How Prussia Ended The French Empire: Franco-Prussian War | Animated History
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Sources:
1: Wawro, G. (2010). The Franco-Prussian War: The German Conquest of France in 1870-1871. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr.
2: Badsey, S. (2014). The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
3: Kovacs, Arpad F. "French Military Institutions before the Franco-Prussian War." The American Historical Review 51, no. 2 (1946): 217-35.
4: Howard, M. (1961). The Franco-Prussian War; the German invasion of France, 1870-1871. New York, NY: Macmillan.
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Small correction to the narration at 26:26. When referring to the Paris Commune, we refer to them as communist revolutionaries. But as a few of you helpfully pointed out, this is an oversimplification. The commune was actually made up of a number of different radical groups who were collectively called the Communards, as well as some National Guardsmen who refused to stand down and joined the commune. The communards consisted of radical republicans, socialists, and anarchists. The main figures of the movement had no links to traditional Marxism.
Another small correction is that Belgium's territory should not include Eupen-Malmedy as shown in our continental map of Europe.
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yay
You are the best
Can you make the evolution of American tanks please?
👌👌
this is good stuff
Napoleon III: please hit me
His horse: dude WTF
Poor horse
@@bocilepep3684 he's the emperor's horse. He's the opposite of poor. And why does the horse's financial status have to do with this?
@@kamikazeviking3053 I think they meant "poor horse" as in "aw the horse had to go through that, sad" not so much about the horse's financial status.
@@toastbot9496 r/wooosh
@@kamikazeviking3053 how original
Some European country: *Gains power
The rest of Europe: Time for the durability test
Ya gotta show me bitches!!!!!! Lol
Welcome to another stress tess today our new product will be the kingdom of prussia.
Let's see how well it'll face against the 2nd French emp- aaaaaand France is now... A republic? Yo prussia stronk
Hahahahahahahhhaa
i gave you your 499th like
@@NewPaulActs17 thanks!
It’s a bit poetic that the German Empire started and ended in Versailles.
What is old, becomes new and becomes new again.
It almost seems like it was planned that way by the allies to piss the Germans off even more.
@@winnienguyen4420 yeah, they didn't like their own medicine
Berlin still rules over France when it comes to the EU lol
@@ShutUpBubi inferiority complex much? It's also bs
Napoleon III: "Just let me die already!"
The Prussians: "Wouldn't it be funny if we left that one guy alone?"
Now I'm imagining Napoleon III surrounded by shell craters standing on the only patch of grass remaining.
.
Can’t help but feel sad for Napoleon lll
Signers of the Treaty of Versailles: Yeah. Real funny, grandpa.
@ottoman barbarousse Let me remind you your knowledge about history is trash
"Is this an order"
-some french soldier on sedan
Lol
The other guy - “Guess we’ll just die.”
@Ahmet Ali Cetin yes and right on the spot. Humour and narration perfectly balanced
...as all things should be
Some French soldiers who speak remarkably good English.
"I guess I'll just die" replied the other anonymous soldier, LOL
So Napoleon III was the real life 'Why are we still here? Just to suffer?' meme.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Franco-Prussian war = Fall of mother base
WW1 = The phantom pain incident
WW2 = Rise and Fall of Zanzibar Land.
@@TKUltra971, Best comment.
@@TKUltra971 👏
@@TKUltra971 XD
“This will be a long war, with many battles being won by the french”
“What do you mean they’re sieging Paris”
french fighting with old tactics while prussians were fighting with new cannon and tactics french had no chance
@@jimvolk9911 Oddly familiar to another German-French war
@@hirocheeto7795 eh technically a German-Polish war.
@@corrat4866 Yeah, for like a little over a month.
@@corrat4866 With Poland there was also Soviets attacking on thier backs, 17 days after Germans.
Proclaiming the new German Empire inside the Palace of a King you just beat in a war is probably that Chadest thing that has ever been done.
no it wasn't as the monarchy in France was extinct since 100 years at the time
Well, the seat of power was the Elysée Palace already and Napoleon III wasn't a king. But yeah, could have been. Still the symbol was still stong and was seen as a humiliation.
@@Cl.M not a humiliation but a revenge for sure after the many consecutive defeat of the HRE and prussia in early 19th century even a victory against the weakest France it had been in centuries against german states was to help forgot the many wars they lost against France
And then we humiliated them after ww1 in the galerie des glasses and then they humiliated us in ww2 in the same wagon the German signed the ww1 armistice was signed. It’s an infinite loop. XD
@@ommsterlitz1805 the last French king was the same year Napoleon 3rd took over
"We are in a chamber pot, about to be @$#% on"
I would give a medal to that man's brilliant choice of words
Sounds like something Bronn from Game of Thrones would say.
For the record, I was the 1000th like.
*Merde*
I also like that quote
I just imagen a poor french general standing in a wide open area screaming "SMITE ME FOR THE LOVE OF GOD" only for everything else around him to explode missing him entirely
German officer: "Yeah keep him alive and let him suffer."
@@robbieaulia6462 Bavarian officer: "Your cruel"
German Officer: "I know."
Bavaria is german. Screw you
@@TravelerZ24 By German I think he meant the North German Confederation
@@redskull8354 War is cruel
Fun Fact: During the Battle of Sedan, a young Japanese army officer witnessed the brilliant victory of Moltke as a military observer. He would go on to command the Japanese army gaining victory over the Russians at Liaoning and Mukden in the Russo-Japanese War. His name was Marshal Oyama Iwao.
is this true?
epic fact, love it
How?
