The Edge of the Abyss - Mountain Warfare On The Italian Front I THE GREAT WAR Special

[@monroetoolman]

Frozen bodies of soldiers from WW1 still come out of the glaciers from time to time.

[@user-eo8ee7tm4w]

Brian Anderson

[@oskareriksson2202]

My father s grandpa was there. Once he was sent to cut the barbed wire with other 2. They was killed and he remained hide in a ground hole for the whole day with the water until mouth, before return in Italian trenches at night. The Austrians probably saw him but they tough he was dead maybe and didn't shooted. He was decorated later for the battle of Monte grappa too.

[@ErickBlessed]

Not just out of glaciers bro, i find traces almost everywhere in high altitude ridges of my region (Trentino - Alto Adige/South Tyrol)

[@Bruh-hq1hx]

@@wfw4182 aah your familys cross again

[@mrdrums007]

Yea they’re completely mummified

[@utenteutente9531]

I'm Italian and I live in the places where the war was fought. I remember as a kid we'd learn a lot about ww1 and the trench life in school, often visiting the real places. Still, if you go in the woods here and dig, you'll find tons of ammo, clips, sometimes rifles and helmets (from both sides, all stacked on top of each other, which means probably the soldiers carrying them died on the same spot fighting). I've also studied German in Austria and visited a couple of museums there about "their" side of the war. It really makes you think... never again. All of our efforts will always have to be for peace and brotherhood. A few months ago we had a huge storm which destroyed the land more than the war did; one of the effects was that it brought up from the ground six corpses (what was left of them...) of ww1 soldiers, four Italians and two Austro-Hungarians. Their rests were put in urns wrapped in Italian and Austrian flags and they were honoured as equal in a ceremony in Asiago, in front of Italian and Austrian representatives.

[@Commandos9]

@Rish Ganjeet From Turin I can tell you that you are welcome!

[@giorgiociaravolol1998]

Sta storia non la sapevo. Bella

[@matthiascontinibali5283]

im italian myself, but i literally live on the opposite side of italy

[@VindicAlpha]

So long as the European Union stands, never again will we risk a war between the nations of Europe. Lest we forget.

[@dieterh.9342]

@@VindicAlpha now it is the rulers in Brussels warring against the people.

[@Agent_3141]

Playing this in Isonzo really gives you the scope of how intense having to fight up a mountain was. This is probably my favorite front of the war

[@Skullkan6]

Isonzo is really underrated. Land level maps are brutal, but mountain fighting varies between safety and sudden ambushes and death from sharpshooters far above you, little cover and luck. Albeit Isonzo ommits the weather and climate, which was a huge factor.

[@dusk6159]

The italians and the austro-hungarians fought the harshest front ever, what a sacrifice, and a high toll also on the armies' systems.

[@brianfuller7691]

My grandfather fought here and it was as beastly as you'd imagine. This was tough fighting with tough blokes. Alpini were badasses but so were the Austrians.

[@davidecavina9138]

You're right both Alpini and Austrians were badasses on these front, but every men who fought this war was brave because it certainly took bravery to charged an entrenched position firing at you with machine guns or climbing a mountain fired upon by snipers and with possible avalanches. Such a shame that all this brave men fought and died for such a senseless war.

[@tszirmay]

Mine as well, a Hungarian captain in the Austrian artillery. When I was a child, he told me countless stories about the mountain warfare , the brutal conditions and the hardship that both sides endured.

[@gladiatordude3723]

@@tszirmay your grandfather?

[@tszirmay]

@@gladiatordude3723 yes, he passed away in the late 70s

[@dusk6159]

@@tszirmay The hungarians and also troops like the slovenians and the bosnians! Or the italians levied in the austro-hungarian army to fight in the Carpatians in the East.

[@oblo7389]

My great grandfather fought as a captain of the alpini. He was part of the esploratori, scouts if you may. He got gassed but survived, was sent back to the mountains. When the war ended he had to spend 2 years in Tripoli, because even Sicilian winters were too harsh for his lungs. He luckily recovered and lived till 1985, when he died aged 86. I’ll spare you the math. He was born in 1899, and enlisted as a volunteer in 1915, aged 16

[@davidfiorini6416]

Grande bisnonno!

[@FlagAnthem]

a '99 kid, the class sent to save Italy

[@dusk6159]

@@FlagAnthem Not exactly save because the dozens upon dozens of italian divisions of all the combat-ready and veteran armies of the nation managed to comfortably halt and defeat the austro-germans on the battles at the Piave without the iconic and mythical 99' class being ready and prepared.

