The Hindenburg Line - Ludendorff's Defence In Depth I THE GREAT WAR Special

[@silvioevan11]

3:54 I can see two works of art: - Ludendorff's tactics - Your skills in animation In 1919 General Ludendorff published a war memoir. This was the epigraph: "To the heroes who fell Believing In Germany's Greatness This book is dedicated"

[@rohiths3554]

Book title?

[@shivmalik9405]

@@rohiths3554 Der totale krieg?

[@WillrichvonVille]

​@@rohiths3554 "Meine Kriegserinnerungen"

[@gabespiro8902]

Cute but he did help to popularise the antisemitic stab in the back myth and aligned with Hitler during the beer hall putsch, plus he managed to take Germany from a relatively safe place militarily to total destruction

[@ДартВейдер-ю4ц]

I'm going to get it for Christmas, hope it's worth reading.

[@5chr4pn3ll]

Loved the map animation bit. Made things very clear :D

[@samueldergru]

5chr4pn3ll agreed

[@tomthebomb9474]

5chr4pn3ll I agree

[@manfredvoncoolstuff6071]

Very much agreed

[@01ZombieMoses10]

Thank you patreon supporters! You have made all of this viewing splendour possible for all of us fans of the channel!

[@TheGreatWar]

Patreon money at work, yes.

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

"the Germans intercepted and decoded a message from Rome" that was bound to happen, considering how loudly the Italians like to brag

[@materialmatters2759]

Italians.. you can have them on your side in the next war

[@XDAWG756]

Duke of Lorraine ok

[@MrNicoJac]

I was really surprised it was an actual message instead of a faked trap

[@monkeycharlie809]

Italian-"AYY WE GOTS DA ARTILLERY AYY IT 'N APRIL AYY" Frenchman"HU JESS BIG LE ATTACK HU HU"

[@Zamolxes77]

"Hey ! Mamma mia, have you heard? Que? What happened !!?? The britsa and the frenchie, they planning an offensive !!! Que? Can't hear you up here, what offensive ?!!!! Una offensive, in da springa, una grande offensive, in April !!!! Es un secreto !!!! Que secret ???!!!!! The Allies are planning an offensive, in April !!!!" " Mhmmm"

[@mechanicaldavid4827]

Anyone who has yet to see "1917", this is the strategic context for the story, and the film shows many signs of careful research and representation, as well as always keeping the horror and human cost in sight.

[@GECKOZFTW]

Don't mind me getting my daily dose of WW1.

[@blockbustervideo5860]

Borys Sawicki history is my drug m9

[@GECKOZFTW]

I Love Cancer same here

[@benflokstra5609]

Borys Sawicki xD sometimes my friends say that I am addicted to the first and second world war hahaha

[@plartoota4584]

Ben Flokstra bruh im addicted to every type of history lol

[@DanielGaviriaAcosta]

same here

[@attilarischt2851]

I did love that visualisation. Nice job guys!

[@Medafets]

I feel this video’s views are going to shoot up after the release of 1917.

[@RRW359]

I think I saw this video once before I saw the movie but have watched it several times since.

[@TS1336]

Exactly

[@BobBoberty]

Actually what was on my mind when I was watching this. I saw the movie (1917) first, then this video.

[@Brittjones]

I’m rewatching this after just now watching 1917

[@gunnerr8476]

You know why the Allied cannot spot the Hindenburg line? Because it stays "hinden" all the time

[@gcm_uk]

Afnan Zahran nice, I have to tell my history teacher that

[@ottlakafka3409]

Afnan Zahran i'm sure you find the door

[@vonliberte9063]

hmmm yes Jokes

[@gunnerr8476]

F1Suicide Sprichst du Deutsch?

[@IFarmBugs]

Nein

[@unbindingfloyd]

I cant get enough of this show.

[@mr.ramfan8100]

I heard that, bro!

[@apalahartisebuahnama7684]

Ludendorff was greatly overshadowed by Hindenburg, eventhough most of the idea comes from his mind.

[@AlanDeAnda1]

Elastic defense? What a shameful and unmanly strategy .- Cadorna

[@yeast7485]

Running backwards would lower the mens morale!

[@Zamolxes77]

For a while, once they see the new concrete reinforced dugouts and trenches, morale will rise to the sky !