Hold up, wtf is a japanese doing in european soil? Did he come from a rich family?
@@franzivan4567 Expeditionary generals, sent by the government to be educated by western officers. When the mission is successful, the general will return home and educate other officers of what he has learnt.
"So... We were originally supposed to harass the rear guard, but we then kind of ran into their entire army because they were so gosh-darn slow on the retreat, so we just took out their artillery...."
"Task failed successfully."
fun fact: bismarks own son was among the cavalry and was belived MIA for a time after the battle
@@sherabtod3728 You can't be "believed MIA", because it means "missing in action". You either are missing or not, there's no believing involved.
@@Zwijger well he was reported Mia and believed dead untill he was found alive later
@@sherabtod3728 i think you are confusing MIA and KIA
Napoleon III looking at the enemy army be like "at least they're not british"
Without the arrival of Blücher at Waterloo, Wellington was done.
@@Brehat29 Hypothetically, Wellington would've far likely be defeated than be victorious without Blucher.
The Prussians couldent have done it with out the British tho
@@Brehat29 It wasn't some miracle, Wellington only held at Waterloo because Blucer promised support. If Blucer hadn't promised to come then there wouldn't have been a battle of Waterloo as Wellington wouldn't have made a stand there.
@@Wanderer628 I never wrote it was a "miracle". I only mentionned Blucher because the British have this tendency to claim all the merits of a victory, as well as to blame others for their failures. I'll bet whatever you want that if Grouchy had arrived before Blucher, the British would have put all the blam on Blucher.
"It will cost what it will cost" Prussian cavalry commander that cleared the French artillery
I assume the original quote would have been "Koste es was es wolle", which is used in the way of "no matter the cost" or "whatever it takes".
Prussian Cavalry Commander quoting Lord Farquaad:
"some of you _MAY_ die...but its a sacrifice _I_ am willing to make"
@@alikos88 lol
god I love these Krupp guns...
@@alikos88 Presumably the cavalry commander would be part of the charge.
Fun fact, Otto von Bismarck's son was a participant in the death charge. He was reported dead, but that was a mistake. Bismarck actually travelled close to the front to see him
I fail to see where this fact is fun, but it's very interesting nontheless.
Just think of politicians with a vision for their country and taking responsibility for their actions to a drgree where they sent their own family into the battles they ignite. Hard to imagine nowadays.
@@7shinta7 Prince Harry served in Afghanistan.
@@Ballin4Vengeance
I'm aware.
But he's a high priority target. They'd never let him get in harms way for real.
@@7shinta7 Probably
@@7shinta7 iirc he was a logistics guy, delivering supplies and the like, could be wrong though
17:41 But it wasn't just the German patrols spotted the French movements, French newspaper also helped the germans: in addition, the national customs of the French were the most stupid, for example, they described all the movements of their troops in the most detailed way in the newspapers. Historical fact: the 3rd Prussian army missed the French troops of Marshal MacMahon and lost the enemy. But then the Germans got their hands on a fresh French newspaper, which described in detail how MacMahon was stationing troops in Reims. The Germans, delighted, turned to Reims, in fact they found MacMahon there and poured it into him sensitively.
Classical French arogance and lameness.
That sounds extremely French.
Really cool information
@@Aluzcz would still rape
"in fact they found MacMahon there and poured it into him sensitively"
This phrasing caught me off guard lmao
French Artillery being outdone and outclassed:
Napoleon I turning over in his grave so hard it shakes the earth.
I wonder if there was a major earthquake that year.
Believe it or not , the French artillery during the last years of the Napoleonic wars was outclassed by Austrian and Russian artillery. True story
@@elmascapo6588 After 1812 the French army started losing momentum and suffered numerous defeats both in the east and in Spain.
@The Death Star source
@The Death Star The Prussian artillery corps was nowhere near as competent on the command level as the French. Shoddy organisation, wherein the artillery chief at army level was usually a general, but had no army level artillery reserve, was a massive handicap. That left nothing for the army commander to use, in terms of artillery, on order to exploit an advantage, or commit at the decisive time or place.
Even in the late stages of the Napoleonic wars Prussia suffered from a lack of effective artillery coordination and leadership. One only has to look at Ligny, whereupon the army artillery chief, Karl Friedrich von Holtzendorf, was seriously wounded, losing a hand, and was sent to the rear. His place was taken at army level by the senior corps artillery chief, a mere lieutenant-colonel, whose rank was too low to effectively coordinate with senior officers at a command level.
The French artillery clearly dominated the field at Ligny, despite being heavily outnumbered in terms of batteries and men. The Guard artillery was massed against the Prussian center at 20:00, and blew a hole in the Prussian lines, paving the way for an attack by the Imperial Guard and Gerard's IV Corps which split the Prussian army in two and won the battle for the French.
Imagine having a better Map of France than The French
Basically whoever had the better artillery wins, and also logistical superiority
@@def3ndr887 Sounds napoleonic alright
ha
@@def3ndr887 Still same, only artillery has been changed to airpower. But logistics is the key to any victory in war, when its superb then you can win but when its screwed: you are as well
da können die Moffen wirklich extrem stolz sein, Nachbarländer angreifen und massenhaft abschlachten Heil, z. B. auch Deutschsüdwestafrika und Namibia, habe ich gerade gestern wieder gelesen, deutsche Effizienz, Eingeb orene in der Wüste entsorgen wa kostenlos, wenn man die Greueltaten dieses Trotha liest, bekommt man heute noch Tränen
Norwegen, Belgien ud Niederlande waren in WK 2 auch höchst entzückt über die Nazibrutalitäten
The true definition of "I'll be home for christmas"
The war was arsh for both side & opened to WW1 & 2 .
