The Battle of La Lys - Operation Georgette I THE GREAT WAR Week 194

[@orenashkenazi9813]

"We're being rotated out tomorrow" is the WWI equivalent of "I'm two weeks from retirement" in detective stories.

[@davidwright7193]

Journeys End starts with a group of troops being rotated in knowing that Operation Michael is going to start before their week in the line is up.

[@Ratelheart]

That’s why, when my family goes skiing, we never take a last run. You always get hurt on the last run.

[@fsls13]

The Kaiser was like " Happy birthday, here, have a statue.. of me."

[@sparetime2475]

I love it when people give statues of them to me

[@DylanDude]

Considering the monarch is supposed to be an inspirational figure, it's not that ridiculous. That is, until you realize this is Wilhelm II we're talking about here, and the only type of person he could inspire would be a Nicholas II apologist. _"At least he's not Wilhelm II!"_

[@karlkarlos3545]

DylanDude Compared to Nicholas II Wilhelm was almost a liberal democrat.

[@DylanDude]

Karl Karlos I would certainly pick Wilhelm II over Nicholas II in a contest of monarchs, however that isn't a statement with much merit.

[@NickRatnieks]

Then his statue on Corfu. Here are some lines from Wiki about it: Archaeologist Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz, ... the Kaiser's advisor, was invited by the Kaiser to come to Corfu to give him advice where to position the huge statue. The famous salute to Achilles from the Kaiser, which had been inscribed at the statue's base, was also created by Kekulé. The inscription read: To the Greatest Greek from the Greatest German No arguing with that statement at that time!

[@blade5896]

Next time it's a friend's birthday I'll gift them a statue of myself

[@sloths-df3gf]

I give nude statues of me, at 1/12 scale. My friend says he hangs his towel on his.

Aníbal Milhais became known as the Soldier Millions (Milhões, in Portuguese), since it was told he was worth more than a million man for his bravery. Fun Fact: His village took his surname (Valongo de Milhais, previously Valongo. De Milhais translates to "of Milhais") and his family adopted his nickname as a surname (Milhões - Millions).

Einh?! Mas quem embandeirou em arco? Vá, só querias dizer umas coisas quaisquer na internet, porque até viste o filme...ou viste o trailer... "cresçam rapazes, vejam o mundo" diz o Captain Nuthead...na internet... Falta de noção is strong with this one!

[@Veon1]

Captain Nuthead, yes the war was dumb, yes Portugal joining was stupid, yes the way we sent our men was awful, yes our officers were complete morons, and yes, the way these soldiers (and Milhais in particular, o pobre diabo) were used to promote the subsequent military coup and the fascist regime was absolutely disgusting. I have only contempt for anyone in Portugal who to this day tries to hide or deny that. But even with all that said, we can still recognize that Milhais was an incredibly brave soul who deserves tremendous respect for the way he conducted himself in the horrible conditions he found himself in. In a pointless war full of incompetent generals and countless wasted lives, this poor soldier did his armed forces proud, and there's nothing wrong in admiring that.

[@MigasMG]

Milhais and other officers heroic achievements were also promoted by the 1st Republic. 2nd Republic (military dictatorship + New State) didn't brought these facts out nowhere.

[@helderfernandes9488]

They are making a movie on Aníbal Milhais

[@diogomoreira5129]

it´s out already

[@angelocortez4471]

I'm The Great War, welcome to Indy Neidell

[@ncrveteranranger9126]

Lmao

[@johnanth]

"Enter the Indy"

[@thienngo7252]

Portuguese soldier: “ finally we can have some break. Man I can’t wait to head to the tavern.” *german attack* Portuguese soldiers: “ OH COME ON!”

[@ZER0ZER0SE7EN]

The Portuguese soldiers can't even say "hold my beer".

[@miguel.s7729]

@@ZER0ZER0SE7EN we fight while holding Bears

[@jasperwinehouse9456]

​@@miguel.s7729We fight drinking wine and eating pastel de nata

[@bconni2]

jokes aside, the Portuguese empire was the 1st global maritime war machine in world history. the Portuguese people today are very funny , warm people yet at one time in history you guys had a ruthless empire that spread terror across a massive dominion of planet earth.

