The Roads to World War I: Crash Course European History #32

Much has been written about what exactly caused World War I. As befits a true global war, the reality is that there isn't a single cause. There aren't even three causes. There are a vast array of causes. Today we'll get into just a few of those causes, including the complex system of alliances in Europe, the myriad military conflicts that played out in the years and decades leading up to the war, and the event that many point to as the beginning: the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Sources
-Hunt, Lynn. Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures. Boston: Bedford St. Martins, 2019.
-Smith, Bonnie G. Europe in the Contemporary World Since 1900. 2nd ed. London; Bloomsbury, 2020.
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[@zynnfindo4776]

“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” - Samuel Clemons (Mark Twain)

[@AlRoderick]

"It's like poetry, they rhyme." George Lucas

[@zynnfindo4776]

Alexander Roderick that is actually where I heard a version of this the first time. Joseph Campbell also has some interesting things to say about recurring themes.

[@matthewbuckwalter4447]

Sometimes though, one achieves those rhymes through the lens of modern pronunciation.

[@balisong46]

"Twain never said that, but okay"-- Plato

[@pavarottiaardvark3431]

In just seven years from 1911-18, the following monarchies were ended: The Romanvovs The Hohenzollern The Ottomans The Qing Dynasty The Hapsburgs If you had told people in 1910 that this would happen, you would have seemed INSANE.

[@kyokyoniizukyo7171]

This, was the death of almost every last kingdom in the world, nowadays the only royals that have absolute power are the Saudis and the Thailand peoples...

[@jaojao1768]

Also 1910 with the Portugese Monarchy

[@varana]

Technically, the Ottomans held out until 1922.

[@XmarkedSpot]

*Romanov *Habsburg

[@sultanexuma2157]

It'd be a bold claim for sure, but the Ottomans were already the sick men of Europe, The Russians had already revolted in 1905 and the Habsburgs were arguably doomed since 1866 when they created Austria-Hungary, The Qing had been carved up and essentially made puppets of the west (especially after the Boxer Rebellion) and god knows how many rebellions had occurred in just the last 50 years against them. Though the Hozenzollern seemed pretty damn stable, so I'll definitely give you that one

[@myrwinbrena]

When John said that peace is a historical exception, I was expecting the Mongol montage to play hahhaha!

[@rebeccathomas6858]

Myrwin Brena I was really disappointed it didn’t! 😂

[@jobanh7ify]

“Seems like the wrong guy to shoot”

[@kyokyoniizukyo7171]

Yeah, why the hell did she shoot the guy? Someone know the context?

[@danmartineau1638]

I have to learn about this scandal now.

[@MrTStat]

over a 100 years after the fact and the story is still more interesting than the assassination that's saying something today if ww3 starts and there is a new Kardashian people would be more interested in the scandal !!

[@creanero]

@@kyokyoniizukyo7171 It seems that the editor had some more dirt on her and her husband, specifically of a political nature. It also seems that they had a fairly open-minded relationship, given that they'd started seeing one another while both were married to other people.

[@AlJalandhari]

Man like Qasem Soleimani

[@fclp67]

"It wasn't only the driver who made a wrong turn." I love that line

[@malavisengupta9555]

"Assassination was an occupational hazard in leadership in these decades" *sweats in modern South Asia*

[@frankteng]

Malavi Sengupta sweats in Iranian

[@MarkyMark1221]

I love the people who watch this channel

[@fadedpajamas]

It's terrifying, the similarities.

[@coby4480]

*sweats in Julius Caesar*

[@VK-pn6rg]

*sweats in Anti-NRC supporter*

[@Irisceresjuno]

"But rather than taking advice from experts in his government, [insert leader] used another strategy: He avidly followed press coverage of himself and his regime, using that as a monitor of successful policy. He had tantrums and even months of nervous collapse when he was criticized in the press and elsewhere, creating an atmosphere of turmoil in [insert country] policy through erratic militarism."

[@Gwydda]

Oh wow, didn't even realize that! What a dotard I must be ;)

[@juniormynos9457]

I laughed when he said that. Nothing new under the sun indeed

[@Torus2112]

I've never heard of the media thing, and only passing references to the others. I'm not saying they're wrong since I'm no expert on Wilhelm II but I hope they weren't cherry picking facts to fit a pattern which they would not have noticed if Trump weren't a thing.