[@thenecromorpher]

It was a tactical advance towards newer, more fortified, defensive lines that just so happened to be positioned behind the old, worn out, ones.

[@gendoruwo6322]

Rigid offense is manly strategy.

[@RyanTheHero3]

So you have chosen....death

[@cobyboeder9879]

this is my favorite episode to date. interesting how strategy and planning becomes more vital as recouces diminish. no cavalry charges anymore..

[@TheGreatWar]

Well, they didn't have a lot of those in this war to beginn with.

[@AFT_05G]

I've read in some books in October 1917 that German Army of Western Front had 150 divisions and 12,432 artillery pieces against 176 Allied divisions and 15,961 artillery pieces but Germans had another 90 divisions and 6,000 guns on other fronts so after Treaty of Brest Litovsk Germans gained a partial advantage until Americans came in large quantities.

[@CodyDockerty]

I was talking about this to my friend that loves playing BF1. He thought it was an attack line of Hindenburg Zeppelins

[@vareckthehistoricaldemon196]

Cody Dockerty OK that's pretty funny

[@ilpazzo1257]

Cody Dockerty which brings up a question: what if they used Zeppelins as flying firebombs?

[@hagamapama]

You'd be better off just using incendiary shells. Zeppelins are hella expensive and the materials to create more simply weren't available to Germany during the war.

[@lemonke6392]

Then your friends dumb.In the american operation they mention the Hindenburg Line and the Map Ballroom Blitz is part of it

[@kaazmodan]

This might be your best video yet. The production value, not only the new animated maps, was a fantastic addition to Indy's storytelling. Great work!

[@komradetuniska2003]

Good job for Indie and the Team for the simple explanation and visualisation of the Hindenburg line.

[@ThePerfectRed]

The operational name for the withdrawal actually was Alberich after the legendary dwarf who used a cloak of invisibility.

[@individuum4494]

For a 10 Minute Video highly informative 👍

[@VladTevez]

Ludendorff: Such a brilliant strategist, nevertheless outmanoeuvred by a corporal...

[@user-kaiethirteen]

With 88 Likes

[@panduwidagdo7051]

It's Hindenburg maybe?

[@santiagogarza8121]

Amd killed by wonder woman

[@onepangaean3018]

@Jack the Gestapo who's the lance corporal

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

@Jack the Gestapo There were definitely no Lance Corporals in the Bavarian military :D Maybe his rank was EQUIVALENT to a LC... but all i can find is that he was throughout the war a Soldier and only rose to the second lowest rank of Gefreiter (Private), never made it to Lance Corporal (Unteroffizier), PFC wasn't yet a thing in the german army of that time.

[@Kinglorrecom]

My god the staggering incompetence on all sides of the war is just unfathomable.

[@Ntmoffi]

The animation for the line defense was spectacular.

[@thAC0gurl]

a question/suggestion for out of the trenches. I was recently reading some articles about La Boisselle and the archaeological dig going on there regarding an incident with British Sappers who are still entombed on private property where they died when they set off a German mine that then set off their own charges. La Boisselle was a key point during the battle of the Somme and I'd love for Indy & the Great War team to cover Sappers in depth. I have great respect for these ordinary miners at home who went off to war and worked in even more dangerous situations than at home. Thanks! If you want links to the articles (in English) I'll be happy to send them. Keep up the great work guys!

[@TheGreatWar]

We will talk about them this summer.

[@thAC0gurl]

The Great War Oh! That's awesome. I can't wait for the episode. Thanks for the heads up Flo :-)

[@OldFellaDave]

A few people are asking 'did it work' and the answer is, despite the eventual Armistice in 1918 - yes. The Allies expended a LOT of bloody in 1917 to break it, and a few times they did puncture parts of it but they never held onto it. It gave the Germans the time they needed to finish off the Russians and get all those divisions back to the West for the Germans Spring Offensive in early 1918 - which was launched from the Hindenburg Line. So in that regard it was a success.

[@andross1013]

Good work Great War team. Another excellent episode, love how you guys bring to light the things happening during that time

[@1293ST]

This is what I call "Deutsche Ingenieurskunst" (German Engineering)

[@marypusineri6291]

Blank german engineering > everything

[@Andreu0rtin]

German engineering is the best in the world!! - Rudol von Stroheim

[@Lemmi7810]

@ Ja ist so.