[@ema_rem]

You're Indy Neidell, welcome to The Great War.

[@TheGreatWar]

No, YOU'RE Indy Neidell

[@BrorealeK]

This is my favorite choose your own adventure book.

[@blackmichael75]

"I'm Indy Neidell, happy birthday, here's a small statue of me"

[@vivekkondapalli568]

Did Indy just pull a No U. Hilarious, but I am very disappointed.

[@imswanronson3558]

Brothers, we are ALL Indy Neidell.

[@yankee3875]

It makes sense Karl wanted peace so bad, he was a staunch catholic who’s devoutness poured over into his tenure as emperor, and he admitted to his wife when war was declared in 1914 that he hated war. Rip blessed Karl, pray for us

[@wordsmithgmxch]

Douglas Haig (3:35): "With our backs to the wall and believing in the justice of our cause, we must fight to the end." Oh, sure: easy for HIM to say!

[@Johnnycdrums]

The aristocracy is still there, they gave the Subjects Socialism in order to keep it. The worst of both worlds, Venetian Conspiracy continues.

[@LtKharn]

That's true of any order a General gives, plus in ww1 officers suffered a high rate of casualty(higher than the ordinary soldier ).

[@cwovictor3281]

To quote Blackadder: "We'll be right behind you. About ten miles behind you to be exact"

[@NaumRusomarov]

It's the suicidal dragging those who want to live to death.

[@kevinbyrne4538]

1:39 -- A statue ... of the Kaiser? I can hear Ludendorff thinking: "Well, Sire, don't put yourself out on my account. I'm just struggling to save your country from imminent defeat."

[@varana]

Pictures of the Kaiser were a frequent (and often popular) gift when someone was honoured. A statue is quite a step up from that.

[@CD-vg4hl]

The Kaiser: Think nothing of it, admire my statue!

[@YvonTripper]

Teacher: Karl, are you and Georges passing notes? Karl: No, Mr. Ludendorff! Georges: Yes, Mr Ludendoff. Teacher: Georges, why don't you come up here and read it in front of the whole class? Georges: "Dear Georges, since you and I both hate Mr. Ludendorff, do you want to be friends? Sincerely, Karl" Teacher: Karl, I'll talk to you after class...

[@mammuchan8923]

Love it🤣

[@potatoman5933]

This is Art

[@nerdothn892]

As we did the First world war i already knew everythink. I actually know more about the war then the teacher and the schoolbook. Thanks Indy and Crew !!!

[@zissimus8462]

martial arts,music and history in the test: write down main fronts of war. Everyone :Eastern and Western. Me:Caucasian, Eastern, Serbian, Galipoli, Western, South Africa, Palestinian, Italian,

[@sharpshot8999]

martial arts,music and history yep same here at one point my teacher just sat down and let me talk the class through the battle of passchendaele

[@54macdog]

Your teacher probably knows how to spell and capitalize correctly

[@zissimus8462]

54macdog excuse me if I misspelled something.

[@Cancoillotteman]

+Zissimus you forgot the Mesopotamian, East Africa and the Chinese Seas ;) (that's if we don't count the North Straits and the Van Emden :p ), but you'd have given your teacher a seizure X)

[@victorbruant389]

2:42 They wrote it in german AND english? How considerate

[@matiasmakinen5028]

Wait a minute

[@UnintentionalSubmarine]

Makes sense they would. In an area where prisoners might be marched through, it would be pretty stupid not to label it so they could understand the dangers too. After all, who would have to take care of them if they got exposed? There is both a moral and a practical reason behind it as I see it. Which one was the more important one to the people that ordered the sign to have English as well, I shall not guess at. The question really is, why not also in French? I mean at least *some* civilians must have been around, and Frnech prisoners can't have been impossible, even in a non-French sector.

[@victorbruant389]

Maybe, but prisoners were guarded by german soldiers who could read signs too and wouldn´t just let them enter buildings without their approval.