[@lightwishatnight]

@@Torus2112 what if they did found a pattern? How do you think we get to invent things and know more of our world? This comment has taken the wind out of me. Finding patters is what we evolved for, it is what our brains are made for, and it is the basis of the scientific method, and the scientific method is the reason why we have all these technology that we use! I beg of you, look up "human brain loves a pattern" and also Wikipedia "scientific method" to corroborate my comments. Cheers and peace upon us both.

[@RamdomView]

As much as I hate the guy, I don't think Lord Dampnuts has ever suffered months of nervous collapse. Though, that may be due to his favourite "news" outlet (which relinquished its news certification) not generally publishing unfavourable news about him.

[@grapeshot]

I appreciate you talked about the massacres in Southwest Africa. That history is rarely touched on.

[@zackakai5173]

I remember watching a documentary on that ages ago and I had completely forgotten about it. I get why it gets overshadowed by the Holocaust, but still worth remembering that genocides weren't limited to the Nazis.

[@grapeshot]

@@zackakai5173 Of course it's overshadowed because you have places like KZbin who seems to have a problem whenever the suffering of others are brought up. The Jews don't have monopoly on suffering weather KZbin likes that or not.

[@MusicalRaichu]

@@grapeshot yes I'm suffering the weather right now in australia.

[@DaDunge]

I got to disagree I hear it mentioned pretty much alone in the entire sordid affair of European colonialism in Africa, the good work the Germans did in east Africa however gets glossed over.

[@DaDunge]

@@zackakai5173 No but for some reasons genocides we get told about are limited to the Germans, funny that because the British actually killed way more people.

[@JL-ti3us]

Appreciate the South African and Namibian history mentioned this episode.

[@newjeanskitchynicknamethat2258]

Right? There was plenty of precedent for the human rights violations that we eurocentric people tend to remember better. Also, the world had already shrunk long before then, and nothing can happen in one part of it now without affecting other parts of the globe.

[@ClutchPwnageTv]

I appreciate how the dynamics in the Balkans was handled. It is complex, and hotly debated even among scholars today. It was a wise choice not to try to unpack it too deeply. That would take an entire series in itself, and that still wouldn't be enough.

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

It would take an entire series. And they ought to make that series. As it is, this series is seeming more like Crash Course History of Western Europe + Russia. As usual, eastern Europe is mostly forgotten about ('cept when it impacts the West, of course!).

[@stefanr8032]

Slamming the Military Industrial Complex? That gets a like from me

[@thedailybellringer]

Crash Course animations really keep students' attention. Love how they are formatted!

[@alexfido2935]

42 seconds into the video, and I want to say that in History class, both in Year 9 and my A-levels, I wrote in essays that there are discrete causes to the First World War. However, in both cases I learned that its not discrete causes, there are many many things that piled on top of each other, from potentially the previous 50 years of european history that compiled and lead to war. Yes, there are more immediate and stronger causes than others, but nonetheless, you can't just trim it down to 5 factors. Yet, I wouldn't hold it against schools teaching this method, as long as they also teach the appreciation of why.

[@partlycurrent]

History as a science is evolving. What we thought was true 60 years ago, was revealed later to be a fabrication based on our own point of view. And corrections about what we belive today will comme around in the future!

[@Rkenton48]

yep. The Treaty of Utrecht, Bismark rubbing France's nose in it, really created a lot of hatred and desire for revenge.

[@robtoe10]

"I'll remind you I've had 3 years of high school French - it was based on military cooperation and even shared military plans." What a strange curriculum...

[@13REDstar]

To be fair to Franz Ferdinand: His views on the whole empire thing varied from time to time. And while it's true he was a staunch conservative, and racist (as most of them where back in the days, believing the slavs where just a little bit more "uncivilzed" than the rest of Europeans) at some point he even contemplated the creation of the United States of Greater Austria, federalizing the different nationalities of Austria-Hungary, so the different peoples (there where dozends of different ethicities living in the empire) would have better cultural representation, instead of being solely ruled by Asutrians and Hungarians. Last but not least, he can be seen as the best friend,the Serbs had in the Austrian goverment, since he stood steadfast against a war with Serbia (often clashing with hawk and hardliner Conrad von Hötzendorf, chief of staff of the Austrian army). So yes, Princip killed the one guy who was against meddling with the Balkans and with him out of the picture, the road to war was free.

[@diegogonzalez9877]

It does make you wonder though. What could have happened if Austria-Hungary was able to federalize. Could it have saved it from its downward spiral, even if the war never came or didn't end as badly.

