The Battle of the Golden Spurs 1302 AD

[@BA-gn3qb]

So, your infantry is winning, but you recall them to let your knights get some glory. And they get butchered. Simply Amazing!

[@corndogrequiem1728]

Just imagine being this cool noble riding into battle with all this expensive gear, just to be bludgeoned to death by a peasant.

[@encyclopediaamericana7234]

@@corndogrequiem1728 I don't wanna imagine that!😂

[@blownonpurp]

So french

[@adib3011]

Well u got to keep your nobles well satiated. Or they tend to turn against u😂

[@RAID3N_2013]

You'll see that this is a common thing that happens in 14th century Europe, especially if it's French knights.

[@cletusawreetus-awrightus2799]

those french infantrymen experienced what i believe is called a "bruh moment"

[@reygatery]

@country baller infantryman :bruh we were winning

[@user-bw4ec4bm2t]

@@reygatery k

[@user-bw4ec4bm2t]

@@reygatery i can't remember what I said on my old account

[@theunloadedrpg1376]

Technically what they experienced us a "Bruges moment"

[@itsalmostfun8567]

proffesionaly said

[@jeromeclaessen3921]

I’m Flemish myself and I applaud you for your effort of pronouncing our words correct. 👍 Another victory for Bazbattles. 👏👏

[@wachtwoorden2]

He butchered schild en vriend though, he wouldn't have made it through the night ;)

[@thom7853]

Not really... Schild en vriend was completely wrong

[@WhateverNameIsStillAvailable]

​@@wachtwoorden2 Yes, my goedendag was itching as he said it. ;)

[@rrmoviemaker]

Fun fact "goedendag" means "good day" in Dutch, pretty funny if you think about it

[@jensverstraete4722]

it is because when your head is smashed whit it you bow your head (like any blow to the head but still)

[@CrimeaRiver]

The origin of its meaning is debated. Another morbid one is that it refers to the movement of the victim (charging knight)'s head when the weapon is used in a "Braveheart-style" defense, making the knight "nod" in the frontal collision. So, in this case it would be named after its spear mode instead of club mode function.

[@SODEMO2007]

*lifts downed knight's visor up* "GOOD DAY!" *SMASH*

[@bozo5632]

+Crimea_River - Gotentag hardly seems long enough to use against cavalry, "Braveheart-style." You'd have to kneel in front of the hooves. It would wreck the horse, but you'd probably be crushed. Pikes aren't hard to use in formation. Wobbliness isn't a big problem when you're just part of a marching wall of points. And pikes are nearly useless outside of formations, so wieldiness isn't too important. I doubt a gotentag is very wieldy either, for that matter. Idk where the weapon originated, but it seems like exactly the sort of cheap, easily made weapon that a low-skilled, ill-equipped peasant militia would want to use against knights in full plate.

[@bobjenkins9208]

hahahaha, that's hilarious! :D

[@Ezael]

RIP Artois, his wife Stella probably missed him a lot

[@truedarklander]

Federico Marucco hah, beer references

[@Dikranovski]

Get out.......

[@Districtimprovementstrategy]

From what I know about Stella Artois, she probably didn't miss him at all ;)

[@pennjazz]

Well played...haha

[@viktor1496]

Well Stella Artois is a Flemish beer that is brewed in Leuven. Oh the Irony

[@volpetrolski1]

- "SCHILD EN VRIEND!!!!" - "euh quoi, skild en friend?" - "zssinnggggg..."

[@Spoon3rYT]

Flemming: Schild en vriend! Frenchman: sKilD èN FriEnD Flemming: So you have chosen death...

[@ewoudalliet1734]

Yeah, but that aspect of the story isn't historical and was added later on based on a Biblical story.

[@lomax343]

Having seen how well their cavalry charge went in this battle, the French decided to use exactly the same tactic at Crecy and Agincourt...

[@jannoottenburghs5121]

yeah only this was before Agincourt (what you probably knew but a little reminder)

[@spudpud-T67]

There is nothing like replacing recent memory with arogance.

[@IIBloodXLustII]

That's what the OP is saying: The French saw that their dreaded heavy cav charge could be stopped by infantry, especially when terrain slows them down. Yet at Agincourt they were slowed down again by muddy terrain and still tried to charge an infantry and longbowmen line.

[@aramhalamech4204]

Bradley McDaniel except it was more or less a line of only longbowmen. The english had very few infantry left from their campain before agincourt. The english only had 1.000 infantry . Not really a threat against a cavalry charge. The english archers were only so effective because they deployed stakes to keep the cavalry at bay. If they wouldn't have used them they would have been crushed

[@lomax343]

Stakes were hardly a new idea, nor were they hidden from the French. Yet they still charged frontally. It's a lesson that has been forgotten many times in history. If an infantry formation keeps its discipline and presents a wall of spiky things - be they wooden stakes, or spears, or bayonets - no horse ever foaled will charge home. Mind you, at Agincourt, the French followed up their cavalry charge with an even bigger charge (well, slow lumber) of knights and men-at-arms on foot - and that didn't go terribly well for them, either.

[@greysquirrelinator]

I could watch these forever

[@mennoltvanalten7260]

You can't, the vids run out :(

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

This battle embodies the phrase "If it ain't broken, don't fix it."