[@philbrown6787]

Glad to see the painting “Gassed” by JS Sargent as your thumbnail. He was an official war artist and also did “Some General Officers” . He was American but had a niece killed during a bombardment in France. Great portrait artist (Madam X) as well.

[@lookythat2]

John Singer Sargent was the greatest American painter, ever. Bar none.

[@jccosta5640]

The most epic obrigado I have ever heard!

[@ruicesar2382]

Thank you , You’re a legend!

[@thatdude2508]

Although you may have heard this already, I think your channel is great and worth the watch. Just yesterday my history teacher showed us a picture and asked us who it was. It was Gavorilo Princip. Out of the 32 students I was the only one to know who he was, what he did, and why it was important. All thanks to your channel!

[@helderfernandes9488]

That Guy in The Corner Same

[@sciblastofficial9833]

BUT WHAT DID THE OTHERS SAY?

[@thatdude2508]

SciBlast Official / New Videos Half thought it was a young Ghandi the other half had no idea.

[@nemafann]

That guy in the corner Get out of the corner and move to the head of the class! Ain't it cool to be smart?

[@roryokane5907]

“KAAAAAAAAAARL, that’s treachery, Karl!” “I did not know that.”

[@gcircle]

Congratulations. You almost got the "lh" sound in Anibal's name right. And you clearly showed portuguese troops in some of those pictures: those mustaches are iconic. More seriously now, thank you for mentioning that portuguese were caught in a very unprepared position and extremely tired, but still bravely tried to fight back. Many simply diss on the portuguese expeditionary corps for being weak and cowardly. Some more notes on that battle: it was pretty much the end of Portugal's participation in the war. Reinforcements were nil and the few soldiers that weren't sent home were attached to divisions of other countries, where they would perform decently until the end of the war. But the defeat at La Lys was so horrible that it destabilized the already frail government and helped pave the way for the Estado Novo dictatorship. Say what you will about Salazar, but he did do one thing right: kept Portugal out of WWII, despite the most absurd efforts from both Allies and Axis to the contrary. La Lys was our realization that we were simply not made for shitstorms of that scale.

[@-et37-]

HappyBirthday here’s a statue of me Kaiser Willy the troll

[@tinkmarshino]

Always so damn interesting... You make my grandfathers stories, come alive again! He was a great man!

[@diogomoreira5129]

A new Portuguese movie just came out talking about Soldier Millions and a bit about the Battle of La Lys, it´s called "Soldado Milhões"

[@andrewrobinson2565]

My maternal Great-Uncle Robert Weir Blackwood (Black Watch) was captured on Day 1 of Operation Michael. My paternal Grandfather Christopher Watson Robinson (Royal Engineers) was building gas screens, blowing up bridges and laying barbed wire (and getting wounded) in this week of April 1918.

[@th3freakie]

Another connection between today's episode and Portugal is that Emperor Karl is buried in Madeira Island. Because life is strange.

[@justafaniv1097]

My Birthday was on the 9th too! Sadly, I didn't get anything from the Kaiser :(

[@7826p]

F

[@thelordofhead-ass5240]

Damn, you deserve a statue of the kaiser too lol

[@markbecker71]

So many teenagers, never had a chance..

[@cwovictor3281]

The cream of a generation, gone. That's what total war does.

[@criscabrera9098]

“The lost generation”

[@cosplaytimecapsule]

I miss Galicia(1914), Lodz(1914), Przemyśl(1914, how did Indy say that so many times in 2014-2015), Masurian Lakes(1914 and 1915), Belgrade(1914/15), Loos(1915), Lake Naroch(1916), and Arras(1917).

[@kostaskossivakis1947]

Scott Leong Forgot Hotzendorf :(

[@mammuchan8923]

Indy saying Przemysl gave me a little shiver of delight

[@ronswanson7150]

THIS CHANNEL NEEDS TO HIT 1 mil before the END OF THE WAR !!!