[@alin-mihai]

@@diegogonzalez9877 it might have prolonged the existence of the empire, but considering the massive discrimination against the other peoples in the empire (especially in the Hungarian administered half) it would not have been a peaceful period. The Serbs wanted the slav peoples, the Czech and Slovak were also getting tired of not being represented. The Romanians in Transylvania were worse than second rate citizens, and the messages of national unification were spreading in many circles. Nationalism was on the rise everywhere, the ego of the dominant powers was too high to allow them to admit any actual compromises. In short, it was a massive powder keg waiting for a match.

[@13REDstar]

​@@diegogonzalez9877 True. I guess Franz Ferdinand was right when he assessed that the greatest threat to Austro-Hungarian stability - and therefore any chance to turn things around and reform the empire - was a big war. This was basically why he was against any wars and especially against any "adventures in the Balkans". Also he wanted to avoid a war with Russia at all costs, since he realized that would weaken both states and facilitate revolutions that would overwthrow the respective goverments. His plan was to conserve peace at all cost. So, assuming there would be no war, how likely would his federalization happen? Still very unlikely I suppose. While most nationalities and the crown provinces would propably support the movement Hungary would fight against everything that would weaken their power. Also the Austrian establishment, the court and goverment would probably also refuse their cooperation, since again it would weaken their position in the grand scheme of things. Supposing everything would work out, and USGA had been established, would it have kept the empire alive? Hard to say. I would think in the long run: no. There where to many discrepancies, too many disagreements and too much instability (economically, militarily, etc.) and as soon another crisis turns up - some other big war - the whole thing would probably fall apart. Ironically the one thing that held the empire together, after the devastating defeats in the beginning and against all antipathy amongst the different nationalities, was the loyalty and servitute towards the Kaiser. Without him, with less influence on the federal states from Austria, I would assume the Union would break apart in turmoil.

[@brkatimachor]

I often wonder how wise it was to send Franz Ferdinand to Sarajevo, to observe military manoeuvers, on such a significant date for Serbs, in a climate of assassinations across Europe... and then to have him pootle around town in an open-topped car with little in the way of protection. I have no evidence for it whatsoever, but I imagine Franz Conrad must have been rubbing his vicious, militaristic little mitts together in glee.

[@13REDstar]

​@@brkatimachor Very unwise I'd say. One thing Austrians are famous for, is what we call "Schlamperei", or sloppiness. And the whole structure underlying the k.u.k. army as well as the goverment, was rife with Schlamperei. The Austrian governor of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Oskar Potiorek was the classic career officer. Absolutely unremarkable, even sub-par in his job, he was only looking to advance through the ranks trough connections. It was no secret, that he loathed the - in his eyes - ungrateful position as governor of this backwater province. So when the archduke announced his tour, he saw it as a clever career move: Invite the archduke and show him what a great officer and governor he was, gaining favor for his next career moves. But of course, on par with the rest of the war effort, Potiorek failed miserably to set up proper safety protocols, have additional security forces and a stringent plan for contingecies. The way he saw it: I want to show how safe and secure my province is, putting the archduke behind bulletproof glass and setting up hundrets of policemen and soldiers for security would undermine that message. And yes, having that whole thing go down on that one special day, was exactly the sloppiness that could be expected from Potiorek. So while Potiorek might have held a grudge against F.F. (after all F.F. chose Hötzendorf as chief of staff instead of Potiorek) I believe in Halon's razor: "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." I'll leave with a quote that made me smile as it definitely holds true, from Schindlers's "Fall of the Double Eagle": "The army had its share of 'Schlamperei', a trademark Habsburg sort of slackness, and throughout its long history of more than a little red tape and mismanagement had gotten by on 'fortwursteln' (muddling through), a sort of improvisational art to take the place of skilled leadership and proper strategy, which more often than not were lacking."

[@coldepenguen]

"very little in history, is inevitable."

[@xMasterxRazorx]

"I...am...inevitable" - Thanos

[@royzaarour2429]

@@xMasterxRazorx no

[@DanDeLeoninthefield]

Especially human progress.

[@AllenGrimm1145]

Tell that to Hari Seldon.

[@DaDunge]

War between Germany and Russia pretty much was. And that's what the German general in this case was talking about not a world war.

[@SvrWxArchive1807]

I liked the video. But I wish there was a discussion or at least mentioning of the various Diplomatic crisies that sowed distrust between the opposing alliance blocs. Events like the Moroccan Crisies of 1905 and 1911 and the Bosnian Annexation Crisis of 1908 (which albeit was mentioned but in passing reference) or the First and Second Balkan Wars and how they almost led to war with Austria-Hungary and Russia.

