hunger the best chef, thirst the best bartender.

@ThommyofThenn

Ай бұрын

It's "hunger is the best seasoning" but your version is pretty fun!

@bonsai3547

Ай бұрын

Hunger drives it in.

@dennisyoung4631

Ай бұрын

Even makes *Turnips* taste less “muddy.”

@nursestoyland

Ай бұрын

Misery is the best company

@fsabot19022

Ай бұрын

@@ThommyofThenn Yes I heard of that one first. But yeah they both make sense.

"Only 9 meals stand between civilization and anarchy." - Unknown

@mr.zardoz3344

Ай бұрын

Wrong. Anarchy means no ruler. Use chaos, or disorder instead of anarchy.

@1ice1

Ай бұрын

​@@mr.zardoz3344 whats the difference

@99bulldog

Ай бұрын

@@mr.zardoz3344 That's not the only definition of anarchy and if you cwuld've taken more than 2 seconds to look it up you would've seen that. From Merriam - Webster anarchy noun an·​ar·​chy - absence of government - a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority - absence or denial of any authority or established order - absence of order : disorder

@ThommyofThenn

Ай бұрын

​@@99bulldogI guess it does have a colloquial meaning of lawlessness but in the academic sense, it refers to the politcal stance

@ThommyofThenn

Ай бұрын

​@@mr.zardoz3344Regardless of which meaning of the word they meant, you're correct in that a more descriptive word would have been more appropriate. In this context I would have used "chaos" or "bedlam" maybe even pandemonium

Nothing makes a man more uncivilized then hunger.

@kellychuang8373

Ай бұрын

That's so terribly true and who knows maybe can go for bolt action rifles like Springfield 1903, Lebel, Mosin-Nagant, Mauser Lee-Enfield and who knows what others or look into MIG's as another source who knows a lot of topics out there.

@woodenseagull1899

Ай бұрын

Germans were slow to learn! 21 years after WW1 ending. They repeated this " famine " in 1939/45 and beyond.

@kellychuang8373

Ай бұрын

@@woodenseagull1899 Really so true on that as well and also speaking of what happened after Germany in WWI could look into the inflation and the effects it have as another interesting topic saw pictures of kids playing with money during this time as well.

@sanich0811

21 күн бұрын

​@@woodenseagull1899 Where does this confidence come from? Speaking about food, everything was fine with the Germans until the second half of the forties, when they were occupied and the Third Reich *collapsed*

There was a German generation known as the Starvation Generation from 1917-1921 in which the children born in this time were as adults on average shorter, thinner and less muscular as well as less intelligent than those born after. US Army Medical Corps records of captured German servicemen noted the deficiencies in the men born from 1918-21. Lack of nutrition for infants and toddlers in these years negatively affected physical and mental health in later years. The Dutch suffered the same phenomena with children born or growing up during the starvation winter of 1944-45. Audrey Hepburn was one such child and she was chronically ill and had difficulty bearing children as a result.

@oscaranderson5719

Ай бұрын

add 18 years, that’s 1935-1939…dang, they really didn’t catch any breaks.

@coling3957

Ай бұрын

it wasn't just Germany. it was across Europe... rationing was brought in the UK 1914-1918 and in 1939-45. people had enough to eat but not a surplus and no luxuries from abroad. every ship carrying cargo to the UK from abroad had to be carrying vital supplies - so "yes, we have no bananas" was true. you could see differences in children raised in war years and those after within same family.

@scottessery100

Ай бұрын

Same with children in the Netherlands 🇳🇱 scientific studies show the effect the starvation from 1944/45 had a terrible impact on 2 generations

@GBOAC

Ай бұрын

Audrey Hepburn was born in 1929

@oddballsok

Ай бұрын

@@GBOAC and di not get in her nutritions in the critical growth years 1944-1945 ..15 years old..

A comedian did a bit about his kids complaining they 'were starving.' He said, "Have you eaten at anytime this week? Then you're not starving."

@otten5666

Ай бұрын

Pretty sure having 1 meal a week easily counts as starving and will kill you in a couple of weeks at the most.