[@clickbaitjr2624]

Erich Ludendorff gets a birthday present it’s a statue of the Kaiser -___-

[@brandonholdridge2775]

I feel like the focus is on everybody but France in this series. Where are the battles they take part in? The defensive actions they took?

[@TheGreatWar]

did you see our Verdun coverage or 2nd Verdun or Battle of La Malmaison? We also just in this episode talked about them.

[@indianajones4321]

The British retreat must be orderly

[@cwovictor3281]

When the British surrender the last of their empire, the forms will be perfectly in order.

[@HaNNibal97smiTH]

Lol you british are lucky because you're isolated on an island

[@craigeast3682]

Massimiliano Palladini Being an isolated island didn't protect the rest of the world from us though, did it?

[@matiasmakinen5028]

Tea must be saved

[@HaNNibal97smiTH]

craig east being an isolated island protected you from the rest of the world, thanks to this advantage you could focus on building the largest empire in history

[@tonygunk3328]

I must say, although all the leaders of the great war were immoral in a lot of ways, I think that Carl is the most honorable of them all, he did not enter the war by choice, it was there when he became Emperor and he knew it was wrong and was willing to risk he honor and title to find a way to end it, truly an honorable act

[@mammuchan8923]

I agree, he gets a bad rap, but I feel he was personally feeling the trauma and human cost.

[@nostradamusofgames5508]

"KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARL!!!!!!!"

[@flyforce16]

Coral*

[@nostradamusofgames5508]

oh cool i was "

[@warmasterbarron3046]

The battle of la lays interesting need to search more into it,thanks for the video!!!!!!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

"Her statesmen give lip-service to peace..." Woodrow "He Kept Us Out of War" Wilson.

[@littlejimmy8744]

little Portugal just sitting there like I'm going to be apart of this too.

[@hiukas.]

Can't stop watching your videos

[@jeroldproductions6367]

Seriously it's great morbid fun watching this.

[@mikoajbachosz3673]

It's worth mentioning that pope John Paul II was named after the emperor Karl I by his mother :) His real name was Karol (polish version of Karl) Wojtyła.

[@UCUCUC27]

what a birthday gift...

[@brokenbridge6316]

Some of this stuff should be made into a movie. Because it's pretty darn interesting. Great job.

[@clashcitywannabe]

Hi Indy and company, I have a question for out of the trenches: what do you know about Austrian conscription of Romanian citizens into their army during their occupation? Particularly minorities within Romania. The reason I'm asking is because my great Grandfather was a Romanian Jew who was conscripted into the Austrian army. During the central powers' occupation of Romania did they specifically conscript Jews because of their history of being persecuted in Romania? How did Austrian conscription in Romania work and did it focus on populations already marginalized within Romania?

[@wordsmithgmxch]

6:04: Indy, the Story-Teller: Love it!!

[@rabihrac]

Thank God that nowadays someone remembered the peace oriented thinking of the emperor Karl who lost the war and his throne : the Pope John Paul II

[@onesmoothstone5680]

Great programs!

[@hadenthomas123]

This is a sick b-day, I love the Great War

[@gravijta936]

I bet there is a statue of Indy at The Great War HQ. If there isn't one, there should be!

[@SteveMHN]

This war started off very confusing and just becomes more and more confusing by the week.

[@Nocti3635]

This was a good episode. I enjoyed. That is all.

[@radiomilano2346]

Excelent video Indy

[@raingermedia]

Thanks a ton for all your videos! Another great video as always! :)

[@jackdingle356]

Really love and appreciate this channel for the information! Keep it up I know more now than I did months ago

[@andreborges73]

OH !! YOU DID IT !! La Lys ! I asked you a week or two ago. Thanks

[@Zombie_FrieZ]

Been enjoying the whole WW1 series so far! Awesome work! What will you all be doing after November 11th? Is there a WW2 Series in the near future? Cheers!

[@Malegys]

The retreat to get behind Hazebroucke & to the Channel ports is like a proto Dunkirk evacuation

[@starguy321]

9:55 they probably realised if Austria-Hungary wanted peace, other Central Powers may also want secret peace negotiations. Thus, revealing the letter would prevent any of the Central Powers from trusting the Allies. It’s thus more in the Allie’s interest to keep it unpublished in order to keep the option of causing a Central power backstab alive

[@bothejack5929]

Betray of an allay. What did the Italiens do this time.

