world." - Motto of Griffin & Kryuger

[@imgvillasrc1608]

I'm so glad to see a Girls Frontline reference :)

[@jez4814]

Thanks for posting such a well produced video Armchair Historian team! I wanted to watch it before KZbin inevitably tries to censor or force change on it

[@GUNROCKS1990]

“War has changed. It’s no longer about nations, ideologies, or ethnicity. It’s a endless series of proxy battles, fought by mercenaries and machines.” - Solid Snake, Fox Hounds Special Force Member

[@pyeitme508]

"War. War never changes." - Fallout 4 narrator.

[@noahtylerpritchett2682]

@@pyeitme508 there's truth in both. The meaning of war has change. The nature of war never changes. I would say the justifications and causes change. But what doesn't is rape, murder, looting, vandalism, arson, and raiding. That's all warfare.

[@diewott1337]

​@@noahtylerpritchett2682Snake is saying that the ways wars are fought changed. The following sentence explains exactly what he meant. No armies, but mercs and machines. Fallout is talking about the reasons wars are waged. You can notice that when it's mentioned that the war is due to resources. But also alluding how they bring destruction all the same.

[@X-SPONGED]

Damnit, late to the copypasta...

[@robertsaget9697]

nuclear weapons have changed how wars are fought

[@caffeinatedgamer.4576]

Love this video, very interesting subject and loved the visuals as well. Especially appreciate the musical direction of the episode.

[@CWCvillePatriot1_488]

"We totally arent Mercenaries, we are uhhh... Private Military Companies! Yeah... that."

[@drotterton793]

Its really cool that you touch on this topic. Its different and a welcome refresher. Keep it up : )

[@Kimjongilmao]

I really really hope that you pay your animators well. Their work is undeniably, 100%, the secret sauce behind this channel’s success. Writing and narration are wonderful also, but the animation is sooooooo op

[@HemanthKMenon]

Griffin is the.animator who began with

[@crowe6961]

The animator needs to look at a rifle actually firing for once in his life, because that part is terrible.

[@andersons470]

​@@crowe6961which part

[@crowe6961]

@@andersons470 AKs being fired with the safety on and ejection port physically blocked by the big, very obvious obvious dust cover are the most glaring issue.

[@andersons470]

​@crowe6961 oh I did not catch that. thx man

[@markusbradley7730]

your animation and showcase of material has gotten so good! This video made me feel like I was in a black ops 1 campaign mission. Phenomenal job, I mean it man!

[@ez33kiel6]

The animations in this vid are amazing as always!❤

[@TheEphemeris]

A lot of the more typical historical videos on this channel are always engaging and informative, but there's something about the "shadow" armies in this video that are just way more interesting than regular content. I'd really like to see further videos over these private armies and the conflicts they've stirred up or put down.

[@Audentior_Ito]

Deeply topical! I'd love to see a video on the history of hostage taking in warfare. It's such a norm in Classical, Medieval, & even Colonial conflicts but today we see the very idea as almost akin to war-crimes!

[@justtheilluminativ282]

An interesting topic for a video would be the Mexican Drug War

[@Echo2-2]

This was fascinating! Excellent work!

[@octopusguy5648]

This vid is soooooo high quality, keep up the good work!

[@theanglo-lithuanian1768]

The quality of this video is impressive, good job!

[@Sp4nX383]

So you can clearly see where the danger lies with PMCs. If you do everything right, like Russia, you can actually do a great deal with it (like theirs in Africa) and even build a war-capable army, but such PMCs can just start thinking for themselves when they have so much power. Yes, everything went good for Russia in the end, but not every country has that luck, which is why every country should think carefully about whether it wants to play in the mercenary game or not

[@kevinzorobi5081]

100% right

[@lly_09]

That's actually very true

[@TheDoctorFromArknights]

"If one holds his state based on mercenaries, he will not be secure or peaceful; for they are, divided, ambitious and without discipline... they fear neither God nor are loyal to fellow men..." -Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, 1519

[@ilovemuslimfood666]

“Do you not know that I live by war, and peace would ruin me?” -John Hawkwood, English condotierri

[@masonmoyer2230]

This video is beautifully done. Clear information and not to much "getting in the weeds" Thank you

[@eddiep1008]

I hear and read a lot about mercenaries,im glad you made a video on it

[@mh3225]

as contractor its always fun to watch these videos, working for a blackwater successor. As far as american contractors go its a glorified security job, save for the 30 guys assassinating people for emirati princes under the table. EO and those boys were a different breed. Wagner falls more into the legitimate "mercenary" category as they conduct actual military operations. How they get those guys to do what they do for like 3k a month is beyond me, even considering the purchasing power in russia.