[@Patrick_3751]

So...did no one notice the dog being lifted up the mountainside under the artillery piece at 3:08? This is why the Italian Front is one of my favorite fronts of World War I as the troops fighting there had to be either complete bad asses or completely crazy. In many ways the Italian Front was way worse than the Western or Eastern Fronts.

[@twandepan]

Patrick3751 Lol, he was like “put me down, NOW!”

[@jacobfarrell7171]

I agree

[@neutronalchemist3241]

Is little known that avalanches killeld more men in WWI than poison gasses.

[@damianomastroiaco2457]

Believe it or not, there were lots of sled dogs. Another untold story.

[@totallynotalpharius2283]

The dog was Italy's best general

[@WORLD8NSH5KNIGHT1]

When we think of WW1, we tend to think of the Trenches. But as intense as the Western Front was, it was far from the only battleground. The human sacrifice in Italy, the Balkans, Middle East and Eastern Front shouldn't be overlooked.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

It's little known that avalanches killed more people than poison gasses in WWI.

[@johnnyfives5416]

@@neutronalchemist3241 and the hostile conditions of the environment that was either hot with diseases in the middle east and Africa or cold during the winters in the mountains of Europe and on the eastern fronts with hungry wolves and being frozen to death.

[@Agent_3141]

Just playing Isonzo you can really feel how intense fighting up a mountain was. It's probably my favorite front now

[@FlagAnthem]

well, in Italy we do think of the trenches as well just in the snows of the Alps and the rocky Carso mountains. and the Carabinieri in second line ready to shot at those who would refuse to bayonet charge into machine guns

[@jc-xb8ve]

And the east Africa campaign! We know at least 4000 African porters died in service of the British campaign

[@dbzfanexwarbrady]

- 2 terrain penalty

[@Shaeris]

Attacker may get a crossing penalty -3

[@oblo7389]

Depending on your general’s maneuver skill

[@skiactive1830]

Hoi4

[@skiactive1830]

@Registeel on KZbin aighhht sry

[@indy_go_blue6048]

Ax1/2, Dx2... if entrenched or fortified on mountainous terrain Dx2x2.

[@alejococa00]

My great grandfather fought on the Italian side and told my grandmother that at a certain point they stopped receiving supplies and to survive they had to eat roots and hunt rats in temperatures always under to 0 degrees, luckily he survived and after that he went to live in Argetina where he met my great grandmother

[@kingoftrash461]

I won’t be coming home, I won’t be going anywhere. I will guard this post forever.

[@Mondo762]

I always thought mountain warfare was crazy and brutal. You just affirmed it Indie.

[@pedrorocha4817]

I won't be coming home I won't be going anywhere I will guard this post forever Here on the Alpine slope, where I did my final stand I shall remain Among the ice and snow that binds me to this mountain A force of nature too strong, sent from above Where spirits lead the way, the winds will never fade White Friday, I'll take the Stairway to heaven I'm sky high, when I die I'll be immortal Forever, I never I won't return to Blood mountain, I am the Soldier of heaven I saw the end of war I watched the soldiers come and go And I kept my watch forever So many brave men fell in the battles that were raging down below I have seen it all but none will hear my story All of these years I have been frozen in time I cried for spring to come but here Winter remain! White Friday, I'll take the Stairway to heaven I'm sky high, when I die I'll be immortal Forever, I never I won't return to Blood mountain, I am the Soldier of heaven I always dreamed that I would, serve high above Where spirits lead the way, the winds will never fade White Friday, I'll take the Stairway to heaven I'm sky high, when I die I'll be immortal Forever, I never I won't return to Blood mountain, I am the Soldier of heaven White Friday, I'll take the Stairway to heaven I'm sky high, when I die I'll be immortal Forever, I never I won't return to Blood mountain, I am the Soldier of heaven ("Soldier of Heaven" - Sabaton)

[@MilesLMProductions]

Respect to those who are eternally patrolling the Alps

[@TS1336]

My grandfather's older brother, who had my exact same name and last name, went MIA in this front in august 1917. He was 19 years old and served in the 274th Italian infantry regiment.

[@Bruh-hq1hx]

And how old are you?

[@davidfiorini6416]

Disperso in azione. Ma non dimenticato. La vera morte è solo quando nessuno si ricorda più. Tu continui a far vivere la memoria del fratello di tuo nonno. Saluti

[@TS1336]

@@Bruh-hq1hx 31

[@TS1336]

@@davidfiorini6416 ho fatto alcune ricerche e ho scoperto dove potrebbe essersi disperso

[@matejpfajfar8039]

Hello from Slovenia! I feel sorry for poor souls, who built paths for horses an mules from the walley floors to mountain tops. It s a sight to behold, when you are walking on one of them paths... You have to see that with your own eyes, to thruly grasp the magnitude of what those soldiers built and endured. The fact, that all those paths, bunkers and fortresses were built in just few years makes me respect those people even more.