[@hazzmati]

HHAHahahahah wait wait wait hold hold up... sooo the french infantry was actually winning the battle and they were like: no fam fuck that we want to make it look like the cavalry won the battle. And because of that they lost the battle? Pahhhhahah that's not even sad that's just pure comedy.

[@konradvonschnitzeldorf6506]

french knights maan

[@SuperDeeyay]

It's important to look at this from their time's perspective: - During that time a knight's charge against infantry had a success rate of 90% or more - Losing as a knight would mean having to pay a ransom and go home, they were rarely killed in battle. - Knights' only job was warfare, NOT to fight would have meant being dishonoured at home. Glorious combat was their reason of existence.

[@hazzmati]

SuperDeeyay I doubt that. Knights were called knights was because they could afford a horse and good armor which meant they were rich, probably the upper class of medieval soviety. Outside battle these knights were noblemen and ruled whetever land they posessed. Of course they also trained regularly but that's not all they did.

[@the_rover1]

whole french history is pure comedy :D

[@imasterdankyi8804]

ZiSt1989 I hope you cannot have children so the world doesn't have to suffer of your ignorance anymore. The French army is one of the glorious since beginning of the damn middle age. The French defeat in 1940 made a lot of bad reputation of the French army in the world (because of german or even american propaganda) it's a shame because a lot of brave action of the French army seems strangely forgot between 1940 and 1944... France were about 3,1 million soldiers and Germany 3,5 milions In german army every panzer had the support of a plane 5600 planes in germany side and 2900 in french side... and we also successfully repulsed every Italian offensives very easy (battle of the pont Saint Louis) 9 french soldiers versus 5000 Italian those nine were ables to kill 700 italian before italian retreat France were also the country with higher resistant during german occupation The british sales to be the strongest But are they border with Germany ? Remember those battles : Bouvine 27 july 1214 French resist to a coalition who were threatening the kingdom Castillon 17 jully 1453 French defeat british and end hundred years war Rocroi 19 may 1643 French defeat fearsome Spanish infantry and end up Spain military domination During the revolution : Battle of Fleurus, Lodi, Rivoli, castiglione, Aboukir During Napoleon : Marengo, Austerlitz, Auerstadt, Friedland, Wagrame, Bérézina, Montmirail, Champaubert, Vauchamps, Ligny Magenta 4 june 1859 french and Sardinia troop defeat Austrian and France gain Savoy and Nice 1916 Verdun : French defended this city and strongly resist to a powerful german army La Marne 6 to 13 september 1914 . french victory stopping german troop to go invade Paris Bir Hakeim 27 may to 11 june 1942 1 man for 10 , 4000 french proves to world that french soldier where sometimes best in the world So ? French surrender ?, french are coward ?, French are very bad at war ? ''Their history is pure comedy'' ? Your ignorance fucking repulses me lol. Oh, and I'm Canadian before you ask me.

[@maxb2021]

I have to manage my taxes and finish building a bookshelf.....but The Battle of the Golden Spurs seems more important :D

[@SpeartonMan]

The battle itself is based on managing taxes, you did half the job 😂

[@TheBloofyx]

+SpeartonMan yeah, just build an army and fight the government

[@Kingtot]

You just need a Godendag, and you're good to go.

[@conan2735]

fun fact goedendag translates to good day

[@talknight2]

I'm pretty sure the History Channel said the godendag was a Swiss weapon. I'm confused.

[@bekhele]

word of explanation about the night raid. schild en vriend ( shield and friend in English) was ( is) very hard to pronounce to french people and actually most people form a roman language, as they dont have the 'g' sound in in s'ch'ild as you have in Germanic language. a Frenchmen would pronounce it with an obvious 'k' sound 'skild' and so the Flemish could easily distinguish in darkness you are a Frenchmen, an got so their head smashed in because of poor pronunciation

[@bozo5632]

Death to stammerers.

[@gibhacker8121]

the the original grammar nazis

[@raffffar4549]

Goe gedaan!

[@soundscapesMPLS]

in Kortrijk we pronounce it as `skild` =D

[@dadude4960]

@Michael Wittmann the French have always been terrible at masking their origin when speaking foreign languages. usually you think they speak French with you, even though they're trying... but most times they really do speak French...

[@JustFlemishMe]