@otten5666

Ай бұрын

1 meal a week definitely counts as starving.

@Bolitadewien

Ай бұрын

Una comida a la semana te mantiene mucho más vivo de lo que se puede creer. ​@@otten5666

@srbelnappa

10 күн бұрын

BAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA😂😂😂😂👏👏👏👏

Interesting Fact: The "Turnip Winter" greatly affected the diet of Germans which mainly consists of potatoes and turnips after the war.

@bigblue6917

Ай бұрын

Like many countries these became a staple of the poorer people which, along with various meats, made a dish called Lob Scouse. Irish stew, Scotch broth and Lancashire hotpot are all variations of this dish. It was such a common dish that people from part of Liverpool became known as Scousers.

@garfieldsmith332

Ай бұрын

@@bigblue6917 Danny on the channel Ratemytakeaway did a vid on going to Liverpool and having a Scouse.

@ThommyofThenn

Ай бұрын

So you're saying they called it turnip winter because they ate many turnips? Well that does make sense

@TheBGjosh

Ай бұрын

I thought this said "Trump Winter" at first lol

@Grummel1971

Ай бұрын

I still remember my great grandmothers generation telling the tale and non of them ever ate turnips again ( i actually tried a turnip and potato soup after a war recipy and it was quiet good, but then it had some meat and i wouldent have another 100 days with the same meal)

I’m glad you mentioned how war disrupts food supplies in more than just trade. Those seemingly unrelated things can have a domino affect that impacts the availability of food in a big way.

@kellychuang8373

Ай бұрын

Yes it is and who knows how the current conflicts of that is disrupting things now.

“An army marches on its stomach” - Some French guy

@bakatzen6243

Ай бұрын

"some french guy" 🤣

@Justin-pe9cl

27 күн бұрын

I believe he was Corsican.

@Lavthefox

23 күн бұрын

His name was Guy La Douche, MXC division commander

1.The allies also bought war materials from neutral nations in World War II. Similar sort of policy, which cut off Germany from suppliers of essential metals. 2. Some of the classes of conscripts that were called up to the German army in the 1930s and 40s were markedly shorter and lighter than those before or after, having been through the food shortages. 3. Fat became attractive.

@dannyzero692

Ай бұрын

“Fat becomes attractive” Ah so that’s why the Allies had to find a bigger plane to transport Goerring when he surrendered.

@user-p6-3561

Ай бұрын

Interesting

Growing up, there was a German lady living next door who was like a grandmother to me. She was born in the Dresden area in the early 1890s. She emigrated to America in 1913 or so, but returned to Germany to get married and got stuck there when the war broke out. Sadly, her fiance was blown to smithereens in the Belgian trenches. When I knew her she still had a small porcelain bowl that held the monthly butter ration. It was VERY small. She also refused to eat turnips. She told me that the only thing they had to eat by the end of the war was turnips. Turnip soup, turnip pie, turnip stew. You name it, it had turnip in the name. It became a bit of a joke in our family to offer her turnips at dinner. I knew her in.the 60s and 70s. The poor woman was still traumatized 40 years after the war ended.

@domapusic

Ай бұрын

I have an almost exact same story, about my actual grandmother. She was a teenager during WWII and an old granny during yugoslav wars 1991-1995. There was very little actual fighting in our region during WWII, but the economy was destroyed and people went hungry. Then, in 1991 our city found itself on the front line, actual combat in the suburbs, heavy shelling every day, etc. Our house was hit by 2 grenades. Throughout all of this, the old lady kept saying that this is not too bad because "there is enough bread to eat everyday." She was more afraid of the hunger than she was of actual bullets. As a child, I just could not comprehend it.

“The only thing that growls louder than your loyal dog is his stomach”

During the Spring Offensive of 1918 German troops capture several British depots full of food. There is some dispute as to whether or not seeing all this effected the moral of the German soldiers but what it did do was slow their advance as the stopped to eat their fill. Many of those German soldiers captured by Sergeant York and others were in such a poor state they had stopped collecting their rations and their superiors believed they had already surrendered to the US troops. This is not to denigrate what York achieved but is a sign of how the German army was become less and less a fighting force. The Austrians were in an even worse state than the Germans. In fact it got to the point were they stopped a German grain barrage which was sailing along the Danube to Germany in order to feed their own people with bread from the flour. Germany was so outraged that they threatened to launch their next attack against Austria.