[@jeroldproductions6367]

What worse than being shot? Being shot after climbing A REALLY BIG HILL.

[@SigEpBlue]

At least it gets you out in the fresh air. :3

[@connormac4401]

Oh hey! I finally made it! It was a long and harsh climb wasn't it :D *gets shot* *fall off the cliff*

[@jeroldproductions6367]

SigEpBlue Mind that gas!

[@nightbandit1260]

Jerold Productions omg i hate that when playing battlefield 1. i get up a big hill. die. and have to run it up again and probably die again

[@randoaccount4744]

Brother Romeo Bare. Whoa why? Actually whats the story behind it?

[@zantan123]

My grandmothers family is from Vittorio Veneto and her grandfather was an Alpini and Cavalieri and knighted later on in his career. We got to see the trenches he actually fought in when we visited a few years ago. Apparently he used to take the younger members of the family to tour his old fighting holes. I guess people dealt with PTSD differently back then lol.

[@FlagAnthem]

when there wasn't blant denial there was the mark of "scemo di guerro" (war moron); oh yeah, words used to have different meaning back then

[@Matteo-ks6fn]

To us italians Alpini are an institution, respected, admired and - why not? - feared: tough and resilient as mountain people, trained and disciplined as soldiers. Alpini, side by side to others, are fist to go and, when needs arises, you see them - on active duty or retired - set up camps to shelter and feed people even abroad. We may have not reknown and movie worthy units as SEAL Team 6 or Delta Force or SAS but we have some same level we can count on and love deservingly.

[@ted.angell7609]

I was inspired to visit this area a few years ago by the book Un Anno Sull’altipiano (A Year On the High Plateau), by the Italian legislator Emilio Lussu. He was called up from Sardinia and later wrote about his experience while recuperating from lung issues he suffered as a result. It’s like an Italian version of All Quiet On the Western Front in its sympathies and criticism. You can explore the trenches and artillary emplacements, and there is still war debris lying around, such as at the monument to the Catania Brigade on Monte Zebio, which to a man was wiped out by a mine explosion.

[@SirSaladhead]

That photo at 7:28 gives me the chills every time, even though I know it from your patreon posts already.

[@connormac4401]

Where can I find the picture :)

[@greensheep4918]

SirSaladhead it's still a cool and rather beautiful picture. I'd go as far as to say its poetic.

[@rak2495]

Me too

[@ChallisVenstra]

Reminds me of the elk hunt here in Utah

[@Muenzenundmehr.]

My great-great-grandfather grew up in poor circumstances and had to work from a young age to help support his family. He was 18 years old when the war broke out. Initially, he fought in Galicia and was later transferred to the Alps, where he had to fight against the Italian Alpini in the mountains. It wasn't until the winter of 1917/18 that he was seriously wounded and lost several toes to frostbite. He spent the rest of the war in a hospital. During the interwar period, life was no better for him, and he was relieved not to be drafted in the Second World War due to the permanent disabilities from his injuries. I find it horrifying how many young men lost their lives for nothing, and how others had to struggle with the consequences of war for the rest of their lives. I hope we never have to experience something like that again. Today, we must learn from the past more than ever to spare our generation such suffering. May the many brave men rest in peace.

[@julianmorrisco]

My granddad (Nono) was an Alpini in WWI. He probably had PTSD, and died an alcoholic in 1975. The details in this vid give me a little insight into why his Italian Army service might have been so traumatic.

[@TheNilais]

Give an alpino a bottle of grappa and he will level a mountain with bare hands

[@ringo1692]

TheNilais heck, I'll level a mountain if you gave me a bottle of grappa 😂😂😂

[@gromit8023]

id level a mountin not to have to drink it again :)

[@TheNilais]

HERESY

[@Aleksitaly92]

You clearly don't know what you are talking about, but I get that it's a strong liquor for some people

[@bernarrcoletta7419]

Back when I was a kid, the grappa could be so bad, we called it Veleno (poison), because sometimes they allowed too much woody matter which resulted in a high methanol content. People who drank too much could go blind. Grappa has come a long way since then. I’ll take a bottle of Nonino Picolit, thank you.