On to the battle itself! I did note you seemed to focus on the class thing, which is true for the consequences, but from what I read, not for the actual battle. According to the book I have here, the Flemish army numbered 8500-11000 men, with a shockingly small cavalry of 350. Only about a third was actually Flemish, the others came primarily from Namur or as mercenaries hired by Jan van Namen and Jan van Renesse. The French on the other hand had 2700 armoured cavalry, Knights and squires, alongside 4000 infantry (including roughly a thousand crossbowmen). There were also 334 men in the castle, tying down 500 Flemings. Robert d'Artois obviously had his reservations about fighting on ground chosen by the Flemings, but it was Raoul de Nesle who called for caution, pointing out that if the French couldn't achieve a breakthrough, they'd be closed in and couldn't easily retreat behind the streams. His plan was to get the Flemish out of their defensive positions. Jean de Burlats gave his estimate that this couldn't be achieved with his force, he wouldn't manage to push the Flemings back sufficiently. His suggestion? Take advantage of the Flemish warriors' inexperience. Accustomed to eating and drinking much (according to de Burlats) and not so much to staying in battle formations, the French could shoot at them all day, force them to remain in position, until their discipline would fall apart and the Knights could charge into their backs. Godevaart van Brabant joined de Burlats and de Nesle in their opposition, weary of the capabilities of Renesse, an exiled noble from Zeeland. (Side note: 'Zeelandish' in Dutch is the best adjective ever: 'Zeeuws(e)'.) A day in heavy armour under the baking Summer sun without refreshments and French crossbow fire the Flemish would be tired and demoralized, a much easier prey. Robert d'Artois and the other commanders however were strangely confident in their crossbowmen, more so than... the guy actually in charge of the crossbowmen. After they had driven back their Flemish colleagues, the cavalry would charge in and route the inexperienced Flemings. And the final objections were shrugged off by the Count of Artois. His brilliant reasoning? The French army didn't have to prove its worth, and serious resistance would only make for a good fight. 'The more strongly the enemy defends, the more glory we reap from the field. After all, we did not ride out to defeat and pursue defenseless men.' (Yes, that's paraphrasing from what Medieval chroniclers wrote.) The Flemish infantry was actually pretty well equipped, with mail hauberks, pikes, goedendags, billhooks, swords, etcetera. Overall, they were heavy infantry. French infantry was light, at least not heavy enough to where d'Artois assumed they could hold their own against a greater number of Flemish footsoldiers. Sure, next to the French Knights, the Flemings were crap, but against the French footsoldiers? Their defensive formation was genuinely impressive. The French crossbowmen were supported by bidauts (skirmishers) and (even) less well equipped infantry, and together they pushed back the Flemish front line of crossbowmen. The French were running out of missiles, but they had pushed back the Flemings, enough perhaps to get a good charge going, or deploy infantry. This was the choice Robert, Comte d'Artois faced. If he deployed his crossbowmen, skirmishers and light infantry, he risked a Flemish counter-attack - costing him the freshly won ground. This is probably why he ordered to withdraw the infantry. Some of his men however didn't catch the order, excited about their own success. This is where it started to go wrong. The French cavalry had to jump across streams, which generally went reasonably well, but didn't help. The real problem started when the Flemings closed ranks rather than running. To the last moment the French probably expected the Flemish to run. When they finally realized they were about to clash and the Flemings weren't moving out of formation, confusion struck. The most experienced horsemen maneuvered to hit the men directly and avoid the pikes. Others hesitated and slowed. Most... just pushed on. Rode to certain death and pain Knights and nobles met their bane Sacrificed their lives in vain At Kortrijk! (based on 'Poltava' by Sabaton) Godevaart van Brabant tried to force a breakthrough, just as he had 14 years earlier, and actually ran over Willem van Gulik and his banner, but the men of Bruges caught him and killed him. Raoul de Nesle, too, was among the earliest victims. Jacques de Châtillon died on the other end of the battlefield a little later. The French in the center almost broke through in this initial, massive charge, but Jan van Renesse, commanding in large part experienced Zeelandish and foreign nobles, stopped the attack and led the Flemish in a counter-advance. It devolved into a long melee, in which Pierre Flote, a major advisor to the King, was slaughtered. At this point the Comte d'Artois had little choice. He had to avert the improbable defeat and to claim victory, he needed to send his men reinforcements. So he personally charged in on his stead Morel, with 500 more heavy cavalry. He managed to break through and tear off a piece of the banner of the Count of Flanders. This was probably on the right flank, not the center, especially since he charged at men from Ghent and the anecdote of his death goes thusly: The Flemish closed in on d'Artois and Morel. The Count begged them to spare his horse. The men asked who he was. Robert shouted in French: "I am the Count of Artois." But the Flemings replied: "Here is no noble, nor one who understands your language." If this were in the center, Jan van Renesse and his nobles would probably have been around and I doubt any of them didn't know French. After this, the remaining French forces just... stood there. The Flemish then advanced, a last desperate effort was made and quickly finished, and the French routed. Finally, to give a sense of what a big deal this battle was, these are just some of the biggest names to fall: Robert II, Comte d'Artois Godevaart van Brabant, uncle of Duke Jan II van Brabant Jan van Vierson, Viscount of Doornik/Tournai, son of Godevaart van Brabant, cousin of Duke Jan II of Brabant John with no Mercy, son of the Comte d'Hainaut Godefroy de Boulogne, son of the Comte de Boulogne Raoul de Nesle, Constable of France Jacques de Châtillon/Jacques de Saint-Pol Henri de Ligny, from the County of Bar Guy de Nesle, Marshal of France Renaut de Trie, Marshal of France Robert de Tancarville, chamberlain Jean de Burlats, grand master of the crossbowmen Jan V, Viscount of Lille/Rijsel (pro-French Flemish nobleman) Pierre Flote, Chancellor of France Jean de Bouchavesnes and his two sons Arnout van Wezemaal, a prominent noble from Brabant Mathieu de Ligne, Marshal of Hainaut The brothers Lords Jean and Guilaume Martel from Normandy Boutersem, prominent noble from Brabant Walhain, prominent noble from Brabant, along with his son Aillelmus, eldest son of the Duke of Brittanny Simon de Melun, Marshal of France The Knight Arnout van den Eeckhove from Brabant, alongside his son Hendrik van Wilre, Lord of Wesele, Seneshal of Brabant in 1301 Arnout van der Hofstat and 3 nephews All in all, 63 to 75 prominent noblemen died, alongside 1100 Knights. 500 never saw battle, so half of the nobles were wiped out. And the battle you referred to at the end? Two things. One: that was the only time in his reign King Philippe le Bel ever fought in person. Just to give you a sense of what a headache the Flemish revolt was to him. Two: it's actually quite controversial if the French won the battle. From what I read, the French were steamrolled and routed at the end, the King himself was overrun but by a miracle overlooked, and then the Flemish, faced with fresh and regrouped French forces, and tired, just... went home. But the French did kill a Flemish rearguard - including Willem van Gulik.