[@man.inblack]

Why fight for Wagner? the release from a prison for some probably helps.

[@mh3225]

@@man.inblackeven pre ukraine: >hey we want you to drive towards a USSOCOM base >what? >yeah they only have a SEAL team, an ODA, and a battalion of marines on qrf, and marine artillery on call >what? >yeah dude just drive towards the base dont worry about it. >o-ok

[@nanzistnt2573]

3k is probably a lot of money for them. Could also be the congo merc syndrome where being a soldier is all they really like and perk of travelling.

[@mr.potato7075]

Im pretty sure wagner was conscripting men from prison so getting pay and the chance to survive vs life in russian prison is definitely a hard deal but one a lot probably take.

[@OXY187]

@@mr.potato7075they offered and issued contracts to prisoners to fight for the country, make money and get a 2nd chance in life. Not everyone was allowed to acquire it, but most got it anyways.

[@cheeseeater871]

mercenaries have always had an important role in history, but now more than ever

[@parkeryoudontknowme1516]

15th century Italy would like a word with you

[@AlreadyTakenTag]

I'd say in the medieval times mercenaries were much more important. During medieval times the concept of a nation and nationality weren't so prevelant as they are today. Most of the time the only reason medieval soldiers fought was for money as they didn't have a sense of patriotism, therefore making pretty much any warrior a mercenary during those times.

[@christophermarkee5445]

Hell, the Pope's body guards were originally Swiss mercenaries and guard him still to this day.

[@bigguy3636]

"more than ever" 😏

[@panos1117]

Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe; for they are disunited, ambitious, and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is deferred only so long as the attack is; for in peace one is robbed by them, and in war by the enemy. Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

[@BShedd]

Your animations have gotten so much better over the past 2 years!! Seriously impressive.

[@elpsykongroo8308]

It would be interesting if you could do a video about mercenary soldiers (historic/modern) how they were recruited, paid, their lives, what happened to them if their side lost, etc.

[@pongo9177]

really appreciate you doing dives into phenomena present in global conflicts all over. history hits hardest when you make the connections

[@Thigamabob]

My guy, the eelam war's description and information is one of the most dogshit biased stuff I've ever heard.

[@andyvalenzuela9763]

Being in the Infantry in the Army had fun moments, but it’s constantly working with kids. 4/10 would recommend in certain circumstances. Being a contractor in 2012-2017 was working with adults, by adults, for adults. 8/10 would recommend in most circumstances.

[@Lonelytree25]

Dang, the sound quality is on point 👌

[@TheMumboGumbo]

O god I haven’t even started this one yet but I’m SO excited by the premise. Please be juicy.

[@Panda-qv4np]

Thanks for the educational video on mercenaries. It would be interesting to look at the efficacy of mercenaries as opposed to special forces and regular forces. Hopefully you don't get demonetized on this video as has happened on past content and keep up the good work!

[@shadowslayer9988]

Most private military contractors are former military personnel from a countries military and special forces so there is no difference.

[@carloshenriquezimmer7543]

@@shadowslayer9988 There is a big difference. Mercs do not respect rules of engagement, so chemical warfare, deliberate attacking civilians, sacking and sexual assault are prevalent on those groups, among other stuff. They do not recruit only former spec-ops, they seek the nutcases from those forces, guys that REALLY like killing. But, if depending what you consider efficiency, well, a bunch of violent, well trained, armed punks runing amok in a backwater village that you want depopulated, or, should I say, "denazyfied", "pacified" or "liberated"... bonus points for "plausible deniability"... very diferent levels of effectiveness are expected. Like going from "The gerrilas are using children as humans shields, don't shoot", to "The gerrilas are using children as humans shields, two for the price of one bullet". NO JOKING, some mercs did that back in the 70's, during the late part of the"Ultramarine wars", in africa, to "pacifie" rebel villages, when the regular forces decide to not engage in a civilian locality were rebels had been exploring the locals. Do not look for saints in hell, I supose, but that is an example of mercs vs regulars.