[@marcmonnerat4850]

This summer I was in the _Alpi Giulie_ and virtually everywhere you have artefact of this war: foot path, holes in the rock, via ferrate, barracks, chapel, barbewires, lost cartridge and shoes, etc..Very moving. And as Indie said, these troops beeing local people from both side of the border, sometimes men had to fight relatives or friends from the other side. And after the lost battle of Caporetto, all these trops had to rushed down the valley to reach the Piave. W gli Alpini

[@Letulily69]

"i saw the end of war, i watched the soldiers come and go and i kept my watch forever. So many great attempts in the battle that were raging down below, i have seen it all but none will hear my story" That lyrics from Sabaton hits hard considering that some soldier's corpse out there is frozen, some got stuck and were never able to go back down as they freezed to death.

[@LuKaZz420]

The remains of my great-great grandfather are stil up there, never retrieved. To think that I was born in 1984 and I have lived a life of the current times, uni, concerts, raves, comforts and a full belly. It's a roll of the dice. My ancestor was born in 1895, 99 years before me and he perished up there fighting the King's war (Italy was a monarchy back then)...only a roll of a dice, pure chance. If I had been born a century earlier, it would have been me. We should reflect and not make the same mistakes of the past. In the Second WW, my great grandfather was sent to Soviet Russia in 1941, ended up as a POW in a labor camp in Siberia, only came back to Italy in a prisoner exchange two whole years after the war was over, he was MIA until 1945, my grandma told me they assumed he was dead...then in 1945 the Red Cross or similar told them he was alive but a POW in the Soviet Union. He came back in 1947. Obviously back then PTSD was not diagnosed, here in Italy they had a very "nice" term for shell shock, they called you a "scemo di guerra", literally a "war idiot". My grandma said all veterans who came back messed up were called that. He would stare into space, never talked about the war, would sometimes milk the cow, the go into a rage and throw the bucket with the milk against the wall...took to the bottle, grappa (Italian moonshine) did him in 1950 of liver failure. My great great uncle fought in North Africa, was captured by the British after El Alamein, ended up as a POW in Greece. He came back fine though, spoke highly of the Brits, said they were gentlemen and he even had a pipe a British officer had gifted him. I guess a British POW camp would get better powadvisor reviews than a Soviet one. To think that these days we have people freak out because they are told to stay home and watch Netflix. We are so bloody lucky. R.I.P. to all on all sides, the uniform is irrelevant, all humans under it. Thanks for the video, Luca

[@paulx7540]

An outstanding on - location episode. Now I really want to return to the Trentino/ Sud Tyrol. The photography of the Great War is compelling- 4:24 and 7:27. The fighting on this front was like the Western Front but fought in snow on a 45 degree uphill slope.

[@TheGreatWar]

+Paul there will be much more, this was just a teaser.

[@adamlindberg1]

"Sabaton - Soldier of heaven" Brought me here 🙂

[@dasaggropop1244]

this was insane. they built entire cities into the rock and the ice. my great-grandfather fought at monte pasubio.

[@JustaCastle]

Unlike the war, I don't want this series to end!

[@johnbrowne3518]

The book "Infantry Attacks" has a number of chapters on what it was like to fight in the Mountains during WW1 (especially in the Carpathians).

[@intelligentgrawlix794]

A classic book by Erwin Rommel

[@magnumopus1628]

8:11 In Italy the term "cecchino" still means sharpshooter or sniper, it's not a military term, but more as a slang word.

[@pizzatime3367]

I just realised that Abyssinia is called that because it has a lot of mountains

[@bp837]

Durr Plant Yeah, and Ethiopia literally means "dark/burnt face" in ancient greek.

[@nostradamusofgames5508]

lol

[@soupycask]

Harlowe Iasingston wow... their name is racist?

[@varana]

From an ancient Greek point of view, more descriptive than racist. (And it referred to all of sub-Saharan Africa, not just Ethiopia.) Abyssinia, OTOH, does _not_ come from "abyss". It's from the Arab al-Habash, which in turn referred to one of the peoples living there.

[@japeking1]

Hey, thats clever but have you any references to its veracity? Thanks.

[@brainyskeletonofdoom7824]

8:10 Carcanos with optics were probably really rare, as it is estimated than no more than 2000 in total were modified (some say no more than 100). The sources are incredibly scarce on the subject, is often thought that italians had no snipers at all (but there are some pictures of them)

[@paolocolombo174]

Carcano is the rifle used to kill President Kennedy

[@sgtpepper3161]

Great video! It's insane to think what these men faced fighting one another on peaks. Thank you for your ongoing documentary series, gentlemen :D

[@KAT-hs3xh]

Soldier Of Heaven!