[@Dennell_Mount_and_Blade]

Underrated

[@thesicoplayer_2663]

Shoutout for anyone who read the entire thing, I'm not strong enough

[@shadix30]

This is possibly the most important battle that we "flemings" won. And also "The battle of woeringen" that nobody knows about. Super interesting all that detailed information!

[@JustFlemishMe]

True! Though not as important for Flanders, as much as causing social upheaval and, militarily, it seems to have kick-started the infantry revolution in mainland Europe. Yeah... Even I myself don't know too much about it. Which is a shame, because from what I read, it actually sounds way more epic and more geopolitically important that Kortrijk. It probably should be better known than it is. Thank you! If we all learn about this battle anyway, might as well learn as much as we can =)

[@erzhaider]

Nice book you wrote there

[@julienmichotte8577]

Soooo I’m from Flanders And I have an exam on that very battle and how it influenced later literature veryyyyyy helpful fact checked and precise you just saved me two hours of research Thanks

[@Ekstrax]

great video again! also, the knights were in shock when they started bludgeoning them to death, as noblemen would almost always be spared when off their horse and on the ground, and taken prisoner for ransom. At least that's what i've been told

[@SuddenReal]

From what I've heard from my history teacher, the nobles said their family would pay ransom for them, but the Flemish peasants just replied they didn't understand French. We really didn't like them.

[@TheMedievalNerd]

I am just astounded by the quality of the visuals. When I saw the thumbnail, I thought someone was using the engine of a game to showcase historical battles. But I think I'm mistaken and this is just a lot of hard work. Hats off to this channel!

[@rolandsquire6555]

Could you please do the battle of Bouvines ? It was one of the largest european medieval battles, had no less than two kings and two emperors on the battlefield, and seems to have been unfairly forgotten.

[@evobsm2328]

​@@ComradeHistorian...... i dont think thats why but sure.

[@CirryInCommand]

One of the few people who got the "goedendag" right, superb work!

[@ikebeckman1074]

You forgot to mention the best part-goedendag’s literal translation is “good day,” showing that medieval Belgians had an excellent sense of humor

[@Irdanwen]

Thank you for this summary. As a Flemish man, I of course knew some of the history, but I don't think I ever saw it outlined in such an unbiased way before. Well done, I appreciate the balanced effort.

[@fredsoh4027]

Does flemish mean the same thing as belgian or is there a difference?

[@Lookhaz]

​@@fredsoh4027 Flemish people are from Flandria, which is the northern, Dutch speaking part of Belgium. Every Flemish person is Belgian but not every Belgian is Flemish.

[@pedrobastos9246]

The french must remind themselves that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer

[@danboud8135]

Ha, actually heard this in Wayne June's voice when I read it. Nice DD reference

[@ElBandito]

In many cases, overconfidence is a swift killer.

[@quirijnv6793]

Instead, they went back to the pits.

[@anders6227]

Goedendag? does that by any chance mean good day? if so, that is an absolutely awesome weapon name :P

[@anders6227]

so scarface stole the line "say hello to my little friend" from the Flemish? :p awesome!

[@Siegbert85]

Just read up on it... apparently the Flemish people greeted each other with Goedendag and when the other one answered with a French accent they would strike them down XD Not sure if the info is reliable but it's an awesome origin story.

[@anders6227]

Godendag, answer me rigtly sir, or my godendag will turn you goddag into a merdedag

[@invaderzam]

Lol yeah it does. Medieval people had a dark sense of humor. There are even accounts of them saying it out loud before they swung the weapon to kill their enemy.

[@bananian]

Silent Four-Eyes What if they were chinese?

[@Kithairon]

Great video! Please cover the Battle of Grunwald/Tannenberg of 1410 AD.

[@Scanixon]

Kithairon agreed

[@the_diplomat51]

Kithairon Finally someone requested it XD Couldn't wait for the vid even though it would mean making me see the greatest downfall of my favorite military order

[@tex7542]

I just wanted to suggest that.

[@Kithairon]

Qimodis It's a battle against many odds. On one side you have the finest of europes knights led by a powefull military organisation with a huge psychological advantage. On the other side you have a force with few knights in compassion, and lots of light cavalry. The battle is fought in a way close to the prefered taktiks of that time. The batte marks the beginning of the downfall of the Teutonic Order. Also there is a bit of nostalgia. I was born and grew up in Malbork, roughly 300 meters away from the castle. And I spend some time as a child playing knight in the former ruins of Malbork castle.