Think about
And Germans got a glorious empire as their Christmas present!
@@SVASH-hz5ji and elass lothringen
Fun fact: the italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi fought the war on the french side. He was the only general who haven't lose a battle and the only one who has capturated a prussian flag.
Old time when french can trust italien without need to verify if italien attack french when we have the back turned unlike 1940
imagine that at some point the Italians were a military power, fate played rough.
@@piepiep2368 I mean the French did completely lie to the Italians, the Vitorio Mutillato if you recall
Oops
@@looinrims Vittoria Mutilata
@@mexicoxv2236 I think it was Garibaldi's skill as a general more than anything. He was a war hero and even a grest contributor to the unification of italy
Love the detail with the hot air balloon when illustrating the defenders of Paris.
Love those eastereggs - they do it everytime :)
Context?
@@gtbest5417 Napoleon III tried to escape the siege of Paris with a hot air balloon
@@Henri.d.Olivoir Not Napoleon III, but the new minister of the republic.
@@HolgerLovesMusic seriously? My whole life has been a lie lol
French army: We need Napoleon
France: we have Napoleon at home
Napoleon at home:
Napolean at home: Napoelean III
@@nezuko4278 cri
@@Grivian Uauauauauauaua
@@Grivian * cris *
You just killed me.
If I remember correctly, the Prussian army sent observers to the American Civil War, who learned quite a bit about the effective use of railways for moving troops, the use of telegraphs and a centralized command structure for processing information faster. Some of these lessons were implemented successfully during this war.
You serios think that any european country could have learned anything from the US back then în matters of war? :))))))
@@HellStr82 The french probably thought like you hence they lost.
@@HellStr82every war has observers. The American civil war was a massive and long war, with casualties high even for European standards.
Prussians in the civil war: Damn. They suck at this
Fun fact: some of the commanders that fought for the Union in the civil war were Prussians
@@HellStr82when it came to maneuver warfare the acw was one of the biggest wars of its era
Prussia was just really known for their incredible military reforms and tactical innovations with a hint of incredible discipline. Their probably were a lot of details that played through the Prussian success but this was the main reason for their amazing victories.
I've never understood why they fell so quickly against Napoleon at Jena-Auerstedt in 1806. Seems like such a historically excellent army would have been able to hold out longer.
@@winnienguyen4420 mainly officers are the problem after Frederick the great the Prussian army rests on its laurels and Prussian command was plaque with personal rivalry and other things and the Prussians faced the might of a reformed new french army
@@winnienguyen4420 the Prussian army of 1806 was the same army that Frederick had used in the Silesian wars half a decade before. Incredibly well disciplined and reliant on the expedient of marching in excellent order over all kinds of broken terrain. Sadly, by 1806 this iron discipline and neat, mechanical marches didn't help against Napoleon's Grande Armee with the revolutionary logistics and tactical flair.
@@winnienguyen4420 Prussia reformed after their humiliating defeat to Napoleon. However it was only in 1862 after Bismarcks Army bill got passed that the Prussian army became elite
I thought the same until I watched a much longer documentary about it. The main reason was they outnumbered French and had longer distance guns. Prussians won some battles - as told in this video too - by losing HALF of their men! HALF! they attacked furiously with no order being decimated but winning thanks to their number. The long distance guns did the rest. I don't see the other details so much relevant than these. In this video was omitted that French at the beginning of the war used their traditional red trouses that allowed Prussians to see them better when French moved in the battlefields
Crazy that veterans of this war were still alive when Hitler marched through Paris in 1940.
De ja vu for them.
They would be about 90 years old which was difficult during those times
Von Machenstein maybe, but probably not
@@civilengineer3349 not really
@@civilengineer3349 It's not unheard of. The last veteran of the American civil war died in 1956.
“It’ll cost, what it will cost”.
- The Cavalry Commander before the death charge.
How many of you clicked
After knowing extra credits own video
"Some of you may die, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make"
Name : von Bredow
Event name : Von Bredow's Death Ride.
The Battle of this event : Battle of Mars-la-Tour/Rezonville.
800 charged
420 returned alive
@@peterroberts4415 *some of us
I am very happy that you brought up Moltke, a general so brilliant that he developed a command structure that is used by virtually the entire world for their military's. Also, it would also be worth mentioning that the early frontal assaults, where most of the German casualties were suffered, was contrary to Moltke's orders. He had developed a doctrine of flanking and envelopment, ordering that with the new types of weapons, frontal assaults were stupid. When he heard of they that ordered frontal assaults, many were dismissed immediately. Few hear or read of Moltke for the very reason he stated when others said he would go down in history as the best, and his reply was "Nobody will hear of me as I have never conducted a retreat."
10:04
Napoleon III: okay guys, so we need to fight the Germans in Alsace-Lorraine?
Soldiers: did you say L'Algerie?
I don't understand?
@@piepiep2368 the war was in Alsace-lorraine and some idiots met up in Ageria
It means Algeria, the French had bad orders that confused some officers during the mobilization and some went to Algeria😂
Prussia had that extra soft attack with that artillery tech upgrade. Research bonuses pay off.
Eyyyyy fellow Hoi4 fan :'D
And they have stronk National Spirits and generals with good traits and skills.