[@Aviationlord7742]

Question for out of the trenches. What was the rule regarding captured enemy weapons? I know that many allied soldiers took german Luger pistols as prizes. Were they allowed to keep them or made to turn them over to officers?

[@oceannavagator]

What officers don't know didn't happen.

[@demonprinces17]

Told my grandfather was discharged with rifle.traded it for baby stuff.

[@howardbaxter2514]

@@oceannavagator heck even officers were probably like, “what my superior officers don’t know didn’t happen.”

[@manuelapollo7988]

indiana you pronounce incredibly well italian words to be a native english speaker. and it's very beautiful you tell these stories being in the very places of the War. compliments and thank you for your lessons. thanks to you i can say i know even a bit better my country

[@TheGreatWar]

glad you like the episode, thanks.

[@2serveand2protect]

I don't think regular army soldiers today could endure those types of conditions. I knew some old Alpini and the tales of their forefathers have been preserved along the memory of the battles they fought and they are just mindblowing. You'd have to take kids from the mountains - used to live there, knowing the terrain and used to that environment, but today...most of them prefers to live in the cities. Most of those small old mountain-villages are empty or they turned into tourist attractions. Those men were epithomy of bravery, and not just as a "say-so" but LITERALLY. Just to get to the line was a major thing and once there - you either conquered or died. If you were wounded, the chances to give you medical aid were close to zero, so you'd just die on the spot. A serious wound had no chances to be threaten - you don't have hospitals at 2500-3000 metres above the sea. It's unbelievable what these men went through.

[@ChallisVenstra]

Loved the Hemingway quote. I just read that on tape while I mowed the lawn. Very moving.

[@cicciopasticcio8455]

I'm italian, i live in this mountains and all my grandfathers fought here. Thank you

[@ForgottenHonor0]

Came here after Sabaton's teaser for Soldier of Heaven!

[@randomclouds4404]

How did the millionth battle of the Isonzo go? Another huge failure by Cadorna's ghost?

[@NerevarOfficialReal]

I'm telling you, the battle is going to work out for the Italians and they'll enter Austria-Hungary and make them surrender on the 712nd Battle of the Isonzo!

[@MajinOthinus]

Just wait 2 more weeks, trust me it will be worth it......

[@blackmichael75]

Inclusive. Lots of casualties, and called off after a few days.

[@Calum_S]

It was because the men lacked attacking spirit again. They'll have to be punished.

[@connormac4401]

When you won 10 out of 11 battles of Isonzo but the 12th one is an Austrian offensive

[@andreadalcortivo747]

Welcome Hindy on Italian Alps Ty for this episode. Italian Dolomitic front was not an important front in WW1, but surely it was the most spectacular one. It's uncredible how Alpini and Kaiserjaeger fight on these awersome mountains.

[@MrFestante]

it's funny and quite troubling sometimes for me to think that my great-greatparents from my mother's side were Kaiserjaeger while my great-greatparents from my father's side were Alpini! probably the could have never tought that things could be end this way :D

[@stefanocolistra6668]

The same happened in my family!

[@bogdan6785]

A great overview of one of the less studied and quite often overlooked parts of this war. Amazing job!

[@Duececoupe]

There's no need for TV, with channels like this! 👍👌👏

[@TheGreatWar]

totally agree

[@ikhlasng]

The photograph at 7:28 is used by Minenwerfer as a cover for their album : Alpenpasse. One of the best album cover i've seen but probably because the photograph is so surreal.

[@kristoffermangila]

Remember all of those men who died in the mountains in the Great War. I recommend listening to Sabaton's newly released single, "Soldier of Heaven".

[@alexanderklatt9217]

Another great episode, thank you Great War Team.

[@teriyakichicken1848]

This mountain warfare sounds so badass, they should make a game from it

[@the_bane_of_all_anti_furry]

battle of isonzo for ps5 is just coming out if that can answer ya question

[@TalicFIN]

Suomalaiset mainittu! Tavataan torilla! Finns mentioned! See you at the town square!

[@arnfinn]

Great video. The background story to see mountain fighting in the context of mountains just being accessible is interesting. As soon as they where attainable, we found a way to fight there. Incredible.

[@andreimorar5249]

Talking about mountain warfare, is there any information about the battles from the Carpathians during the german invasion in Romania from 1916, especially during the battles for the mountain passes? How prepaired were both sides for this kind of war (the germans had their Alpenkorps and the romanians had the Vânătorii de Munte/ Mountain Chasseurs)?

[@TheGreatWar]

+Andrei Morar we didn't find that much about the fighting in the mountains there.