[@cathykeller8551]

First and Second Balkan Wars were right after Bosnian Crisis. It's hard to do all the things in such limited time.

[@DaDunge]

Morrocoan crisis was interesting since Germany only went against France because they wanted to ease tensions with Britain who had up until that point always been opposed to France. But things had gotten so bad between Germany and Britain already that the British instead sided with France.

[@DaDunge]

@Kwiene Makeda Not sure I agree with you there. The Serbs successfully repelled the Austrians and were only crushed when the Germans took charge of the situation, and even then the German commander in charge of the invasion, August von Mackensen, put up a monument over their heroic defence which has the words in German and Serbian "Here rests Serbian heroes".

[@DaDunge]

@Kwiene Makeda resisting invasion however is.

[@DaDunge]

@Kwiene Makeda of course it is. It is tying up enemy troops and even making the enemy waste some of it's strength. August von Mackenssen knew a lot more about war than either of us and he saw it.

[@bennymacaroni]

The ending line of these videos always gets me.

[@HenningGu]

5:54 3 years of high school French based on the military. Not bad

[@Guidus125]

I thought his pronunciation sounded quite good.

[@weezin99]

Crash Course media is one of the most important educational media genre in the last Century. Keep up the great work. I tested out of 4 college classes, learned more than I ever thought possible. Boiler up! :p

[@WesStacey]

13:07 This reminded me of Moriarty's quote from Sherlock Homes: A Game of Shadows "Don't you find it strange that the telegram you sent didn't inspire any action to stop me? You see hidden within the unconscious lies an insatiable desire for conflict. So you're not fighting me, at all, as much as you're fighting the human condition. War on an industrial scale is inevitable; they'll do it themselves within a few years. All I want to do is to own the bullets and the bandages." The more i learn about history the more that the answer to "what if this happened differently?" is almost always "Pretty much the same thing." History is rarely simple and rarely the results of single events it's about climate and a series of events and worries all piled on top of one another to the point that changing a single incident will rarely have changed it's overall course.

[@bautistakeithcharles3302]

This is actually a very good point. It makes me think of the building atmosphere of hate, xenophobia, fear of uncertainty, increase polarization and disruptions due to climate change we are experiencing today. I hope we continue to experience relative peace during the last 70 years, but I am worried that we are repeating the mistakes of history and are inching closer to another major war.

[@morganrobinson8042]

They used the exact same plot point in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, too. Was even Moriarty doing it. In hindsight, It's kind of impossible to write at the turn of the century without WW1 acting as a long shadow over everything.

[@fadedpajamas]

@@bautistakeithcharles3302 faster than inching, and it'll be too quick to lament.

[@andriesoliviier9529]

I'm happy you mentioned the Second Boer War (South African War). It was a testing ground for the modernized British war machine and a surprising number of international regiments fought on the side of the Boer Republics. Look it up.

[@nicholasstampar454]

Finally got John talking about the Balkans! I’ve waited so long for this day haha

[@Electric62Kid]

Love the video! I noticed that at the beginning you mentioned your high school educational experience lacking substance compared to how historians teach it now. However, from the middle to the end, you essentially just elaborated on the bits that you said were not enough at the beginning. For example. You said that you learned about Military Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism, etc. stating that those were the former talking points of high school teachers. But then you used those same points through your video to explain the history. I do agree with you that high schools are not able to teach everything in history, but to be honest it seems like you learned more about World War I (then) than I did. Most of my education on the conflict was, “Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, Domino Effect, World War II...” Definitely felt like they skipped around even then. I didn’t get my first true lecture about The Great War until my second year at community college. Regardless, I think the parts of history you did learn at the beginning represented a great precursor to the knowledge you have now. If you don’t have a base for a large topic like World War I, it’s hard to keep up with the plethora of information they feed you all at once in arriving at the university. I have to keep that in mind when I organize lectures for my own history students.

[@PhysicsGamer]

Interesting note about the dreadnaughts: Germany dearly wanted to build up a navy capable of challenging the British, but the British navy had a big enough battleship lead as to make the project... daunting. Arguably almost impossible absent a total shutdown of British naval development. But that changed when the British built the HMS Dreadnaught, and overnight made every existing battleship obsolete. This sounds like an amazing advancement for the British, and it was, but it also meant that all of *their* pre-dreadnaught battleships were obsolete. Their many-ship lead had suddenly shrunk to a *one* ship lead. This never really amounted to as big a problem as it sounds, of course. The British still held a very solid lead in shipbuilding infrastructure, which when talking about naval power is quite arguably the more important measure.