@@redskull8354 I am pretty sure that at least a third of this audience plays hoi4
-should've rushed researched Gas Attack-
as much as i love victoria 2 i dont understand the game half of the time and i dont think the ai does either so i just stick with hoi4
The moment king Ludvic II and his brother realized that the Kingdom of Bavaria will never be independent.
I dont know they may come back the spirit of the Alimeni mt kingdoms is fierce and as the west Germans doom themselves to oblivion it won't be the East to just protest, the Chinese phrase works for Germany too, " long divided must unite, long united must divide "
@@jerikrazik4707 Of course it’s a Chinese proverb.
@@jerikrazik4707 the German nation lost most of the eastern territories to the slavic people after WWII.. now they are undergoing a drastic demographic changes caused by psychotic storm Merkel's masochistic open doors and the collapse of birth rate.. my point is Bavaria could ve followed Switzerland's model but now they are drawing with the rest of Germany.
@@gostavoadolfos2023 Berotoroto!
@Dave Baton lmao I guess he just imagined Merkel massive immigration wave then. I guess the hordes of "syrian refugees" are just my imagination. Get real.
19:31 If I could give you two likes for the use of the "Is this a ...?" And "Guess I'll die" memes I would
Wheni was young i was fascinated by epic battles between great empires. Now i m old, i m a parent, and i m heartbroken by the awareness of what men can do to each other.
Outstanding work man!
I m a young boy being fascinated with such wars... well ur comment gave me something to ponder upon 😞
When Napoleon III’s only son died, as an observer, died during the Zulu Wars...this was the final coup d’grace to the French Empire
D'Gras*?
@@Julianna.Domina Coup de grâce* in French
@@Julianna.Domina the final blow
@Egg Egg egg egg ?
He was more than an observer ! He was enlisted as an officer, with a special authorisation from Victoria. He went to a military academy in the UK
"You know I had to do it to em" - Otto von Bismarck
Why are you everywhere
Don’t put random quotes on me
- Otto von Bismarck
Ok
Why are u in every comment daddy
"You know I had to do it to em" - Joseph Stalin
18:45 - There is a famous painting called "The Last Cartridges" (Les Dernières Cartouches) about Bazeilles.
The room the painting depicts has been preserved like it was on that day and is now a museum.
I always wanted to visit their until COVID broke out.
Your animations are getting really, really good! I had no idea the Franco-Prussian war was so brutal and humiliating. Explains a lot.
Napoleon I rolling in his grave: " I do not know this man, Napoleon III, who claims to share my name."
lmao come n he wasn't that bad
Napoleon III is known for being a great manager for France, bringing the country into modernity. His oncle would be proud of his nefew for sure
@@alaricneviaski780 uncle*, nephew*
@@darrenbutler9819 Doesn't matter. The thought is there. They'll learn to spell it correctly sometime at their own pace...
@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 or you could help them learn by pointing out the mistake and then put the correct spelling in.
The Kaiser do be lookin good with his drip
he left too much drip on Paris
Soaking wet with imperial drip
Deutsche Qualität Drip.
@@quietanteater9719 :flushed:
Prussians in Paris
I made one mistake in my life I should have burned Berlin.
- Napoleon Bonaparte, 1815
@Soumyadeep Chatterjee Maybe only one, instead to the dozens he had because he was lenient.
If you are fighting an enemy who will kill you upon surrender, will you consider surrendering? No, you won't. Napoleon had this many victories because he quickly overwhelmed other forces, made them say "uncle" and then let them join his own forces (under strong supervision, he was no fool).
Had Nappy been a bloodthirsty tyrant, he likely wouldn't ever have risen to power.
@Soumyadeep Chatterjee He, umm... did? He rewrote the map of Europe. France annexed BeNeLux+Rome+Catalania+Croatia, his brothers were made kings of Westfalia, Spain and Italy; his ambassadors ruled all the smaller territories in his name, even Poland; his general was made Swedish king... the whole shebang. And whenever the results were not fast enough, he annexed territories for his crown (like Benelux which started as his puppet state and then was made French proper in due time). Had Napoleon not begun the war with Russia and had he clung to power just a decade more or two, his foundations of a continental European Empire might even have lasted.
Read up on what Napoleon did! He DID right what you suggested, usually just stopping before massacring people.
He burned Moscow, didn't do much for him
@@jacopoabbruscato9271 No, Moscow was burning before Napoleon and his army even got there. The Russians were using a scorched earth strategy.
@Soumyadeep Chatterjee Because he tried, the time of his rule isn't the best memory. In Germany it's still called "die Franzosenzeit". And in 1870 France declared war again. Never trust the French.
Prussian spymaster and police chief (1818-1882) Wilhelm Johann Carl Eduard Stieber (3 May 1818 - 29 January 1882) was one factor behind much of Bismark's Franco Prussian War battlefield successes. He was responsible for much of the prewar legwork which built up massive reams of data correcting French Army mistakes in mapping etc. He and his spies even discovered that many official roadway distance markers had substantial errors re distances.
16:18 respect to Napoleon III, never leaving his men, despite his agony. He fought on.
Napoleon III was a brave soul who did all he could, and is only remembered for his disastrous defeat and wrongly as a coward, which in fact he was the opposite
It’s a shame that Napoleon lll was captured in a shameful way. He was better off staying in Paris where he was safe.
@@supermario5849 he considered returning to Paris, but with his wife’s advice backed down as they’d see him as a coward. I believe him showing in the battlefield was to motivate his soldiers as he knew the war was going to be lost
Yes, Yes, misery loves company. 🤔
So they were miserable together, so nice...🙄🙄
@@fahoodie1852 I meeeean have you ever looked into what happened in Egypt? He surely left his men there
Other CZcams videos: 16:9 or close to 16:9 aspect ratio
The Armchair Historian: I don't even know what aspect ratio this is but omg it commands such a powerful presence that I must pay attention to it...