@eamonnclabby7067

Ай бұрын

True

@bearsausage8599

Ай бұрын

What do you mean “some dispute as to whether or not seeing this food affected German morale?” It’s a starving army bro, of course they’re gonna be happy finding food. What do you think they’re gonna be like “oh man, we got food, now I can’t starve.”

@bradleyg7498

Ай бұрын

​@@bearsausage8599 It could also have a negative affect though because the Germans see how well resourced the Western Powers were compared to them.

@toastedt140

Ай бұрын

​@bradleyg7498 a German war veteran who ended up in a nursing home I worked stateside told me that he knew the war was definitely over when they he was captured and they were giving the POWs butter with their bread at every meal. He said the Germans barely had enough to eat and the allies were giving, not just food, but good food to prisoners. There were a lot of impromptu surrenders where germans would surrender in mass once they smelled fresh cooked food. It's also important to remember that the germans thought the allies were gonna totally destroy them, since FDR's comments on unconditional surrender were used as propaganda. Once germans realized "Oh hey, the western allies want to give me food and peace. That's better than war and starvation"

@giovannicervantes2053

Ай бұрын

​@@bearsausage8599it's more the idea of "if our soldiers re. Pawns find out about this they'll think we're weak and our enemies are stronger"

The frequency with which you upload is really remarkable Johnny

@JohnnyJohnsonEsq

Ай бұрын

Thank you for saying that! I wish I could post even more regularly as I have so much to cover. For one dude these videos are more work than they might seem. About 3 hours of work for every minute of video.

@eamonnclabby7067

Ай бұрын

​@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq...dedicated to your art...that's what it is....😊😊

@NexGenRogue

Ай бұрын

​@@JohnnyJohnsonEsqYou cover the more unspoken aspects of war very well! War logistics can be very impactful in ways invisible upon first look.

@jddallas7274

Ай бұрын

​@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq.make them longer you put in the work and research I would love to hear more from you or you could just talk about in length more in another video separately

@jddallas7274

Ай бұрын

@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq that a yes

the starvation in germany continued long after the end of the blockade after the war. my aunt was a child growing up in the late 1920’s, her father a disabled ww1 vetran and only co do odd jobs, could barely buy food for his family of wife and 3 kids, during the german hyper inflation. and My aunt grew up on Turnip stews, and occaionaly a poor quality potato or very limp carrot thrown in, and 2 day old bread, that they would dip in the soup and it was a bit to hard to eat. When Hitler came to power, he started large utobahn projects and her father was ordered to meanial work on one in a Arbret work battaion, but finaly was given a wage that was better. He bought a cabbage and some meat and fresh carrrots and fresh bread and butter… the kids had never had before. She said from that moment on the entire family became fanatical Nazi supporters, along with a great many thought germany..

If you ever watch the old NBC documentary about 'Bataan- the forgotten Hell' there's an interview with a veteran from there who mentioned them eating the quartermasters mules, the cavalrys horses, monkeys, iguanas, and anything they could find.

@wolftamer5463

Ай бұрын

The Japanese on island garrisons were forced to do similar as the Allied navies cut them off. Their own navy could no longer supply them, so many turned to subsistence farming, fishing, and trading with the natives to survive. Huge bases like Rabaul and Truk that had been teeming with warships, airstrips and weapons were converted into fields of crops.

@ald1144

Ай бұрын

@@wolftamer5463 Don't forget cannibalism.

@wolftamer5463

19 күн бұрын

@@ald1144 Yep

“When logs are needed to be used for fuel for fire. How many people will demolish their houses for fuel? That’s what it means to be trapped in Total War and stare into the darkness beyond.” ~Unknown

@patrickbateman312

Ай бұрын

"Born to shid, forced to wipe. Hawg = cranked." - Unknown

Great episode. Food shortages was as bad, if not worse in Austria-Hungary. It got so bad that by autumn 1918, Austria-Hungary hijacked barges on the Danube full of wheat from Romania headed for Germany. The Germans were so furious they actually threatened war on their own ally.