[@Quickshot0]

Of course, they couldn't avoid making such ships either. They only beat by years at most some other countries who'd come up with similar ideas. So if it's going to happen anyway, would it be better to be the first to start on it?

[@TapOnX]

It takes decades to build a strong navy. The French learned it the hard way under Bonaparte, so did the Germans during the world wars. That's why I'm also not too worried about China being able to challenge the US naval power any time soon.

[@robintaberner]

PhysicsGamer of course Dreadnoughts could have been called Carolinas or even Satsumas. AND early German Dreadnoughts weren’t very good either. And then during WWI the Kaiser didn’t want to scratch the paint in his shiny new battleships.

[@DaDunge]

It should be noted that Germany used to import food from the British colonies, which allowed it to move massive amounts of it's population out of the agrarian economy and into the industrial one, then when Germany outpaced Britain in industry the Brits got concerned and slapped high export tariffs on food exported to the German empire as a way of reining in the German industrial growth (It makes sense from their perspective the British spent a lot on maintaining their overseas empire and Germany did not have to do that). But Germany got the idea that the British were trying to starve them, and proceeded to go looking for a colonial empire of their own to import the food from, this got the British increasing their navy which the Germans saw as a threat to their new colonies and their food imports and so they increased their navy too. At the end of the day it's the Thucydides' Trap, a rising empire trying to rise and a diminishing one won't let them. Unfortunately for the British they focused on the wrong rising power, while the British and Germans spend their time killing one another the United States eclipsed them both.

[@DaDunge]

@@TapOnX Actually in ww1 Germany arguably had the stronger navy because while the British had more ships the German ones were to big and powerful for the British, they simply couldn't consistently sink them. But the Germans never really got on board with that idea and thus under utilized their navy heavily.

[@camiloiribarren1450]

Well now, here we go to the Great War, The War to End All Wars, also known as World War 1

[@kyokyoniizukyo7171]

“Wait, you mean there will be a second?!” -Someone from prior to world war 2 but after the first one...

[@Torus2112]

"Well The Great War is finally over, welcome to the inter-war period!" "Thank god, now finally...wait, what?"

[@Rkenton48]

well, yeah, they couldn't just call it WWI at the time. They wanted to see how it went before investing in a sequel.

[@chadestioco]

Today when the internet often collectively wonders whether WWII would've happened had Hitler been accepted to art school, I find your closing thoughts profound. We as humans often fail to see beyond immediate causes which makes us extremely susceptible to repeating past mistakes. Hitler wasn't sufficient to cause WWII. The Archduke's death wasn't sufficient to cause WWI. A lot of people have been pouring small drops into a bucket and these were just the drops that finally caused an overflow.

[@NotPaulAvery]

why was I recommended this? it's been 5 years since I last watched these in my AP US history class...and I'm still completely enamored

[@donttalkcrap]

You're still completely enamoured. That's why.

[@warped3x]

13:04 That line delivered with perfect. Well done.

[@robsnow4818]

8:39 Oh look, it's the Breakfast Club.

[@TheYoungWolfI]

Love how you point out other perspectives. In highschool one of my best papers was about how the War of 1812 could be seen as a first world war from the perspective of so many around the world of the time.

[@Torus2112]

"The world looks more like 1914 today than it has at any time since 1914" -Peter Zeihan

[@richardsimms251]

Great talk. Thank you.

[@ThePoodebah]

Am I the only one who feels like John's holding back tears towards the end of the video as he sums up the factors that lead to WW1 that're all virtually identical to what's going on right now?

[@lonewolfjuannieves7059]

Yes Saw 1917 Last Sunday, been reading on WWI . This video is what I needed.

[@OptimusShr]

If you want some more awesome WWI History watch the channel The Great War. They did a history of the war week by week, profiles of people involved, and visited many historical places. They are actually still going talking about the political upheavals after the war.

[@henrikschmidt3964]

You do great work, you guys! Even (semi-)history buffs learn from your videoes.

[@Mrnewkrakbo]

Amazing, thanks for your work

[@gibranhenriquedesouza2843]

Fear, the most ancient and powerfull feeling in humans.

[@DanDeLeoninthefield]

The manipulation of fear, the most ancient of strategies.

[@sapphirejade800]

So fear is an ancient and powerful feeling I don't understand why that fear exist as it is today

[@gibranhenriquedesouza2843]

@@sapphirejade800 Humans didn't change in the last 6000 years (in biology).