[@AlexCP2394]

Excellent animations detailing the make up of the Siegfried Line.

[@kentpun4337]

Ludendorff was truly a brace man.Salute!

[@callanhutchison1871]

When this channel is it will be the first time that people cried because they wanted the war to continue you guys are amazing I love your commitment it's unbelievable your attention to detail your military knowledge and commitment to history I just love all of it I love it enough to put no punctuation at all in this comment

[@TheGreatWar]

www.reddit.com/r/TheGreatWarChannel/comments/5ohu25/what_will_you_do_once_this_show_ends_how_will/

[@alexmcclure3512]

Another great video as ever! Love the work of this channel.

[@mitchrils]

Wow. That animation was fantastic! Made the whole thing very understandable and clear. You should sell it as a poster.

[@johannesmaximilian848]

What an awesome video. Ludendorf was just a heroic man. Great channel, keep up the great work!

[@turnup2725]

what was heroic about him? real heroes are warriors, not generals...

[@gunnerysgthartman9263]

This channel is by far the best educational / history site on the entire internet. It's informative, factually accurate, entertaining, and the production quality is top notch. Thank u for giving WW1 the attention it deserves.

[@subbox1]

Absolutely great video, I wish more people viewed your videos. They are missing out but keep up the great work.

[@prowhiskey2678]

I think this is ons of the best episodes yet. Thank you! The animation also was very clear and nice.

[@Rawrishar98]

Excellent work Great Work team - that defense-in-depth graphic was amazing, and I think the best explanation of the subject I've ever seen from a wide range of WW1 material. Keep it up!

[@kaj9245]

I would be really interested to see a special or really anything more about the Erich Ludendorff in the War or after it. Thank you for all the information, and please keep making more videos

[@LangeE612]

These episodes are getting better every time!

[@nathanaelyny]

Hello Indy and team I love your show. I have learnt so much and seek out museums and local history.

[@tsarpeteri8578]

Man everything you just said was in a book I’m currently reading. That’s it I’m starting a KZbin channel... you just said everything the book said. You just added a little bit of your own. Thank you boss for the wake up and inspiration I now know how to make money while doing something I like and know plenty of ! :)

[@patrickc9726]

Amazing job on the visuals and explanation on how the strategy was thought out . Keep up the great work!

[@redsands1001]

I really enjoyed the animation for the defenses in this one

[@lucignolo8333]

Very intresting episode, also very good animations, made everything easyer to understand

[@cobyboeder9879]

out of the trenches question: How did the schools of the warring nations decide to teach the history of the war? was is glorified? Condemned? Im interested in seeing how attitudes changed over time. love the show, cant get enough!

[@canicheenrage]

Can't speak for anyone else, but if it can help sasiate your questioning until their answer: In France, Raymond Poincaré ( President of the French Republic ) said "it is only possible for a people to be efficiently pacific, if it is always ready for war". There was a mandatory universal military service of three years ( five in the nineteenth century ) for all able men, and after that twenty to twenty-five years of military obligations ( reserves). Before that, kids were prepared for military service. www.academie-des-armes-anciennes.com/images/BSI3.jpg The boy schools programs included drill and firing exercices, marksmanship contests, under the teacher's supervision. Teacher's manual: gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k55255194/f91.image And some illustrations: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Bataillon_scolaire_Beauvais_2.jpg www.alienor.org/publications/aux-armes/images/large/M0846_N_bataillonscolaire_doc.jpg For all that, a "scolary" version of the rifles in use in the army were made, ( there were already scolary Gras rifles in the 1880s ), with of course their versions of the bayonets... www.littlegun.info/arme%20francaise/artisans%20p%20q%20r/pidault%20carabine%20scolaire%20illustration-02.jpg The schools were training today the citizen-soldiers of tomorrow; and the country was being invaded. I leave to you to guess how war was treated in schools. ;)

[@ryanblaquiere3819]

excellent graphic of the Hindenburg line. really helped understand the explanation

[@glitchyikes]

The visualisation is very clear and easy to understand, and also strangely made my cookies taste better. Good effort!

[@TheGreatWar]

hmmmmm...cookies!