[@seanmcdowell9649]

Kithairon ah same with the love of the teutonic order :) but from watching battle castles (always got to quote where you get your evidence on the internet nowadays before people judge) they showed most the polish/Lithuanian forces have heavy armour not all but the bulk so it seemed pretty even on them odds and the picture that programme showed was it was a all or nothing fight with the battle shifting until the suicide charge of the Teutonic grand master, then again they went over the battle in like 2mins so I'm sure I got a lot wrong :) just was a bit confused when you said few knights and I know what a knight is, but if the forces still wear mail and heavy armour they may not be as skilled as knights but have similar protection and abilities if you get what I mean, but don't mean to be a judge being open minded is always good :)

[@ibrahimutkukonar1177]

best historical channel ever

[@Deelom100]

Epic History is better

[@Kechaan7484]

Proud to be from kortrijk and to live on the battlefield of the Golden Spurs!

[@MacSvensson]

I'm Flemish. This battle is taught to every Flemish child. Maybe because we didn't win too many battles in those days :-P Maybe after next year's Football World Cup we'll have something else to teach our children :-D Again, well, done. I really like your battle analytics and the visuals. Great stuff! I want more :-D

[@welatxwese8074]

Sven Croon well I never got this battle. I myself love history and like literally they barely talked about Flemish. It was always about France, Germany and Netherlands

[@MacSvensson]

Really? wow. Maybe because I'm a bit older and in those days education was more about local stuff? Dunno. We were taught about Antwerp's "Golden Century", the "Flemish Primitives" painters, or Ambiorix's brave stand against Caesar a bit further down the history line. Great stuff altogether. It's what made me interrested in history after all. That, and good, inspired teachers, ofc.

[@timvb8671]

Meh we had our ups and downs against the French. But mind you where just 1 small county against an empire, and we could hold off the French pretty well. Reason why we still speak Dutch here is a miracle and proof of our tenacity. All the other cultures got absorbed due to French centralization. Our greatest moment comes in the Flemish-Burgundian era in the 100 years war. Captured Paris and Joan of Arc. Shame our duke got killed by the Swiss in battle almost carved an empire himself.

[@olixor]

I think it might be because you're older, I don't remember any of it but in an older comic I own there was a situation where it was taught, that comic in particular was published around the 80s.

[@ArtilleryAffictionado1648]

why do you refer to yourself as flemish and not belgian? do you guys still have pride in your flemish roots? i love how europeans take pride in their regions and not their countries. i live in a country of 200 million where despite having absolutely nothing in common with ppl from the other side of the country we consider ourselves the same people lol

[@robindevo8515]

Fun fact: every year the football club 'club bruges' still honours the uprising where they took out the french garrison, by playing a friendly match against a french football club. This is called 'brugse metten'.

[@ClickShootLoot]

I'm addicted and can't stop watching. Starting from the oldest vid and working my way forwards. Good stuff. Subscribed.

[@SuperDeeyay]

You listened to my request? Thank you man! This battle is almost nowhere to be found in a decent way on youtube, so you might be the first to make a solid video about this! Qualitative as always, and the voice man did his best not to butcher the pronunciation, let's wait until he has to do more Slavic ones :p I'll close with a small extra fact: On the Flemish side there were Wallonians from the Country of Namur fighting alongside them, since they did not like the attempts of the French king to centralize the kingdom's power. It's a fact often swept under the rug by today's Flemish nationalists.

[@louisvandenbroucke1383]

but they are common day wallonians, back then they were part of the county were they not? anyway, the reason for the resentment is not born from nothing, our history as second class citizens has ended only relatively recently, don't forget that it took 2 world wars and american investment, and the government to fall and so on to just get us in the door of equal representation, and even now the brussels government spits on the therms agreed in 68

[@Kwijiboz]

Man, these videos are great on every level. Great work!

[@cgavin1]

Subscribed! Outstanding original content. Also, its understated in the video but 2, 500 mounted knights in this period was INSTA GIB level of military OP. Simon de Montfort the Elder had annihilated an army of ~10. 000 Aragonese with only 300 mounted knights not long prior. The mounted knight in this time period was justly considered utterly invincible.

[@TiboFPS]

This was the first video of this channel I ever watched. As soon as it was finished I subscribed. I need more!

[@jophielswings]

Byzantines! Byzantines! Seriously, one of the two permanent Empire's of Medieval Europe, the successors of Rome. There's got to be several battles you could do with them e.g. Crusaders, 717 Siege of Constantinople, Manzikert etc.

[@uerkinable]

Manzikert would be an interesting battle to watch

[@jophielswings]

Yeah, the basic end of the Golden age of Byzantium (Well, sort of. Komnenos revived it a bit but still).

[@nils191]

How can you be a successor, if you are?

[@jophielswings]

I know that!

[@georgechristman6920]

After he has done some major Byzantine battles he could do some less famous battles such as the Battle of Antioch on the Meander in which something quite unusual happens that changes the course of the fight.

[@campbelldutch75]

These are the best videos of ancient battles I’ve ever seen!!

[@henningpetzschke9524]

damn this new speaker is amazing. not only is the english great, he even gets the dutch and french pronounciation right.