Widescreen all the way!
@@TheArmchairHistorian Wide screen go brr
@@TheArmchairHistorian 18:9, is it? I have an 18:9 phone and it seems to fill the screen. Or maybe 21:9?
It's 21:9, isn't it
The animation and art is amazing as well. It makes understanding the content so easy to understand and entertaining to watch. It's honestly incredible.
The vic2 music sold me, absolutely nostalgic
You’ve gone above and beyond with your graphic design dude. So much improvement in such little time. Props
Man, your channel is 80% history, 20% ASMR, and 100% brilliance.
I strongly agree
a
b
hm yes 200%
You forgot sponsor
That quote of Napoleon on his death bed made me sad :(
His story is sad, all his 22 years of hard work and success overshadowed by a war he didn’t want to fight
@@fahoodie1852 Well, he actually declared war because of a letter, so I think he really did wanted to fight
@@creepygamerful the population pressured him as there were massive demonstrations. He was very skeptical and said “the war will be long and difficult”. After his capture in sedan he told the Prussian king he was reluctant and didn’t wish to fight. He had many reasons not to want the war, most notably France’s unpreparedness and his failing health
@@fahoodie1852 That's not impossible. Republicans pressured him to sabotage the project and bring down Napoleon III
@@tibsky1396 France declared war on Prussia because France couldn't enjure more diplomatic defeats from Prussia. Mind that France by 1869 had transposed into a (weakened) constitutional empire like that of the British monarchy. Napoleon 3 had to comply with the French goverment's decisions. Everybody in France were in favour of the war declaration, including the republicans and socialists, because they too saw the authoritarian Prussian state as a threat to French reforms, as a threat to liberty in general and to France itself. @ Andres R Napoleon the 3rd said those words with pride (We weren't exactly afraid at Sedan, were we? - Those were his exact words) What he meant was, that he himself and his Army of Chalons had fought very bravely at Sedan, which they truly had, with the 3rd Zouaves breaking through the Saxon lines, with the Marine Infantry twice retaking and repulsing the Bavarians at Bazeilles, with parts of 45. Reg. breaking through the lines of the Prussians Guards in the north. The rest only surrendering to avoid being plastered with German grenades coming from all directions.
One interesting thing about this war was that it was a French-German war where the US tacitly backed the Germans. We were neutral, of course, and couldn't give any material aid, but because of bitterness over the French adventure in Mexico during our Civil War, our government was extremely hostile to Napoleon III, so we sent Phil Sheridan to spend the war as an observer with the Prussian army-a neutral, but friendly, observer. Sheridan had been sent to the Texas-Mexico border after the Civil War ended, with a large army, to give Napoleon a hint to "git out", and also supplied the Mexicans fighting the French with weapons and other supplies. He was present, as an honored guest, at the surrender of Napoleon to the Prussians.
Appreciate the fact your team are taking two weeks to make videos, it really gives a chance to increase the overall quality compared to a singular week.
Bismarck: " I am going to do what is called a pro gamer move"
A real pro gamer move wouldn't have taken Alsace-Moselle
Just check German border of today compared to 1914.
Bismarck had a plan. He ALWAYS had a plan.
@@selinane2Seli-zw3pzBismarck was put out of Service in 1908 from Kaiser Wilhelm the second
@@lolcop7416 And ? Alsace Moselle was taken from the French in 1871. And the treaty of Frankfurt was harsh nonetheless French paid it all, contrary to Germans whining about Versailles.
What is your point ? In 1914 alsace Moselle was still German. Bismarck did terrible mistakes
@@selinane2Seli-zw3pz sounds a lot like a salty french to me
Getting coronated in a captured enemy palace in the middle of the war requires the balls of tungsten and is also the biggest flex of all time.
Haha! Agree.... I could not put it any better.
At the end of the war, with the enemy traped in their capital city...
@@filipkopec525partisans
@@filipkopec525 partisans could still be close and if the French somehow did a comeback that could have been the most shameful retreat in history.
Yeah, still not entirely sure why the Germans did that. Maybe because the war was still going on and all the principles were camped out in Versailles to help continue the conduct of the war? I'm not sure.
A few months ago, I randomly watched this video because I was interested in the topic.
Today I had my A-Level exams with the random topic of Bismarck and his plan to Unify Germany through war. We had covered this topic in school, but the only thing I could ever remember about the Franco-Prussian war was this video.
Thanks to you I passed my exam!
Dad passed away in 2019, but when I was going through the things he left behind, I found a French Curassier bayonet from the Franco-Prussian war. January 16th 1870 is stamped clearly on the flat side of the tang in French just forward of the mounting lug for whatever rifle they used it on back then. Possibly a needle gun? Idk. It's pretty cool though.
I love his animation style
It's unbelievable isn't it? TV shows that do history should take notes. It makes it clear to understand and really entertaining. I honestly can't think of a better way to make videos to get such information across.
Yeah the animation is lit
same
i mean its a pretty strong reason i use this channel than others
Prussian war planners: We know how many loaves of bread the French have in reserve
Nazi war planners: he have no idea how many soldiers the Soviets have in reserve
"The Russian colossus has been underestimated by us. Whenever a dozen divisions are destroyed the Russians replace them with another dozen."