[@kevinbyrne4538]

You might consider presenting a "special" episode on the development of the concept of "defense in depth", which was apparently initiated by the French in 1915. See, for example: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_von_Loßberg "On the OHL staff Colonels Max Bauer and Bussche and Captains Geyer and Harbou liked the idea of defense in depth and discussed making it flexible, by permitting the garrison of the front line to retreat to join the main line of resistance if the front was breached." "Their thinking was stimulated by instructions captured from the French Fifth Army in May 1915 stipulating three lines of defense. The first line was manned by sentry groups, with listening posts in front. It was to be strongly built but lightly garrisoned. If attackers broke through they would face a second, main line of resistance, which included dugouts to accommodate all of the defenders of the first two lines. A third line incorporated shell-proof shelters for the reserves. The artillery was just behind it." See also: Timothy T. Lupfer (1981) "The dynamics of doctrine: The changes in German tactical doctrine during the First World War" ( usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/lupfer.pdf ) See also: Spencer Tucker, ed., World War I: Encyclopedia, volume 1, pp. 342-344. ( books.google.com/books?id=2YqjfHLyyj8C&pg=PA342#v=onepage&q&f=false ) Also, consider a special on the development of infiltration tactics / storm troops, which were developed by (among others) the Russian General Aleksei Brusilov for the 1916 Brusilov offensive. ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksei_Brusilov ) Such tactics were eventually adopted by all of the combatants.

[@TurtleDude05]

This episode was realy interesting. Loved the animation. This channel puts out such high quality content. Keep up the fantastic work. 😄

[@Pchogs]

Nice job everyone! Loved the enhanced graphic

[@Gedwyn11]

Just 5 minutes in but just wanted to say this is one of the best so far. Well done!

[@Andrew1990R]

I actually adore this channel! Hands down one of the best educational channels on KZbin

[@lizardodavinci]

This was a wonderful episode. Super interested in the subject, and the visualisation was top-notch. Glad to see my Patreon crowns/dollars/rubel/mark/seashells put to effective use :) /Loke von Post

[@TheGreatWar]

Couldn't have done it without your seashells!

[@SirSaladhead]

My Patreon cash is being put to good use I see.

[@TheGreatWar]

It definitely is. Thanks for your support.

[@David-tp7sr]

Visualisation is great!

[@brendanschaefer7840]

Really cool graphics, A+ video.

[@FirefoxisredExplorerisblueGoog]

To be continued... Great animations!

[@TheThecoolcat101]

I love the intro. Never gets old seeing those photos

[@wordsmithgmxch]

Indy, you knew you had some 'splainin' to do, and 'splain you did! (With help from the grafix guys, of course.) Great special, really helps understand what went down.

[@louismarsh469]

Loved the animation and style of this episode guys!!! Really shows that the money you guys receive is well spent ! Keep up the good work!

[@_winter7745]

Hey team! Thanks for another great upload.

[@BSaunders3754]

Great work Indy!

[@juliofloriano6214]

Muy buen vídeo, muchas gracias. Voy a entrar mas seguido a tu canal. Gracias.

[@kolyayerg1118]

I love this one. Keep up the good work Indy and the whole crew.

[@onemileperhour]

Fantastic maps and animations. I've read about this defensive technique in A World Undone, but it's great to see it illustrated so clearly.

[@TheGreatWar]

A World Undone was our main inspiration to do this episode actually, currently Indy's favourite WW1 book.

[@GregoryKelleher]

Well done on the Hindenburg Line diagram - it looks really great!

[@josephevans1798]

Fantastic animation, you guys never stop improving.

[@fatcat2025]

Very cool animation you guys made for this one!

[@huntersterling8623]

Oh my god that was the best video so far, so exciting!

[@AbzAden]

Dan Carlin’s hardcore history podcast brought me here honestly I was never a history buff but boy the way he describes and narrates the events I almost feel like I’m there…it’s even better when u animated it

[@nebu7777]

Those new maps and diagrams are super awesome!

[@TheGreatWar]

We agree.

[@ottovonbismarck7094]

My question for out of the trenches: How common was suicide among the soldiers, I would imagine late in the war around 1917 some soldiers would rather die than be taken prisoner and some would just want to end their suffering in the hellish conditions of the trenches.

[@douglasmcneil8413]

Always enjoy your videos. Thanks.

[@uniquelycommon2244]

To paraphrase Sun Tzu: A general who can advance without pride and retreat without shame is a treasure to the nation.