[@Spastes]

Mercarnies really are varied and each PMC group is different from the other. Example black water hired a lot of special forces or combat MOS trained guys specifically. Wagner was a lot bigger than them so they different branches but it was split between 4 groups. Armed security, special forces, regular volunteers with over +6month contract, and what they're most famous for the convicts they hired from prisons. Wagners elite forces do amazingly well and take minimal loses. They're convicts are the ones that are constantly dying on the battlefield, same with regular forces but theirs less of them than convicts. And regular forces have a higher rate of survival.

[@peterpumpkineater6979]

Surprised USEC or BEAR werent mentioned in this video, Those 2 are pretty notorious for their operations within northwestern russia.

[@yeetusdeletus1827]

Is that a Tarkov Reference? Or am I just stupid?

[@peterpumpkineater6979]

no it is @@yeetusdeletus1827

[@angoankhachai9333]

Yeah Tarkov ref

[@chuylisten4115]

It’s crazy I learn about pmc and mercenaries from metal gear solid series like peacewalker and phantom pain. It’s really interesting history to learn about it

[@santiloquem]

I like the animation and art, it's seems to keep improving, great work

[@Thigamabob]

The safeties are on when the AKs were firing.

[@souperiorart]

@@Thigamabob alright? art's still great

[@wargriffin5]

When every active duty serviceman joins for economic reasons, PMCs aren't the monsters. They're just better negotiators. 😉

[@panos1117]

Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe; for they are disunited, ambitious, and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is deferred only so long as the attack is; for in peace one is robbed by them, and in war by the enemy. Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

[@cideltacommand7169]

@@panos1117 mercenaries are more loyal than most conscripts, funnily enough

[@SusCalvin]

They don't need to pay pensions and other sundries for contractors the same way.

[@wargriffin5]

@@cideltacommand7169 It's bad for business to not be a man of your word. And in that line of work, "bad for business" could easily wind up killing you. 😉

[@erickolb8581]

@@panos1117 this was true in the time Machiavelli wrote the Prince. It's still true to a much smaller degree now, but not as alarming as it was. Most cultures across the globe aren't fundamentally the same as they used to be. Southwestern Asia is almost completely taken over by Islamic Jihadists, as 1 example. Even Japan has embraced more western ideas even from 3 decades ago. Fundamentally, the whole world is more keen on free market enterprise than in Machiavelli's time. That was when Monarchies and Feudal governments were running the globe, despite Renaissance.

[@nicbahtin4774]

"We hold our rifles in missing hands. We stand tall on missing legs. We stride forward on the bones of our fallen. Then, and only then, are we alive. This "pain" is ours and no one else's: a secret weapon we wield, out of sight. We will be stronger than ever, for our peace."

[@panos1117]

Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe; for they are disunited, ambitious, and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is deferred only so long as the attack is; for in peace one is robbed by them, and in war by the enemy. Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

[@caleabbott3311]

Hey Ive just now seen your channel and Im already hooked nice video man

[@oliversherman2414]

I love your channel keep up the great stuff

[@yourboishitposts]

PMCs are very interesting im gald that you're covering them

[@centralhunter9169]

The Armchair historian improved their video style by 10x at this point, since when I started watching them more than a year ago which makes me wonder how much it costs to make videos like theses and how hard is it to get the money for it?

[@Yee20234]

awesome as always

[@tobago3679]

Amazing video guys, great job!

[@patrickbrooks8748]

thank you for being well researched enough to know about silvercorp, my only regret is not getting to spend more time on just how stupid the operation was, a dude with a handgun thought he could do a bay of pigs with a few unarmed fishermen

[@YAH2121]

Yeah the silvercorp thing deserved way more attention and news coverage than it got. It was something straight out of a tv show

[@Frank451Martin]

I remember that. It was so absurd and simply insane that some dude think he can overthrow the “entire” country like it’s call of duty.

[@Chris-lg6db]

Interesting topic you picked for this video. It would have been nicer if you included Mike Hoare and his activities in the Congo and Seychelles.