- General Franz Halder during Operation Barbarossa, Summer 1941
@@nettleleaves8224 If you look up "Hitler's everyday talking voice," you'll even hear him shocked at the amount of tanks USSR made. They underestimated them for sure
@@nettleleaves8224 True but you gotta remember the 2 Russian winters borg down the Germans which slow the Germans down which Stalin knew that was going happening so Stalin was able to send around 5 million Soviet soliders to reinforced the cities of Stalingrad, Leningrad, Moscow, Kieve and Baku from Eastern Russia cause he was paranoid of a japanese invasion plus Soviet was getting alot of Aid from USA during the lend-lease deal such as 5,000 M4 sherman tanks, 7,000 jeeps, oil, steel and around 8 billion dollars which gave the Soviets ability to mass produce there tanks in large quanities and thousands of stuta-baker trucks which were fitted with field rockets plus the British was using there navy to keep the seaways clear of German U-boats so the American cargo ships would reach seaports in Northern Russia to drop the materials and also Stalin was begging Americans and England to open a western front to relieve pressure off of Soviet Union.
@@skymaster4743 True, but the soviet soilders were inexperince and undertrained cause 80 percent of the Generals were let go by Stalin and the other 20 were in gulags but was replace with yes generals didn't know what the crap they were doing but always agree with Stalin which gave Germans the ability to push the Soviets back to the gates of Moscow.
@@skymaster4743 funny Halder mentioned it as he was the one responsible for screwing up both Barbarossa and Fall Blau. Hitler primarily wanted Ukraine for the food and Caucasus for the oil. Halder went all in and threw it all at Moscow.
Amazing production quality. The artwork is just great!
Excellent video. Very informative about a war i always was interested in, but never seemed to be able obtain much information about. Learned a ton! Loved the style of the animations and the narration also. Well paced and just professional in every way.
France: we have an awesome empire. We can conquer anyone.
Germany: deutsche Qualität
France: We have a railroad to the front!
Germany: We have two railroads to the front!
France: Ha, what a waste!
Germany: How do you get your trains back to fill them with soldiers with only one set of rails? Do you just stop sending troops while the trains go back?
France: ...
Who knew having one extra railroad track could drastically improve a military's logistics.
@Anthony Amable Feliciano I think that was sarcasm...
"War isn't won by tactics, it's won by logistics"
Empire without army.
French Military: *Is Retreating*
German Military: *Teleports behind them*
But if they're retreating, shouldn't they be already behind them?
@@rainningstorm wow, you got me there.
It does make the joke more comedic tho
germany: *nothing personal kid.*
@@gyrozeppeli751 ......but I gotta go all out on you
@@rainningstorm wow this makes perfect sense
19:39 the prise de bazeilles is a really bad ass story. Only handful of men held the Bavarian army while the rest were retreating. Those men did a last stand in a building and thought litteraly to ''la dernière cartouche'', to the last round, only surrendering after having killed as many bavarians as possible and having held as long as possible. It's sad that this war was a continuation of heroic stands made by the French military but all of those were in vain
Dear Arm Chair Historian,
I greatly commend you for this video, I high school I could find little on the full details in my high school and local libraries.
This half hour video gives the viewer a strong basic understanding of this conflict.
And the notes in your bibliography reinforces text to gain, yet a deeper understanding.
I would suggest that you also make animated videos on how the German 🇩🇪 forces exploited the Loshiem Gap in 1914, 1940 and 1944.
This would surely give you a larger following among students of military history, my friend's son is army jrotc in high school and follows your videos and even donated to your cause.
When my unemployment finally clears, so will I, you do great work, it's engaging, very enjoyable and highly educational.
Yes, I am a big fan of your work, as a Pennsylvanian, I enjoyed your bird's eye view of the battle of Gettysburg.
In addition to your video on the public wars, I sincerely thank you for all your hard good work and I pray that I can get more involved soon!
Sincerely
Robert Bell
Editing is getting really so much better
@Egg Egg egg egg indeed
Doesn’t make up for Armchair Historian’s stoic emotionless delivery.
@@kingstarscream320 exactly
I do really love that all the german actions are said to be made by Bismarck, even though Kaiser Wilhelm was the person who (technically) made them. Really shows how much influence he wielded.
Bismarck is an amazing individual.
Actually Otto von Bismarck Bismarck was chief of the government of the north German confederation.
So basically he was in charge. He was also in charge of Prussia at that time if iam not wrong.
So basically he was the one who did daily business. The king reigned. But Bismarck had to ask him before every action.
But Wilhelm I. Was very dependent upon Bismarck.
A good example is the German Austrian war 1866. After the victory Wilhelm I. Wanted to annex Austria or parts of it but Bismarck didn't like this decision because other nations could be terrified and that would endanger Prussia / Germany. And it wouldn't have been good for the austro German relations.
So Wilhelm I agreed on leaving Austria be.
@@misterjder1.831 Bismarck also disdained colonies and wanted to stay allied with the UK. Wilhelm II going against this led to WWI
@@shorewall more or less.
Bismarck said after the war 1871 "the empire is saturated" meaning Germany won't expand any further.
Wilhelm the second nonetheless wanted "a place at the sun" demanding, like other empires colonies in Africa.
Due to many reasons it got to the point, that the Germans got various colonies around the world which at the end Bismarck greeted.
But after the years Bismarck got very old and senil in old years and above all stubborn.
(many say that the retirement of Bismarck from wilhelm II. Was a mistake and lead to ww1.)
But that's incorrect. But that wasn't the case. Out of Wilhelms perspective the retirement absolutely justified because Bismarck was as I said very old.