[@phetproductions5818]

Andrei Morar I remember that the the Romanians fortified the mountain passes but it was either Falkenhyn or Mackensen that broke through, but I don't know much about the tactics and fighting. Sorry.

[@andreimorar5249]

The one who advanced throught the mountains was Falkenhyn. Mackensen attacked from the south, together with the bulgarians and defeated the romanians at Turtucaia/Tutrakan. But I think there was some battle in the mountains during the war with Romania: during the battle for Sibiu, when the germans counter-attacked and moved the Alpenkorps on the cliffs of Făgăraș and Parâng Mountains in their attempt to sorround the romanian army that started to retreat, combuned with an attack from the east side of river Olt, near the tiwn Avrig. Then, there were harsh battles on the Prahova Valley, started after the fall of Brasov on 3rd of October (101 years since that, BTW), some of the harshest ones being for Predeal, Bușteni and Sinaia, where are also some monuments dedicated to these battles. The battles for Jiu Valley, where as commander for Romania was general Ioan Dragalina, who was killed during the fight, can also be considered mountain warfare, with the battles for Petroșani and all battles for Târgu-Jiu (the first battle for Tg.- Jiu, also known as "the Battle for the Jiu Bridge, was agreat romanian victory - a few dousins of policemen and 3-400 armed civilians stopped the german Bavarian Army Corps, taking many prisoners. This was also the battle in which Ecaterina Teodoroiu got her first fame). Also, the battles for Oituz Pass (first in 1916, second in 1917) can get into this category. The battles of Mărăști and Oituz from 1917 also had stages in which the battles took place on hight places (the battles for Momâia, Răchitașu Mare mountain, Culmea Țebei - Tiharale Peak and so on). A smaller mountain battle can also be considered, even if these mountains were not very big and the battle didn't take very long, the battles from the Perșani Mountains, that took place at the beginning of October 1916, after the town of Fogarasch was sourrendered to the germans a few days earlier. There are many other examples, but I don't know very much about, being interested to find out about this subject.

[@Anderle52134]

Rommel wrote 100 pages about the fighting in the Romanian mountains in his book "Attacks". That is the title of the complete unabridged translation of "Infanterie Greift An". Even more pages on the 12th Battle of the Isonzo (also known as battle of Caporetto)

[@biobomb93]

Have you ever heard about the songs the alpini (or their sons)still sing today?

[@mattbarnes9296]

Who else is watching this after hearing Sabaton's Soldier of Heaven? :D

[@jdj8168]

0:35, Dutch soldiers fought the spanish on ice skates during the 80 years war as well

[@neilwilson5785]

Thank you for shining a light into the terrible ordeal of these alpine warriors.

[@ApolloReloaded]

My greatgrandfather was part of an autrian batallion and after beeing shot he survived three days alone on an glacier, but went back to fighting soon after. Men on both sides on the Southern Frond were hard as you can get.

[@Lokster]

I wonder how is Conrad doing at this time of the war? Is he throwing all his incompetence in the army hes commanding on the Italian front?

[@belisarius6949]

Lokster As far as I know he wasnt commanding there. And the only one incompetent on this front were the italians as we saw in previous episodes.

[@Lokster]

He got assigned to the South Tyrolean Army Group after he was dismissed as chief of staff. And yes the Italians were the most incompetent but the Austrians were as well, its only because Svetozar Boroević von Bojna was commanding the defence on the Isonzo river, barely holding them off with what little resources and men he had.

[@ricv.8015]

Didnt expect to meet you here

[@Lokster]

Josef Bepp Do you watch my videos?

[@joey8062]

if were talking about their leadership, not their soldiers then yes they were both incompetent

[@89tonstar]

A bit of info on shooting in the high mountains. General service rifles were typically sighted at the factory in a short 100 or 200 meter or yard range. The point of impact would be a certain point high since most of the rifles were sighted at ridiculously long ranges, i.e. 400 or 300 yards. This would correlate to a mathematically calculated point for the set sight ranges on the soldiers volley or battle sights. However this was done typically at a few hundred meters above the sea level, while in the high mountains the air is much colder and thinner. Making the bullet fly much flatter and for longer distances. This would mean that in particular, marksmen scopes and sights would have to be re calibrated for the higher altitudes. I believe that is probably what is happening at 7:56, a rifle sighted at the factory with a scope could be as much as 6 inches high and slightly to the right at 100 yards. Meaning a shot at a target at 400 yards would be as much as 24 inches high and several inches to the right. Completely missing a target. On top of that, you have to account for wind drift, (these old bullets did not have the ballistic coefficient of modern bullets), barometric pressure, angle of shot, etc. These men, had to be very competent, skilled and quick thinking.