[@azalkathegunpowderdragon9439]

small animation issue at the 28 sec mark. the AKs safetys are up/on. not only could the trigger not be pulled, but also the bolt couldnt go back far enough to remove the old round/strip a new one

[@mprpo946]

You needd to do a video about the French Foreign Legion, legionnaires/mercenaries in operations for several years and so on, it would be very interesting...

[@abrahamchen5354]

15:56 "Africa Chill" got me dead 🤣

[@Thebettermartyr]

Your overhead is still blowing my mind. When are you doing your next livestream?

[@jucalebre7540]

The art in this video is amazing

[@pabcu2507]

Could imagine how different black water would be if they had much influence as Wagner did (impossible but still, fun to speculate)

[@skylar8480]

They do

[@ryanlopez1050]

They do, the government just doesn’t want people to know, or else they’d be hypocritical

[@cattledog901]

​@@ryanlopez1050No they don't. Blackwater and no US PMCs are cleared to use tanks, guided weapons, armed aircraft and many other systems Wagner has access to. You have no idea what you are talking about.

[@nbewarwe]

@@cattledog901 Hey be nice. He's a Russian bot. He's literally incapable of thinking on his own.

[@gabefulmerhouser3509]

​@cattledog901 black water had access to some military aircraft. Sure, they didn't have f-16s or AC-130s, but they had helicopters equipped with machine guns. And I'm not sure if they had missiles or not, but it isn't out of the realm of possibilities that they do

[@Pedrosa2541]

The Strange fact is that mercenaries can and frequently are more loyal than the suppossed "regular" armies. See the Varanguina Guard of the Byzantines and compare them with the Pretorian Guard or Janissary....

[@boozecruiser]

The loyalty of armed forces is determined by how much money/power they are given. They will bleed a country dry if given the chance, and rule over the dessicated corpse as warlords

[@panos1117]

Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe; for they are disunited, ambitious, and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is deferred only so long as the attack is; for in peace one is robbed by them, and in war by the enemy. Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

[@whyareyouevenreadingmyname950]

War Whores basically. The more money you have the more likely hoes would stay.

[@19ate4]

Janissary- enslaved European boys that was Castrated and forced to be Islamic Western Rome guards had no loyalty to any emperor Norsemen found death glorious and payment guaranteed loyalty

[@Pedrosa2541]

@@19ate4 janissaries were actually loyal when they were enslaved christians boys, XIV to XVII, later on, in XVIII-XIX, when they were know as corrupt, lazy, treacherous and unreliable, they were just muslims/turk bureaucrats with hereditary priveleges. Not trying to defend slavery, thought.

[@monkeyboy2059]

How do you edit these videos? I mean, the quality is amazing! Good job on the animating!

[@eridan3.079]

congratulations for this very interesting video 👏

[@CYMotorsport]

I’d be super curious to see how mercenaries and free armies have been revolutionized logistically from the Mamertines through Wagner Group . I’m always surprised to see through history without fail there’s been a consistent presence of this idea despite the type of warfare

[@paleoph6168]

0:20 Ah yes, gun firing despite the safety being on. 15:57 Love this use of the meme lmao!

[@bigro4444]

The artwork is top notch. Give the art and animation team a raise.

[@savvakrapivin]

17:22 it's exceptionally easy to foreshadow something when you are hatching/ masterminding a plan for its fruition

[@jacobsuppliesthegeckos]

Bro that Margret Thatcher meme at 7:14 is too much

[@cursivejay]

Do you have any videos that go deeper into the Blackwater incident? I was a teenager during this era and was glued to the news for a while. But I was always skeptical of a paramilitary force not beholden to Coalition ROE.

[@TornadoADV]

That caricature of Margret Thatcher is something else.

[@user-tc5do8fd8n]

Love the music and the sound

[@xgreywolf1525]

This has probably been your scariest video yet. Your analysis is eye-opening to the true nature the world is in right now, and, given the controversial activities we can observe, I believe we can expect further consequences from employing PMCs in modern warfare. Indeed, the use of these contractors will increase with a destabilizing world; a trend that can only yield further suffering for all mankind

[@15098D]

I appreciate the accurate portrayal of Mrs Thatcher

[@nnvist]

17:12 SHOIGU! GIERASIMOV! GDIE MOJE PRIPASY! Anyway I love this music in background.

[@alejandrovega8370]

7:04 amazing depiction of thatcher