[@Holland1994D]

Wouldn't call it right, it's a good approximation.

[@placeholdername1424]

My compliments on your pronunciation of Dutch/Flemish words. The fact that yours approaches that of native speakers much more closely than that of most English-speakers demonstrates the effort you put into this. Thank you.

[@danboud8135]

Awesome comment!

[@papafrancesco2937]

the pronounciation of the dutch words is actually pretty ok. Good job on that one

[@karelvansteenhuyse3522]

Papa Francesco the words were okay, the city names were afwul, but that is pretty normal for someone who doesn't speak Dutch.

[@madijeis4320]

COMANDI PURE SANTO PADRE! I vostri cavalieri sono pronti a riprendere la grande città di Constantinopoli nel nome di Dio! DEUS VULT

[@flybeep1661]

I'm flemish and no, the pronounciation wasn't good at all. Especially "'schild en vriend", and he pronounced Kortrijk as its French name "Coutray". Also, saying schild en vriend like that would have resulted in death for him at that time since the sch sound is difficult to say for any non Dutch person.

[@jannoottenburghs5121]

Fly Beep, but it was a good effort for someone who doesn't speak Dutch

[@raym473]

Thanks again Baz for sharing these gems!

[@kohgoomah0105]

13 ships beating 300 ships in the Battle of Myeongnyang during the late 16th century would be an interesting battle to cover

[@crazypescador]

Thanks a lot, Balthasar! Another fine work!

[@BillyDrakePianoMan]

Who else gets hyped when he says “The battle is about to begin”?

[@gn019202492000]

I watched first ten seconds of the video and subscribed right away. This is exactly what I wanted! for a long time!!!

[@stevemc01]

"You noobs are not the best out there. WATCH THE MASTERS AT WORK." "Sir your armor has three holes in it, and you're coughing blood." "HE'S PERFECTLY FINE, YOU DOLT" Flems watching this: "now this is what I call, fellow soldier, a bruh moment" "What's a bruh moment?" "I don't know, but you're great-great-many, many, many greats grandkids will love that phrase."

[@Fuutonquick]

I freaking love this KZbin Channel, keep up the videos, keep up the amazing quality you guys put into it.

[@VasileIuga]

Make Podul Înalt Battle/Vaslui Battle, you would see, it would worth the effort. Great battle, top 10 of all times.

[@zarakdurrani7584]

Really like your channel. Appreciate the old compilation of Battlefield WW2 documentaries.

[@VasileIuga]

@@zarakdurrani7584 Thank you. I am so happy to hear from you!

[@DolanPls]

I love these videos! Amazing recountings of how the tactical and strategic efforts of commanders translate into combatants winning or losing battles they shouldn't have. Would love to see some videos on modern warfare as well. Getting goose-bumps just imagining bazbattles going through the Battle of The Somme, Verdun, Stalingrad, the invasion of Normandy, battle of Bloody Ridge, Iwo Jima etc.

[@corvus2512]

You have to love the image of the nearly victorious french infantry watching from the camps after having been pulled back. “Should we return and help the beleaguered knights sir?”..... “no, let the fancy pricks get what they deserve.... *rolls eyes*.... retreat” and the well armored and experienced french infantry just walks off the field while in the background the french knights are being butchered

[@ardahanozdenboyac4407]

You guys are really good! We need more videos as soon as possible, please!!!!

[@stevieCOH2142]

your pronunciation of belgian names was pretty good, appreciate the effort!

[@oofd1]

Except 'Guy' lol. It is pronounced 'hee' in english.

[@rantymcrant-pants9536]

This is the best video yet, really well done.

[@pizaclatonddd3081]

this is so underrated

[@VladVlad-ul1io]

YOU ARE AWSEOME!! YOU DESERVE 1 MILLION VIEWS !!!!

[@petertimowreef9085]

Èxcellent pronounciation of the dutch g in "goedendag!" I'm a big fan in general of people who try t to properly pronounce foreign words and names. Nobody expects you to get it exactly right, but you gotta at least make an effort. It's just a matter of respect.

[@Gliese380]

Actually, the Flemish don't pronounce it with that guttural G sound, unlike the Dutch.

[@petertimowreef9085]

It's a little longer in Flemish but for the rest the same soft G.

[@Gliese380]

He didn't use a soft G, he used a hard guttural G that u only find in the Netherlands, though..

[@petertimowreef9085]

A hard G is like in English in words like gravel, or good. Where the bottom and top of your mouths touch when you pronounce it. The dutch and flemish G's are both soft. With the dutch one you just vibrate it a little more, like you do with an R.

[@Gliese380]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_and_soft_G_in_Dutch. You can call it a soft G all you want, but the G used in this video while pronouncing Goedendag is a hard guttural G, and no Flemish people sound that rough. It's typical to the (northern parts of the) Netherlands (your southern provinces that border Belgium do use a more softer Flemish-style G), not to Belgium. Even among the Flemish coastal dialects/accents, which are the roughest sounding of the Flemish ones, this really primordial G is unheard of. This is basic stuff and supposed to be common knowledge. Hard G in English does not have the same meaning as harde G in Dutch, btw.

[@MrDeeeerp]

As a Fleming, this made me burst into our national anthem "The Flemish Lion"! Great video, thank you for this!