Whenever I travel back to germany and end up spending the day with my grandparents (who grew up in WW2) the majority of the day is spent going to a cafe or restaurant and thinking of what the next meal will be. While it can get annoying, it makes complete sense as during and post war, there wasn’t always the guarantee you would eat, so you always have to keep thinking ahead. Some habits you just can’t shake.

Lettuce all avoid food related puns

@zoch9797

Ай бұрын

That type of rhetoric is gonna cause beef between people.

@wjrjbnjd

Ай бұрын

I’m gonna chicken out of this of this conversation

@ThommyofThenn

Ай бұрын

I would have avoided pudding anything so crass here

@mikegammill2455

Ай бұрын

I am certain that there is a bumper crop of puns to be harvested.

@ALEXANDER1318

Ай бұрын

Could you be any more hamfisted?

Yes, early in the book “storm of steel,” Jünger speaks of being “stuffed” by the meals he ate, and even later, he spoke of getting a fair amount of drink (though by that time, be’d become an officer, so he had better food than the usual Landser.)

"An army marches on its stomach." -Napolean

That first scene from All Quiet, man I can't even imagine what that would feel like. You're pumped up with adrenaline which is a natural appetite suppressant, but at the same time you are starving for calories and all of a sudden you come across an allied kitchen with likely more food than your battalion has seen in ages

Great video again. Thank you

1:37 am currently and i got a test tommorow. but still watching your video

@JohnnyJohnsonEsq

Ай бұрын

Well I wish you luck! Remember to have a good breakfast in the morning.

@eamonnclabby7067

Ай бұрын

​@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq...yes...porridge or banana..or both...great slow release energy....

Appreciate your videos Johnny. Hard topic but history is always good to learn

You are the best, Johnny. Thanks again

Thanks for the video.

fun fact, around the end of war there were rumors the conserves rations of meat were containing human meat /stamped mark AM =alte menschen= old humans/, it was also incorporated into the novel The man in the high castle.....urban legend? or maybe? they wouldnt......or?......

Great video again, Johnny.

Another interesting vid! Thanks for sharing!

Truly an eternal anglo moment

This is such a phenomenal channel, goddamn.

I just found your channel today and have been binging your videos all day, great content.

@JohnnyJohnsonEsq

Ай бұрын

Sweet! Well welcome to the channel

@jamespuffer2889

Ай бұрын

As someone who has taught history, including military history, at the university level, you do an amazing job of finding the line between engaging, entertaining, and informative. I really wish I had found this channel sooner, you have a knack for choosing great topics as well. Keep up the great work!

@JohnnyJohnsonEsq

Ай бұрын

Thanks so much that means a lot to me. I'm not a great "deep dive" history channel but I do try to present on subjects in a unique and engaging way which hopefully just makes history more accessible.

being thankful for what one has on the table is something my grandmothers mother always said back i her days. she lived through 2 world wars.

Incredible video

Superb epi.

I like how in bf1, German soldiers sometimes talk about sending food home after battles

Great video...

Well brother man, by far your best and strongest work to date. 👍🔥💪 Johnny the GOAT

Great video as always! I remember I heard a bit about starvation after the war in Germany when learning about ww1 but never knew how much it was at the front to. Guess it’s like Napoleon said an army marches on its stomach. And he has a point too. You might have the best army with the best trained soldier with the best rifles and cannons. But after nine days of starvation can cripple any army faster than any bayonet, bullet and bomb. And never thought I would hear acorns being used for coffee never knew you could do that. Bet that would not taste the greatest lol. Keep up the great work!

In times of hunger the Swedish women competed on who had the most uneatable Barkbread. Grassroot was a very common food in times of hunger. It was gathered and dried so that it could be ground into flour. "Every pain has it´s scream, a full belly remains silent".