[@armorsmith43]

"The rise of Athens and the fear that aroused in Sparta"

[@sapphirejade800]

@@gibranhenriquedesouza2843 jeez that definitely suck of being put in fear for so long.

[@annarose3354]

Thanks for putting into words an eerie sense of unease I've had myself about the similarities between now and then, but haven't had the time to do the research to back up

[@BuyAllTheBooksNow]

Great episode

[@BrianJordanAlvarez]

I love these videos so very much!

[@ChenAnPin]

6:55 there should've been a bald eagle screech at that instance

[@_vallee_5190]

Jokes of that manner would simply be outdated, fundamentally cultural references become outdated quickly. Attempt at watching world history series is difficult because the references no longer hold water, they are shell of a time that has passed and fundamentally it does not appear as though humanity is learning from History, to do so would simply be an admittance of not learning.

[@mihaylo_kovin]

Thanks for you work! It's great video... as allways))

[@Wolfsgeist]

Franz Ferdinand actually had pretty progressive plans for Austria-Hungary, that might have appeased many nationalists. Look up United States of Greater Austria for more information.

[@kyokyoniizukyo7171]

Yeah, the problem was that the orginazation of which would be under a starkly absolutist monarch from the Habsburg royal family, seemingly hinting at himself for rather obvious reasons...

[@duncanohio]

Yes. Franz was pro-reform and considering the reactionaries in power all around europe he looked like a progressive in comparison. Very odd to not mention that he was the most pro-serbian man of power inside austria-hungary and paint him as a wannabe evil dictator instead.

[@teen-at-heart]

So well explained! And such a stark contrast to the reason(s) for WWII.

[@tzwacdastag8223]

WW3 Memes Still Spreading Like a Wild Fire

[@ommsterlitz1805]

Damn a double offensive meme nice one m8

[@seancoffey5169]

Those who think that a war with Iran will kick start WW3 is an idiot. Iran isn't a significant enough power to start a world war and has no powerful allies. In fact Saudis new highly advanced army along with Israeli, UK, Australia, and the United States would make an easy victory. Also a large portion of the population hates the current dictatorship, as it has huge political protester in public.

[@xxiao5156]

Imagine in year 2120 a crash course episode just on WW3 memes.

[@tzwacdastag8223]

@@xxiao5156 ha ha

[@sahilhassan8538]

I wish Crash Course posted this sometime last week.

[@Davlavi]

love this show

[@kathdominguez1628]

Kindly add this to the European history playlist, thank you! ❤ and also #21 is missing

[@MartinKyral]

Further reading on the matter: Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark.

[@Tfin]

Bah! _Sleepwalkers_ by Stephen King is far more interesting!

[@MikeJBeebe]

It's a bit of a slog, but worth every minute invested in reading it.

[@sinisterelephant8658]

In short, "The terrible ifs accumulate." - Winston Churchill

[@pampoovey6722]

I always have subtitles on. It fascinates me to see how the subtitle (draft?) version of the script differs from the final, voiced, one. Sometimes the differences, though small, can be quite meaningful.

[@joelwest5541]

I think this might have been the most terrifying episode of crash course I've ever seen.

[@cjlafargue]

excellent synopsis and appropriately unsettling for our days

[@RyanPHill77]

Me. Green, you have done it again! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@Oxtocoatl13]

There is a beautiful anecdote about the war I read in Sleepwalkers. As the war began, Russian Cossack units in the far east were mobilized too, except news travelled slowly to Siberia and they didn't know who they were going to be fighting against. An American journalist interviewed them and asked for their best guesses, which ranged from Japan to China to Britain. When he told them the truth, they thought he was joking.

[@geoffreywinn4031]

Educational!

[@BrownMallard]

“...It just wasn’t the Arch Duke’s driver who made a wrong turn.” Savage, yet true!

[@ArunGoyal2007]

I always look out for crash course videos on history. They are well researched and avoid propoganda. Eye openers. May you have the srenth to go on and on. God bless. (From an erstwhile full atheist.)

[@michael7324]

And don't forget to be awesome. I tell this to my children every day.

[@WesStacey]

7:16 wait....WHAT!!!!! Why does this ring a bell....

[@porfirij]

had the same thought. maybe they are related? trump does have german ancestors, right?

[@DaDunge]

@@porfirij It seems familiar because they are pushing this narrative, yes Willhelm had issues but the nature of the issues are completely different from what Trump have, I would argue that comparing trump to Wilhelm is not very nice to Willhelm. Willhelm was simply a man with a tendency to overthink things and who also probably suffered from periodic depressive episodes, who was forced into a controlling the most powerful empire in the world at the time. Willhelm's problem wasn't that he didn't listen it was that he tried ti listen to everyone and that he ended up trusting the wrong people.