[@louisvandenbroucke1383]

de tijd verslind de steden, geen tronen blijven staan....

[@theophileburtz1624]

if you guys speak french and are interested in this time period i STRONGLY recommend "les rois maudits" (maybe "the accursed kings" in english) by Maurice Druon

[@stefanchriss7679]

ze german scourge Maurice Druon, you have good taste, sir!

[@theophileburtz1624]

french?

[@stefanchriss7679]

No, you?

[@theophileburtz1624]

ye

[@ProphetChuck8471]

Holy crap, the production value is insane.

[@jaaksootak318]

Hello, BazBattles! Nice to see a new video after a while. Would you be interested in doing some videos about battles that occured in Estonia. I could help you. You are doing a great job!

[@jesusizquierdo3831]

Amazing job! You have another subscriber. This is of special interest to me as I worked as a tour guide in Bruges. To be able to see the battle as it was is super helpful.

[@atexandude8734]

Sun Tzu’s Art of War states never to underestimate the enemy.

[@Twittler1]

Robert B Julius Caesar is reputed to be the first who ever said ‘no battle plan ever survives first contact with the enemy’ or something like that.

[@gmfinc18]

Your animations are amazing, keep up the good work. More people need to learn history and this is an easy and more importantly enjoyable way of learning it.

[@Legionair_]

hearing you pronounce Flemish words and names is very entertaining. I don't mean that as an insult or anything it's just funny.

[@theoderic_l]

Excellent animations, good presenting and fine analysis are all well and good, but what impresses me the most are the details you have included in your videos, these are what we can connect with, what brings to history to life.

[@dexterzplace5553]

The main battle between Byzantium and Seljürk???

[@uerkinable]

Manzikert 1071? I agree

[@dexterzplace5553]

Dardanelles the battle that ended Greek dominance in the region and ability to expand outward

[@dexterzplace5553]

Provocateur haha you haven't beating eu4 until you've driven the Turks from Anatolia

[@seanmcdowell9649]

DexterzPlace can you tell me how it was able to do that, like when you look at the casualties they didn't lose that much so I would of thought they would of been able to reform and defend but hey I ain't done my research so I do apologise :)

[@dexterzplace5553]

uhh, all i really know is that most of the Varangians (elite infantry) were killed, and around 20,000 Frankish and Norman infantry deserted. The rest fell in retreat. I also think that the Byzantine Emperor was captured as well but idk for sere

[@laoscuridad9275]

I really love his voice. just perfectly suited for narration

[@disguy67]

SILLY FRENCHMAN, YOU'VE BEEN ARTOIS'ED!

[@basileiospotamitis5862]

i have watched every single video you've made, and i'd like to see more of them!

[@eliasandersson3299]

So this Robert of Artois was the grandfather of the Robert of Artois made famous in Maurice Druons Iron King.

[@Rangersly]

Just discovered this channel with this video. Excellent and interesting storytelling on a battle I've never heard of before! Subscribed!

[@argalacdurrandon5271]

so,this was an easy fight for the french,Just like Agincourt, they were better armored, Just Like Agincourt,the Just needed to use some brain and they would have slautered the enemy, but they Lost badly,Just Like Agincourt. they never learn eh

[@the_diplomat51]

Mario Rossi Their chivalric pride was their hubris

[@CptFoupoudav]

Yes they learn, because in the end france win :)

[@HarrDarr]

This was before Agincourt and I mean 100+ years, nations aren't like in civ, where you can remember a strategy through the timeline, they didn't have the luxury of perspective.

[@argalacdurrandon5271]

Harr darr yeah,i know man,i was Just joking

[@loxodoncyclotis1823]

The French knights were the best heavy cavalry in Europe, but that wasn't enough for them, they wanted to be heroes out of legend. That was their undoing, again and again. The funny thing is that they did learn from their mistakes, but after a few generations they forgot and fell into the same pitfalls again. Crecy 1346, Agincourt 1415, Pavia 1525 : always the same story.

[@9and7]

The best part of BAZ Battles is that the series will never end. There's always another battle...

[@johannacoddens3405]

9and7 the battle for pyongyang 2023

[@quirijnv6793]

True, Europe was so good at fucking with eachother there's an endless supply of battles.

[@dracodarastrix4175]

A question, are you guys planning to do a naval battle. There are some very interesting ones. Between English, Dutch, Spain, French, Ottomans, Venice's, etc....

[@Nerrvih]

Incredible work, thank you very much

[@abdullahbashmail321]

medieval french nobles lost to the "peasants." That's like rubbing salt on wound. xD

[@ele7864]

Hey they are french

[@themememan2738]

wow this video was really well made, cant wait to check out your other videos!

[@michaelflores791]

British guy is best narrator voice :)

[@apron05]

Awesome video!!! Can't wait for what's next 👍

[@stefvdv2490]

I love how you pronounced Kortrijk

[@craigrand6407]

These are really nicely put together

[@Quetzietse]

The name 'Guy' isn't pronounced as English 'guy.' It is pronounced more like 'Ghee.'

[@farid0107ah]

just love your videos please please keep making them

[@skykid]

As an enthusiast of French history, I keep hearing these stories and thinking they could have ruled Europe if they'd just gotten their act together... but their society was so complexly opposed to centralization that their very existence defied concerted efforts to conquer.