[@bothejack5929]

jack flash no

[@robertdevito5001]

"Have you ever thought of testing your vacuum with a blacklight? Probably not, that'd be weird..." Well, that's one way to start a video about ww1, granted it's just an ad, but still, I start off these videos by watching the ad.

[@wolfgang6517]

"Chamas-te Milhais, mas vales milhões!"

[@incestuveritas]

You really master this theme!

[@Bird_Dog00]

So, finaly caught up with the series. Yay! A question: There seems to be a prominent gap in the frontlines in the western front. Roughly between Basel and Bormio. Will you talk about what happend there in one way or another?

[@Autobotmatt428]

You forgot to talk about the action of the 26th Infantry division.

[@bconni2]

my great German uncle ( grandfathers older brother ) lost his life on the battle field, fighting the Portuguese at the battle of Lys.

[@Narmatonia]

7:32 Indy channelling his inner Rick Grimes

[@dndboy13]

6:03 lady liberty's got some fancy moves man

[@fatalexception1269]

Got to make sure you hold the C and D flags when in Amiens. Also, watch out for that damn armoured train.

[@Quickshot0]

Maybe they didn't release the letters earlier on, as they might have still hoped that it would give them an option to peace out Austria-Hungary in case that seemed like it might be necessary. So many things changed over the years in the war after all, just burning a potential diplomatic solution for some short term gains might not seem like a good idea. Especially if as said this drove Austria-Hungary even further in to Germany's influence, as that means that you basically lose the chance to negotiate anything except with Germany itself.

[@Speeder76]

Interesting: I've seen this week a movie we did about Anibal Milhais, called... you guess it, "Soldado Milhões".

[@rat_thrower5604]

Ohmygoodness i just remembered about Indy's new project on the Second World War which is starting very soon. Is Mediakraft getting involved in it?

[@Stuka55]

le Beast what project?

[@OwonaVivienD]

Is it starting on 01/09/2019 (exactly eighty years after the beginning of WW2)?

[@Kilo12117]

My Great Great Uncle Sargent Major William Heffer died in the La Lys Offensive serving with the 11th Battalion Suffolk Regiment

[@MomentsInTrading]

“Happy Birthday- It’s a statue…..of me.”

[@GFM_90]

It's so crazy how far the Germans were advancing. I wonder what would happen if they were able to close the bulge up to the channel.

[@neilhogg1219]

My great grandfather died in this battle on 14/4/18 .. aged 28

[@doubledouble4g379]

I'm a simple man - I learn something new, I click the like button ;)

[@masterciefh852]

hi crew of the great war my mothers uncle was in ww1 in the i am from Bosnia and i was wondering what role did Bosniaks have in ww1

[@edgararalkes4787]

Hm, the old picture at 4:25min looks more like Arras than Amiens.

[@xaviersaavedra7442]

1:33 that’s my mother’s name. They named an operation after my mother

[@ceejayszee]

It's neat how Woodrow Wilson talks about justice and the "evil german dominance" over Russia, and the german objectives of "commercial superiority" even thought the United States had done the same things, and worse, over their Latin American neighbours, and somewhat continues to do so today.

[@brucetucker4847]

Wilson was a big believer in self-determination... for white people.

[@jackfontana9319]

Rubbish!!

[@LordVader1094]

@@jackfontana9319 Truth.

[@wholt242]

Hey Great War, one question. After some study, most sources say that the French experienced slightly more casualties than the British during the spring offensive. However, the brunt of the German offensive seems to be directed at the British lines. Why did the French experience more casualties, or are my suppositions wrong.

[@smal750]

they tried to save the british ig

[@LovesTrains440]

Love to see an episode on the Ford 3 ton M1918 tank!!