[@jaojao1768]

@@DaDunge Wilhelm II made a lot of Trump-style statements, for example his Hun speech or the entire Daily Telegraph-affair

[@DaDunge]

@@jaojao1768 Hun speach? It was the English propaganda machine who labelled the Germans as huns way way before the war.

[@OptimusShr]

@@DaDunge What evidence do you have that this is a false narrative?

[@andrewbatist6355]

when this series come to an end i hope for a crash course african history, asian history, north american history south american history..... this is too good of a content, please go on forever !

[@ArtsyChick24]

Thank you for mentioning the Herero massacre!! It's such a rarely-discussed part of German colonialism and imperialism in the late 19th-early 20th century!!

[@illerac84]

Germans came late to the game.

[@MuhammadAli-fg8ph]

If you would have uploaded it few days ago I would have rocked in the exam 😊

[@s0ngf0rx]

didnt know much about the balkan wars. that was very interesting.

[@ethansandoval9939]

hey @CrashCourse I remember John Green saying in a different episode of crash course world history that Franz Ferdinand was more of a moderate and now i'm hearing that he was more of a radical reactionary and I am wondering which one of these is correct and which one of these is false of if they were from conflicting viewpoints of if new evidence of old letters has come to light?

[@elenich5159]

You amazing, thank you so much!

[@martinhumphreys4891]

There’s an excellent dramatization of the Dreyfus Affair called “An Officer and a Spy” by Robert Harris which I would highly recommend.

[@stoywarshockofficial9984]

America did not invent the Military Industrial Complex, but we did PERFECTED it!! I liked that 😂

[@skipper12]

Next episode: the roads to World War III

[@dramitppt]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@WesStacey]

0:45 as you were going through that list, my first thought was "uhhh....this is sounding incredibly familiar...." then you went and stated it outright. and then you went through the rest of the video and my stomach started turning as it became ever more familiar.

[@kyokyoniizukyo7171]

Assassinations of national leaders, paranoia in peoples heads, fears of modernization and future... Damn, even the revolutions and mass demenstrations are becoming a thing...

[@diegogonzalez9877]

Its the same setup: the older generations and people in power refusing to advance and abandon outdated mentalities, the newer generations and oppressed groups not wanting to deal with them and pushing for change at all cost, and a whole bunch of people forgetting what war is like and dragging the world to them out of insecurity and fear driven prejudice. I swear, the worst part about studying history is how repetitive it becomes once you strip it to its basics. You ask yourself "How many times are they gonna trip on the same rock?" and the answer is always "at least once more"

[@ryuusei1907]

Never been this fast to a Crash Course video!

[@PamelaDFrank]

"Seems like the wrong guy to shoot..." - I just love John Green: funny, brilliant & cute - I love this channel!

[@MrRemicas]

Eh, your husband cheating on you is one thing. Telling the world about it is another.

[@johnhammons8418]

Did you use Margaret McMillan's "The War That Ended Peace" for this? I love all these WWI books that came out recently. I'm still trying to get through "Sleepwalkers". "Lawrence in Arabia" is another good one. I had heard that Barbara Tuchman's "Guns of August" was John F. Kennedy's favorite book. I only thought you used the McMillan book b/c she discussed the social changes as a big part that is not normally brought up. I think that story needs to be told to all of the people that hate social programs now.

[@m1903rotc]

It's crazy how relevant all this assassination stuff is in the beginning of 2020.

[@elgracko]

Have you guys thought of publishing illustrated transcripts of your videos, with screen captures and thought cafe illustrations? Digitally and on paper, perhaps.

[@paulhopkins6306]

love the map in the background. Wish I knew where to find one lol

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

This is the subject of "The Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann. He seems to argue that the people of Europe were eager for war. That is was a huge case of "Be careful what you wish for."

[@KindessisEternal]

"he avidly followed the press coverage of himself and his regime, using that as a monitor of his success. He had tanturms and even nervous break-downs when he was criticized by the press..." Gee THAT sounds awfully familiar....*sigh*

[@bigslydoc]

Well this episode is making me shift uneasily in my chair with just how may similarities there are with today!

[@thetruerift]

I am quite sad you didn't use C&Rsenal's "War Were Declared" ending here.