[@foogoose1439]

I was confused to where I need to search about WW1 history after I fail the public servant's test since there was a question about WW1. But after I found this channel, I can answer some question about WW1 :D Thanks a million, Indy and crew.

[@belisarius6949]

Winia Firmansyah Well this might not help. This channel covers every single day of World War 1. The answers for your test might not be easy to find. If you cant find your answers, maybe contact me. I can help ya out ^^

[@Spartan412]

"The already produced Mexicans were adopted by the Austro-Hungarians" Well then...

[@belisarius6949]

NOTW SPARTAN ITS THE NAME OF THE GUN ;-;

[@Spartan412]

Belisarius The Historian That I know of now, just that I misclicked to the end of the show and that was the first thing I heard xD

[@belisarius6949]

NOTW SPARTAN XDD

[@Spartan412]

Belisarius The Historian Though one can't rule out the possibility that actual Mexicans may have found a home in A-H

[@varana]

Of course some did. There was no wall between A-H and Mexico.

[@damianomastroiaco2457]

We will always be grateful to you, Indy.

[@AlanDeAnda1]

Wow, Indy!. This was my favorite video of the channel (up to date).That barrage at 6:50, truly apocalyptic. I can not imagine the horrible desperation of being a rappeling platoon targeted by a snipper. Nowhere to escape. Surely, that feather in the head did not help. About the Mexican rifle, yep, mexican federal army had Mausers. First they were imported from Austria and Germany, but with the outbreak of the revolution in 1910, mexican dictatorship asking permission to produce it in mexican soil under european enginners supervision. Fortunatelly, the new mexican rifles weren't determinant against revolucionarios, which had Winchester 30/30 and later 50/50 and also Colt pistols in their arsenal. By the wat, I readed some histories about horse-mounted revolucionarios charging with 2 Colts, holding the reins with their theet. Well, keep the superb work and the beautiful landscape takes. Avanti!

[@chickenstudio7801]

White friday i take the stairway to heaven

[@aidanalvarez5486]

I’m sky high, when I die I’ll be immortal Forever, I never I won’t return to Blood Mountain, I am the Soldier of Heaven

[@chickenstudio7801]

@@aidanalvarez5486 [music]

[@chickenstudio7801]

@@aidanalvarez5486 i saw the end of war I watch the soildier come and go

[@MrNicklasson87]

Soldiers: Saints will look after us and keep us safe. Luigi Cadorna: Hold my cognac… while I order you to go to Isonzo…

[@Erxhyj]

My great grandfather fought as a Kaiserjager during ww1. His son fought and died less than 30 years later as an alpino in the battlefield. Both fought against russians, one for the Kaiser, the other for Mussolini and both in the same geographic area. Funny and deeply sad at the same time, but in my home region, in the valley where I come from (Sole valley), many families lived the same incredible experience.

[@the_bane_of_all_anti_furry]

2:53 for that do yall ever herd of the "portatrici carniche" these were young and elder vollunters womens who play an important role for the italian army by climb the mountains for delivery food and ammunitions for the italian soldiers in order to prevent the lack of an efficent supply line would hinder their fight capacity there was an episode there an austrian marksman shooted and killed one of these women without know these werent soldiers

[@StormLaker]

Hope your whole crew is feeling better. Flo says you all have the flu. Keep up the great work, I have learned FAR more here than I ever did in history class back in high school!

[@TheGreatWar]

+StormLaker1975 By Monday everyone should be fine again.

[@samholdsworth3957]

Amazing series Indy! Thanks for the history education

[@TheSpritz0]

AMAZING video, a lot of work went into this!!!!

[@theneonmage]

I miss this show

[@morgan97475]

I was unaware of how active this area was during WW1. Very cool.

[@mihab8470]

If u are a fan ww1 u must visit this places and visit exelent preserved battle lines...caverns digged directly into mountain and dont forget to visit Kobarid museujm

[@michealohaodha9351]

IMO one of the best videos to date - really insightful and informative on the troops plus their traditions and beliefs in particular. I really enjoyed it!!! The onl thing I would say is that the Kaiserjager were regular infantry regiments recruited in the mountainous Tyrol region and not specialist mountain troops. Like Salzburg's 59th 'Rainer' Regiment for example they just happened to be depoyed in the mountains to fill an existing need.

[@vojtech5368]

My great great grandfather has fought on this front, thank you for making this video

[@fedymatty]

The alpini, is the best and older mountain corp in the World, my grandad was an alpino during ww2 and fought in Russia

[@spevoljub]

Not so sure about "the best."