And You'll never know how history would've went if even just a little detail changed.
Yes sure the aggressive emperor was a factor. But only one of many. Imagine if Franz Joseph the Austrian emperor would've died of a heart attack. That would have changed pretty everything.
@@misterjder1.831 I've never heard of anyone saying Bismark had gone senile when he was dismissed, is there a source for this?
To me, this episode looks substantually better then the other ones you uploaded, and definetely a lot of dedication went into making it.
I appreciate it a lot, having proper animations help immensly to understand the subject. Thank you.
The music from 19:11 to 19:34 is really good.
Really love this Era. Wish that there's a total war game abt this
Probably enough war games already depicting Germans getting slaughtered. Enough with that stuff.
There is. Europa Universalis
They will never make a 1800s total war, they'll produce either fantasy warhammer or another ancient era game.
There’s Total War Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai which takes place around this era
@@leonrothier6638 I already played it, I want total war empire 2
Remember watching your old video on the war, focusing on the Battle of Sedan. Glad to see you're revisiting the subject.
Pretty sure Bismarck's son was in the death charge
Such a great jump from the Old Artstyle to the New....
So well produced! Well done!
I am saddened to hear that CZcams hasnt fared the best on your channel. But I wish for great success to you and your videos, theyre genuinely some of the best.
Loved the target poster on Napoleon’s horse
Should have made it more obvious and bigger
@@murkywateradminssions5219 yes I agree
Lol
Poor napoleon the 3rd, couldn’t even have the dignity of dying among his men.
I honestly kind of feel bad for the guy. Living just enough to get roasted by all of Europe and not being remembered for winning the Crimean war. Ouch.
@@emugaming8548 I, too. As a young man he was persecuted by the Bourbons and Louis Philippe. Then, he became President and everybody was belittling him. Later, he became emperor and had a good life up to 1867. Then, the Mexican crisis, everybody started hating him. Fought a war provoked by the Germans and was humiliatingly captured. And after the war, the French Republic antagonizes him to get rid of their responsibilities of their defeat. That is the view of many modern historians.
Napoleon wasn't 'the Great', but he wasn't 'the monkey' described in the past.
@@presidentlouis-napoleonbon8889 How did the Germans provoke the Franco-Prussian War?
@@ancientnumbat4631 it was with the ems telegram. There was a diplomatic standoff between the two countries, and the telegram was manipulated to make it look like the sides insulted one another. The French population went into uproar and declared war
@@fahoodie1852 It was a silly thing to declare war against Prussia outright without the French government consulting with its British and Italian military allies in order to make sure that all three countries would coordinate their military plans against Prussia.
The smart thing to do would be for the French government to respond by issuing an extremely insulting ultimatum against Prussia , thereby forcing Prussia to declare war against France, and ensuring that Britain and Italy would honor their military alliance with France and join together with France in fighting the war against Prussia.
Furthermore, issuing an extremely insulting ultimatum against Prussia instead of issuing an outright declaration of war against Prussia would have given the French government more time to get ready for war and to organize and mobilize the huge unwieldy French army.
In the final analysis, France would have been guaranteed to win the war against Prussia because France and its British and Italian allies had 3 times the military power of Prussia and its German allies.
Not to mention that Austria and Denmark would have been very keen to join a military coalition against Prussia, and to attack Prussia from the rear in order to obtain their revenge against the Prussian army.
20:33 I think this is a nice moment in history to show that back then the enemies still had respect for each other and honor was still a thing people cared about
I believe helmuth von Moltke and his generals didn't even want to shell paris because they thought that it was inhuman.
@@Wuschel1990 I thought Bismarck didn’t want Paris to be shelled because Krupp cannons were to expensive
It is so cool to see how much this channel has evolved!! Congrats!
And then six years after his death, his only son died in a skirmish against the Zulus when he had been scouting with the British, everyone on both sides of the fighting was horrified when they realized what happened. The Zulu king swore he would never have been harmed if they had known who he was.
Thankfully the original Napoleon had a lot of brothers so the family is still kicking.
His son is buried in my hometown in England, weird story
this was napoleon III son right?
@@Nixie_noobionlassieyes
@@TehScareM8dang. Do people visit his grave?
@@larryalvares1369 It's in a catholic monastery, I'm sure people do, will have to go and check it out at some point!
27:19 I never thought that I would feel sorry for Napoleon III... Das rührt schon fast zu Tränen
Fast....
@@faithlesspancake4800 not a native german speaker, but in this case "schon fast" should mean almost
@@fuhlvee5555 yes!
Don't. The guy was a tyrant and a traitor to his country, and his ambitions too big for his boots. He got what he deserved, nothing more.
@@fuhlvee5555 i know
I actually read a book about the entire Von Moltke bloodline from Teutonic Knights to Nazi Germany. Fascinating family. Book was called Blood and Iron.
Loving the widescreen. It fits my phone ( one plus 8) so cinematically. You are a beast.
Dear Griffin, will you please make a video about life in the German Empire? It's something I and surely many others have been looking forward to for a long time. Thanks in advance :)
Agreed.
y’all have the same avatar! :O
Ridiculously militaristic
@@eatathepizza4449 no lol. The German empire was propably the most prosperous country in that era.Arts and science thrived not only the military.
@@Jim-fi4dc Yeah , 47 noble prizes is cool for a short lived empire
What’s amazing is the evolution of this videos animation since the last Franco Prussian war video 3 years ago.
Quality of this is amazing.