[@Lordparable]

you dont understand how much i love these 👌

[@napoleonfool]

Herdenk de Guldensporenslag! #Vlaanderen voor alles!

[@louisvandenbroucke1383]

ze zullen hem niet temmen, zo lang één Vlaming leeft, zo lang de leeuw kan klauwen zo lang hij tanden heeft.

[@the_rover1]

lol, I can understand that although I don't speak dutch at all :D greetings from austria

[@loiclangers7010]

@@the_rover1 it can't be that similar, or is it?

[@TwinPeaky]

Allen voor Vlaanderen, Vlaanderen voor Kristus

[@Dennell_Mount_and_Blade]

@@loiclangers7010 Dutch and german are very similair. Compare it to Portugese and Spanish.

[@leonardolejarde467]

i will subscribe now , its fun to watch and listen to history with this nice illustrations. well done

[@benboyabc]

Do you guys have different dudes with different accents do the narrations? Or is it one guy? I'm confused

[@sarasamaletdin4574]

I think the guy who makes these hired later another guy to narrate them after he got complaints about the accent.

[@josephfrancis1067]

Love your channel. You guys are doing great work, keep it up!

[@skiteufr]

This defeat to a brave and courageous Flemish force was avenged 2 years later with the French victory at the battle of Mons en Pevele, which ended the war

[@jesperfrankandresen]

These are getting better and better. Cant wait for more alexander the great tactics!!

[@SlavesWereGood]

doesnt this inspire you all to play some total war medevil 2?

[@Mr.C_101]

The whole thing started in Bruges, with a BAR FIGHT between Jan Breydel (and friends) and some French soldiers... knowing he would be a dead man, Jan Breydel convinced the rebellion to strike at night... "Schild and Friend" (Shield and Friend) is a phrase they used to differentiate the French from the Flemish... it's absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to pronounce for the French... (the Flemish are very tuned to accents, and it's big deal for them) The next morning... the streets of Bruges was covered in French blood... it's one of the most "Game of Thrones" moments in Flemish history...

[@Alex-kc3ex]

Deus vult for no reason!!!!

[@andreascovano7742]

Always

[@talknight2]

Remove stroopwaffel?

[@rachelcarson7809]

The crusades werent even good soldiers lol

[@LordJike]

Saying that you can deus vult with no reason sounds silly, as god wills it, there is a reason.

[@autcsarautnihil4737]

The "crusaders" included 4 orders of knights, in which most of them were rich nobles using the best weapon and armor gear. Besides this, other kings with their elite society joined them. So tell me, how can they not be good soldiers? :)))

[@mattwells5347]

I love the text bubbles baz battles uses for the characters in this channel, it adds humor to history xD

[@ernavill3261]

The way he pronounces Kortrijk is amazing :D

[@SveinNOR]

Love your videos! Great production!!

[@swish1234567890]

Battle of austerlitz?

[@f4eL5K]

dam ,keep doing those videos ,they are fantastic

[@Aiden-og6ty]

1000 likes - 1 dislike i dont think ive ever seen such a good ratio

[@captainlag3537]

Aiden mathematically speaking, if you get 1 like and 0 dislikes you get the best possible ratio. but practically, you are right.

[@superdash91]

let us hope it stay this way

[@Aiden-og6ty]

Maurizio Pavel well getting zero dislikes shouldnt be included becuase it makes for an invalid ratio

[@captainlag3537]

Aiden it is 1-0. what you say is correct, but from the perpective of the 1: 1/0, which is invalid. but if you take the perspective of the 0, you get 0/1, which is valid. i dont mind gettind corrected

[@firetarrasque4667]

No matter what, its been ruined. 2,000-11.

[@Trueskorn]

First time I have seen this type of video. I shall be subscribing for sure.

[@aapjeaaron]

You're choice for the language the names are written in interest me. Because most modern Flemish cities are written in dutch except for Ieper(ypres). And of the Fence and Walloon cities Lille(Rijsel) is the only one in dutch. But then you canged the names as the borders changed so why is Tournai not Doornik and Dunkirk not Duinkerke? but that aside the fame of the battle of the golden spurs mainly comes from it's use to bolster Flemish nationalistic sentiment in the '70s. after all it was did not end the era of the knight.

[@BazBattles]

I'm little inconsistent there, right. Thought about it, but finally left it as it is. I did basically the same in Visby video. As for the "fame" of the battle - flemish nationalism aside, I'm pretty sure it was a big event back then in 14th century, we have plenty of accounts covering that encounter.

[@Sr65536]

To be honest, Ypres is very well known among English speakers due to the First World War - normally I refer to foreign cities by their native name, but when I'm talking about a well-known city I'd call it by its Dutch name (I'm Flemish).

[@Darqshadow]

@@Sr65536 same. Germany list a lot of soldiers to a small professional army, hence why most armies today are all volunteer forces, there is a higher level of training and devotion than that being a conscript

[@Darqshadow]

@@Sr65536 also what does my last name mean? Its dutch and that is unfortunately all I know about it

[@cipher88101]

I just found your channel, but the art style and presentations are very well done, keep up the good work and thx