[@mehmetalipasa]

Great video guys!

[@landonjohnson343]

Ludendorff was not messing around I didn't realize the trench tactics where that complicated by 1917 the animation you guys put together was really interesting. god I love you guys👍

[@steelhammer103]

I always wondered why this line was planned.I only know the line thru WWII. Thanks for the info!Also, I love the animation in the viedo too.

[@Drrolfski]

This episode totally forgot to answer the main question: What happened to the Hindenburg line? Did it actually work?

[@xXxHolyBigMacxXx]

rolf ski Relatively, Germans were going to lose no matter what once USA entered the war, but until then it was great.

[@jonathanmensch9698]

That part is still in the "future." The development and building of the Hindenburg line is in the "now." If you really want to know, then you're free to go read all the material out there on the line and its effectiveness on your own.

[@Drrolfski]

I thought these special episodes were supposed to cover certain aspects of WWI, regardless of time frame. But in that case it would have been better to name this episode "part 1". The indepth covering of defense systems simply goes hand in hand with describing how they turned out to be in reality. For instance, one simply does not cover WWII's Atlantic Wall without pointing out how relatively little all this enormous effort did in stopping the Normandy invasion.

[@lachd2261]

The allies broke through it in 1917 at Cambrai with a huge massed attack with 500 tanks. They broke through it again in September 1918 when British and Australian troops got through it at St Quentin. It was effective at stopping the kind of massed infantry attacks of the previous few years

[@GravesRWFiA]

the german defense was fine if the allies hadn't learned anythnig either. the problem was, they were evolving too

[@CD-vg4hl]

I loved the map animation, it explained everything so clearly. Keep up the great work guys!

[@TheSiimh]

This is how you teach history!! Master class level, Indy.

[@ebergarcia1793]

Great episode!!!

[@erikwignes7777]

Great visualizations!

[@0Fingolfin0]

great episode!

[@markmclarnon7035]

the Hindenburg line is incredible for a country running out of resources

[@iantarter6079]

The map animation was amazing good work and great video.

[@akaneko2165]

Great as always!

[@ChymicalWeddings]

"Basically, this war comes down simply to killing one another" Erich Ludendorf, April 1917. What a statement

[@joelgarciavasquez2508]

his videos are just so good

[@TheNorman1169]

Great Job guys on the Line :) thanks

[@adammalik9773]

love this channel keep up the good work

[@jmous8094]

Amazing episode !

[@j.gczaricit9446]

these episodes keep getting better also did the Hinderburg line fend off the attack. But wow I am guessing they did that seemed invincible

[@4eyescol531]

Great job on the animation!! :D

[@kevinbietry6769]

This is a great channel!

[@TheGreatWar]

Thanks.

[@mathman1923]

great stuff guys.

[@dpink4832]

and you shall have my support Indy!

[@michaelburgarino]

Can't wait until we get to the Kaiserschlact!

[@nathanielweir7773]

This guy seems like he'd be that one grandad you wish you had.

[@komradetuniska2003]

Indiana Neidell We all know that you have been looking young since 1914 ;)

[@nathanielweir7773]

Indiana Neidell your extensive knowledge seems that if someone who experienced these events first hand. Like a grandad tells his grandkids about the war, you do the same to us.

[@Rocketrollrebel]

I just read an interesting bit in John McNeill's book "Mosquito Empires" about the Spanish defenses around Cartagena (Colombia) in the 18th century which similarly relied on an elastic system of defense in depth. The difference being, these lines of fortification were designed not so much to make a single stand, but rather to exhaust and slow down an invading army for 4-6 weeks. After that the mosquitos and Malaria and Yellow Fever would take care of the rest.

[@drakey0183]

great animations easyier to learn from

[@nd3783]

that sketch was awesome guys

[@finitewehosh6542]

So did the new defenses "work"?

[@gcm_uk]

Finite Wehosh no

[@finitewehosh6542]

George Carter Well that's depressing.

[@xXxHolyBigMacxXx]

George Carter It did but the Germans at the end of the war were just not really up to it

[@philipplausberg1959]

I think it did pretty well. There was no Allied breakthrough in 1917. The Germans themselves ditched this line when starting their 1918 offensive..

[@finitewehosh6542]

***** Not for another year and there's still a sizable chunk of an entire youth to send to slaughter. Lot can happen.