I love that these videos are meant to be standalone pieces of information that can support themselves but if you watch some other videos of the same era, you start to see a much larger picture unfolding because some of the same events and people are intertwined and you can see how they affected the events of the video you're currently watching.
18:50 i like the detail where the rifleman had to reload a single round, considering needle rifles were single shot rifles
19:35 the meme guy "is this an order" had me dying hahaha
dont forget the "guess i'll die" guy!
@@julianspeckmaier4548 wait i just realized that
You gotta love the small details in videos like these, like the balloon carrying Leon Gambetta away from Paris.
This video is so well made: beautiful animations and great information!
its always a good day when he uploads!
Very true
Yes.
Please dont assume gender!
@@RK18771 please get out of here? Its clearly a boy. he dont have his pronouns anywhere so go away. thank u!
@@Topst_er its a joke.
Napoleon the Third
"third time is the charm"
Germany
Plays "drop it"
Third time is the charm... 3rd Republic, that is
Thirds time the charm?
Ask the french or germans about that
It's really only the second time. Napoleon II was more along the lines of England's Edward V and France's Louis XVII----kings or emperors who were only so in name only.
While obviously the 1870 war was a disaster, Louis Napoleon remained in power longer than his uncle, and he had a bigger impact on the architecture of Paris.
@Rafiquil Alam In 1806, France took Berlin in 19 days
20:40 that horse be like "dafuq bro i don't wanna die!"
That was a very good narration and description of the Franco-Prussian War. That conflict’s outcome marked the pinnacle of Prussia’s power and influence in Europe since its inception centuries earlier.
the textbook definition of a quick decisive victory.
Now that balloon escaping Paris was a wonderful detail. During the seige French politician Léon Gambetta escaped the seige in such a balloon.
Let me guess. He never become popular after that!
@@omarbradley6807 Believe it or not but no he actually was very prominent in French politics until his death in 1882 from intestine and stomach cancer.
@@kingofthesandbox7467 Well yeah, prime minister, he was a flip-floper it seems, not so good taste by the third republic it seems.
The quality of this content never disapoints!!!
With such quality animation I am surprised you aren't having a small strategy game in the development already.
The map format in these videos could be a strategy game lol
Edit: I like the use of Vic2 music
I smiled so fast when I heard the music!
@@eugenej.6331 ikr lol
Great thing to hear, puts you in proper imperialist mood
@@soldiersPL suddenly the British Empire turns into the "Bri ish Empai-uh"
Ahh yes the french greatest enemy
Also THE FRENCH
The French are half Italian, Half German lol.
More wars won than any nation.
But they lost WW1 quickly, WW2 within a month, and of course this war, and Vietnam.
@@j.franklin21 Wtf are you talking about ? Are you okay ? France had won ww1. And french are not italians there are LATIN, that's realy different and they are more something like 40%latin 40%celtic(gaulish) and 20%german
@@fleauryanh528
I'm fine lol.
The French were whipped in WW1, the Allies had to save them. Same in WW2.
I'm comparing France as a military power to Italy in WW2. Italy sucked, they were the weakest Axis power. France was the weakest Allied power.
@@fleauryanh528
If the French are 40% Celtic then I'm a feathered bipedal.
@@j.franklin21 whipped in WW1? France basically did much of the fight on the western front and by far. Look at Verdun, the Marne or how the French saved the Commonwealth troops at the Somme. You have to be american to say that. Your education is known for well... basically suck.
The Victoria 2 soundtrack is so good for this video!
3:10 Context of war
6:59 Battle ensues
Helmut Von Moltke (key figure behind Prussian victory)
The death ride
Bombardment of Sedan
Partisans Resistance
25:46 Casualties
Most impressive part of this video :
23:17 leon gambetta fleeing Paris in an air balloon..... goddamm precise..... love it
think about if the wind turned blowing towards german troops.. lmao
@@massimomax3215 hahahaha 🤣🤣🤣, thats a good one, never thought of it ......
Watching this, its rather striking just how important this war was for future events. A lot of the German generals in this war, were still alive and had a major impact in WW1. Winning this war gave the Germans confidence to enter WW1 thinking they could easily win. Loosing this war the way they did had the French just looking for an excuse to get back at the Germans. Im sure the civilian deaths in this war contributed to the French wanting to make the Germans pay as harshly as they could when WW1 was settled.
Though,no doubt WW1 would’ve been a German victory if Britain didn’t involve let’s be objective.
@@Tutel9528 you could also say he same for Italy in ww1 and Greece both diverted millions of troops from the other fronts and had Italy joined Germany I believe they would've won.
@@Tutel9528
and france would have colonized both if europe didnt team up
"Im sure the civilian deaths in this war contributed to the French wanting to make the Germans pay as harshly as they could when WW1 was settled."
No, the reason the french didn't want to be lenient with the germans is that the french knew the krauts, and knew they would start again if they were strong enough.
That's why, in 1919, judging the versaille treaty too lenient, Marshall Foch said "this is no peace, this is a 20 years cease fire"
@@MN-vz8qmIt’s because the peace treaty was heavily divided between the british, french, and americans. If France had its way they probably would’ve divided germany back to its pre 1870 borders and make the rhineland a french protectorate or client state
It's fascinating to think about the fate of an empire collapsing due to "not having an army in the field." The personnel for the army exist all over the state, and the weapons are ubiquitous, and surely the requisite experienced commanders could even be found; but what collapsed was the recognition of the authority to command such an army: there was no one to whom each reserve or barracks or veterancy all agreed was worthy of command.