[@jambomaltido]

Howdy y'all! Question for OOTT: I had heard that the US didn't officially join the Entente b/c of politics. Was Pershing still under Foch or was a different arrangement made? If so, how did the American public feel about US troops being under foreign command? Was it easier since the French were republicans as well? Also, thank you guys for your incredible dedication to the project. It's been and remains amazing.

[@CJ87317]

The US was a associated partner - so yeah they were never "officially" allies. Pershing still thought of Foch as his boss in some respects, but he definitely also did as he saw fit. It was a complicated arrangement and Petain had to play peacekeeper a lot since both men liked Petain, but they didn't exactly get along well with each other.

[@RasEli03]

1:35 did The germans have that triangel rank system in The Great war too? ? I se that on one of The soildiers there

[@monks311]

Wow, June already. How time fly.

[@aureliocorrida6115]

I had a neighbour who fought on The Battle of La Lys he used to tell me stories of that battle some he never finished he would start crying the mustard gas left him half blind and with constant cough died in his 90s they held the ground so the British could retreat they felt betrayed but still they fought on till they were wounded and run out of bullets the Germans praised the Portuguese soldiers for that,he belonged to the “Brigada do Minho”

[@bradwatson1142]

Indy, I saw an interesting video about teddy roosevelt winning the 1912 presidential election and its effect on the war, what are your thoughts on that what if?

[@Johnnycdrums]

As much as I hate Wilson, I'm glad Theodore Roosevelt didn't win. He was a rabid Anglophile who would have gotten us into war much earlier. Taft was the answer. Teddy's ego made Wilson possible by running as a third party which split the Republicans. Wilson won by default.

[@nicholaspatton5590]

If I were a General, having been given a statue of my kaiser on my birthday, would exclaim: "Just what I wanted!"Then proceed to fly it around through the air, making little airplane noises and pew-pew, pew.

[@willkp50]

Question for OOTT: Why didn’t the Germans use the ‘Paris Gun’ to shell Amiens during Operation Michael, disrupting the link between the BEF and the French? Thanks

[@TheGreatWar]

Amiens is too small to be specifically targeted.

[@willkp50]

The Great War Oh right. Thanks

[@anglohistorian8687]

I wonder, what did the lines look like at the coast... Were there trenches on the beach? Why not mass the attack there, with no chance of being flanked? For that matter, it would also be interesting to know what was happening at the Swiss border, did the trenches just stop there too? Maybe this is one for OOtT, but I'd be very interested to know.

[@danboland3775]

Chris QF I've always wondered about this. Shipborne artillery would have made it hard for the Germans to do so but I don't know why the British couldn't do it

[@hlynnkeith9334]

I have read reports that the RAF burned their planes during the retreat to prevent their capture, but I do not know how many squadrons they lost to the German advance. Does anyone know?

[@Xtravia9]

I'd love to get a statue of Indy for my birthday!

[@MIRobin22]

Once you finish this series you'll have only nine months' break before starting "the Second World War: 80 years later". But don't worry! Once you get through that you'll have almost three years off before starting "the Third World War: 10 years later"!

[@sciblastofficial9833]

MIRobin22 Nope, he's gonna do the Cold War.

[@onesmoothstone5680]

Did not Russia give up most, if not all of the "Pale of Settlement" @ Brest-Litovsk? Did Russia give up all of these areas to their opponents because they didn't want them or were considered "useless" before the Great War? Just curious.

[@tf2664]

Amazing

[@82dorrin]

"Wow. I kinda fucked things up, eh?" -Gavrilo Princip, 1918

[@theoracle2632]

Albert Von Schlieffen WHO DID WHAT IN WW1 Plz

[@hoangkimviet8545]

The first I've known it. Thank you! :-0

[@TheVideomaker2341]

GREAT VID!!! KEEP IT UP!!!!

[@amitabhakusari2304]

So, German's in the run again for the Official medium for the world. Will someone tell me if I have start preparing it or not after the end of the War?

[@Valdagast]

What did I tell you? Another stalemate is looming. The war will not end for many years yet.

[@jondoyle1190]

Haig issues orders several miles behind the lines while having an expensive lunch in his Chateau.