[@extremathule982]

@@spevoljub Who is the best, dude? According to you, of course..

[@spevoljub]

@@extremathule982 Today probably Indian and Swiss army.

[@NoName-hg6cc]

@@spevoljub I think Alpini still got n1 spot

[@spevoljub]

@@NoName-hg6cc Well, I dont.

[@nathanboolin4944]

AMAZING CHANNEL !!! I LOVE EVERY VIDEO!!

[@MrMrboy09]

Those tunnels dug into the mountains reminds me of the under ground cities in turkey 🇹🇷 “Why would people build these?” WAR! 😔

[@glennsan1998]

Ever time I watch the intro i nearly cry because am reminded that how much sad stuff happened.

[@cyclingnerddelux698]

Austria here. The Käiserjäger, Austria's elite mountain "hunter" regiment was officially created by Kaiser Franz I in 1816.

[@TheBladeMaster23]

One of the most epic episodes !! :D great job !

[@user-eo8ee7tm4w]

Scott Cosma @pL9TyDBRFMvV2zi

[@TheBladeMaster23]

?

[@jpmtlhead39]

Ive seen many photos from both sides ( Italian and Áustrian) and its very hard to grasp the hardships that all of those man were subjected. They were realy very Brave Man,all of them to fight in such conditions. Much,much worse than the trench warfare on the western front. Were bullets,shrapnel,avalanches,sub zero temperetures,etc,etc...a real Nightmare. Real heroes,all of them. RIP all who perish in those terrible mountains..

[@kman1759]

Anyone else here after listening to Soldier of Heaven?

[@przemekbiaek2698]

White Friday I'll take the Stairway to Heaven From sky high When I die I'll be immortal

[@erikcastro5605]

@@przemekbiaek2698 Forever, I never I won't return to... Blood Mountain I am the... SOLDIER OF HEAVEN!

[@frank_zapping]

those soldiers had to make superhuman efforts to live and fight in that cold weather, I cannot figure how hard it was!

[@jdj8168]

there is something so fascinating and utterly insane about this. I cant describe how this makes me feel. especially because i grew up in the lowest and flattest country in europe

[@milkouille]

I am looking for the photograph in 7:26, It's the cover of Minenwerfer 'alpenpass' album. Do you have any idea who took the shot?

[@void.defender]

Mountain warfare is the king discipline of any war

[@ColonelPeppers]

Was kind of hoping he and then team would go up the mountain and show where everything would be.

[@TheGreatWar]

+Colonel Pepper dude, that was one of many episodes we filmed there. have mercy with our editors.

[@ChevyChase301]

Could you do a video about coastal airships and sea planes?

[@danielefabbro822]

By the way, in my family we have some Alpini. Two of my uncles are Alpini, a third one was ant Alpini artilleryman. My father was in the Air Force and my older uncle in the Navy. My grandfather from father side was in the regular Army and the grandfather from mother side was a sharpshooter. The brother of my grandfather was also an Alpini artilleryman in Russia, where he died and remained until now. I'm the only one, the first generation of my family that was exempted to serve in the armed forces. Considering that my family transferred here in Friuli in 1400 from Genua, I can guess that most of them if not all fought in some wars. 600 years of sacrifices just to give me the chances to live in peace... and I don't know what to do as civilian. 😑 I always wanted to serve too and fight for my country and my family. But the Army doesn't need me. We live in peace finally.

[@Ed-pn9id]

Even though harsh I believe it was a slight bit better than drowning in mud , surrounded by corpses of both men and beast. And you knew the area and landscape. Still death is death no matter where you are. Another great segment from the Great War

[@NoName-hg6cc]

Meh. I don't know if fighting vertically, in the snow, with avalanches and the risk to be buried alive was better

[@WadeOhWells]

Fascinating. Thanks for all that you and the crew do.

[@zampieritto]

Our village Cismon del Grappa (Vicenza) was an observatory post. Unfortunely we immigrated to Brazil after the WW1

[@ericdee6802]

Your an excellent narration historian. Great video thanks for sharing ✌️

[@WAMTAT]

Love your work Indy and crew. You guys rock!

[@ysersno]

What is that new map in the background? How is the quality so good omfg

[@ronaldderooij1774]

I was in one of those positions in the Italian alps. Scary, to say the least. Do not be afraid to die an of Heights....

[@hlynnkeith9334]

Good episode. Outstanding photo and film selection.

[@jonirelan2904]

Lieutenant Erwin Rommel first gained prominence with his book “Attacks” chronicling his tactics as an infantry commander in this style of warfare. It’s an excellent read.