[@esiahgomez3817]

I was just watching videos from 7 years ago kinda wild this is the same guy

[@justinpachi3707]

5:23 Actually you have it wrong here. The alliance between France and Russia was falling apart way before Wilhelm II came to the throne. This was under Wilhelm II's father Frederick IV who idealized German nationalism and wanted closer relations with Austria. Austria which had conflicts with Russia over influence in the Balkans saw the league of Three Emperors Collapse. Wilhelm II actually tried to get the alliance between Russia and Prussia reinstated and tried personal diplomacy with his cousin Tsar Nicholas II. Wilhelm also tried his best to avert the war and was the last of the monarchs to mobilize his armies. The problem was that both Empire's governments were firmly against each other. The German General staff feared Russia since it was rapidly modernizing and once it completed its industrialization, it would be too powerful for Germany to face. The Russian court and government was pro-French and was captivated by the Issue of Pan-Slavism. The Russian elites spoke French as a second language thanks to Peter the Great. Despite Wilhelm's best efforts the war had occurred.

[@Eamonnhickson]

Thank you.

[@culwin]

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist." -President Eisenhower, 1961

[@lordomlette]

Is Sebia @ 11:32 a typo or is that what Serbia was called back then?

[@lunawolf88]

I’ve got a question is having short memory loss 16 times a day normal I forget everything sometimes where I am what I was doing or who I am

[@cardenasr.2898]

It is curious how rival sets of alliance can either lead to devastating global war (WWI) or proxy wars in crucial regions of the world. Let us hope that will not be the case in the future.

[@bleeploughly6311]

I’m glad this video popped up! I just saw 1917 and it re-ignited my interest in WWI!

[@Kalashnikovification]

Scary how close we are to this today

[@pavarottiaardvark3431]

Oh no the leader at 7:16 sounds very familiar Oh no.

[@zackakai5173]

Yeah studying history becomes an exercise in horror after the parallels start leaping out at you. I also suggest reading up on the fall of the Roman republic for a similar effect.

[@MichaelMantion]

Yah it sounds like a bunch of but hurt liberals are still pushing a false narrative of Trump on less informed voters.

[@IkeOkerekeNews]

@@zackakai5173 It sounds like historical revisionism.

[@zackakai5173]

@@IkeOkerekeNews I'm sorry, how is noticing repeating patterns throughout history any form of revisionism?

[@zackakai5173]

@@MichaelMantion lol says the butthurt Trump supporter.

[@zachheilman784]

If you've got a lot of time on your hands and want to know more about the buildup to WWI, Hardcore History did a series called "Blueprint for Armageddon", and it's excellent. It's six four-hour episodes but well worth the time investment.

[@vinicius99157]

Time to listen to the band Franz Ferdinand

[@pocok5000]

John is very very proud of his french skills.

[@AviChetriArtwork]

13:00 Urg, now that's funny, John.

[@cihannesvat4261]

Hey mr. Green, do you have suggestions of history books about ww1?

[@SvrWxArchive1807]

Theres a bunch of really good books about World War I out there. For starters, if you're looking for what he talked about in this video, I recommend "The War that Ended Peace: the Road to 1914" by Margaret MacMillian. Although it primarily focuses on the political and diplomatic buildup to the war it has chapters on the Great Powers and society as a whole. For a great overview book there is a lot, but I think for the best readability and overall knowledge I recommend "A World Undone: The Story of the Great War" by G.J. Meyer. This book has a lot of info but very readable. This book also has "background" chapters which cover specific background topics from the ruling elite to shellshock and PTSD to specific events and people. Wonderful introduction to World War I and highly recommend. For a book that focuses on the Paris Peace Conference and the post-war era I recommend "Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World" by Margaret MacMillian. Breaks down the Paris Peace Conference and goes into detail about each little settlement and treaty from the German Treaty of Versailles to the Break-up of the Ottoman Empire to Hungary. There are so so many others out there, but these are great starters for anyone looking to pick up knowledge on the Wars!! Hope this helps!!

[@cihannesvat4261]

JoeTheWX Man17 I will surely look into these. I really cannot thank you enough but still thank you very much for taking the time to reply and for your suggestions.

[@Oxtocoatl13]

Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark is a superb work on the beginning of the war, with extensive chapters about the various diplomatic crises that happened before Sarajevo.

[@Hoodie1248]

Where can I find the photo from 8:35 ?

[@william2496]

4:22 was a missed opportunity for the Mongols montage

[@JL-ti3us]

There was a Boer Concerntration camp in the town I grew up in.

[@aidenb419]

Last time I was this early on a Crash Course video Franz Ferdinand was still alive.

[@lamnguyen11111]

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