@laurentdevaux5617

12 күн бұрын

Anyway, even now Swedish "food" is barely eatable...

@markwarnberg9504

12 күн бұрын

@@laurentdevaux5617 Nothing wrong with Sweish food. Love the Swedish Husmanskost....that´s basic holsom meals, meat -potatos - pasta - vegis.

Very good video and glad im early :D

Could you do a video on those gun cams that some WW2 planes had?

Thanks JJ and at my age i am thankful everything.....Hope you and yours are doing great your friend Old F-4 II Pilot Shoe🇺🇸 Congrats on gaining Subs....

It's crazy how starved and hungry Hitler looks 4:39

@coling3957

Ай бұрын

ww2 joke among Germans was "the war will end when Goering can fit into Goebbal's trousers" .. the leaders lived very well , with special restaurants in Berlin catering for them .. Hitler and Goebbals did tend to be quite frugal with food - to try and set an example.. Goering and many nazis bigwigs, not so much...

@hellomjb

Ай бұрын

Meth will do that to a person.

The steel helmet camo in the begin of your video is called mimmikri.

Damn this offers some pretty grim insight.

That explains that seen in All Quiet on the Western Front, where they start eating in the middle of the battle when they're raiding the French trench

Heres a fun question: why was the submarines a war crime but the british blockade wasnt?

@tankriley2712

Ай бұрын

I think the blockade didn’t sink any vessels bound for Germany. I think it just forced vessels to turn around with threat of destruction. Meanwhile the Germans sank any ship their submarines saw regardless of nationality and purpose.

@ChristianNationalAuthoritarian

Ай бұрын

exactly

@planescaped

Ай бұрын

Because one of the won and the other lost?

@JohnnyJohnsonEsq

Ай бұрын

Well I'd say capturing or diverting a civilian or merchant ship is at least initially less lethal than blowing it up with torpedoes. But yes, blockading a merchant ship with food or medical supplies certainly has the long term effect of death/starvation as well.

@chuckbuck5002

Ай бұрын

The cruiser rules dictated that a civilian ship being attacked be given the opportunity to surrender and the crew allowed to come aboard . U-boats caused two problems for the Germans while solving one. They could apply pressure on the entente by attacking shipping and run blockades. But they have difficulty keeping up with generally faster merchant ships. While not having the space to take on enemy crews. This basically ended cruiser rules for both sides. The strategy of unlimited submarine warfare destroyed long standing naval customs.

Great video JJ and also gives insight to WWI and also covert buyers of certain items in war along with dealing with neutral nations to get said supplies. Also for the covert shopping I think I also heard Great Britain did something like this during the Falklands War and they got their special agents with who knows how much it's in briefcases to buy up anti-ship missiles the enemy was using it's not all just bombs and bullets as this video shows.

@theotherohlourdespadua1131

Ай бұрын

The Falklands bit isn't even surprising. Due to international laws on war (neutrals can't trade with nations at war), neither Argentina or Britain declared any state of war between them. In such a legal atmosphere, they are free to get supplies from the same countries and situations that you mention may have happened...

@kellychuang8373

Ай бұрын

@@theotherohlourdespadua1131 Really also something interesting to know as well since when you think of war it's soldiers and bullets you don't think of the people behind the shadows and doing stuff like intelligence and buying up stuff to keep from falling into war.

My great-grandfather was a POW in Germany during late WWI and he was telling stories about hunger and that he survived mostly on beer and sugar.

@Rainessss

26 күн бұрын

One hell of a diet

4,500 calories per day prior to the war. Thats more than I eat per day; they really had no clue how deadly this war was going to be.

@TheB00tyWarrior

10 күн бұрын

That might have included the alcohol

I'm here for the corny puns. If I learn anything, that's gravy.

Well, I have nothing to add. Huh. Thanks, Johnny, catch ya on the next one

Everyone focuses on Jutland in the naval history of WW1. But the British Blockade was the slow killer of both the German economy and its food supplies, requiring the Germans to both cannibalise its own economy and loot the economies of others while seizing land to produce food such as in Ukraine. What’s worse, Germany wasn’t completely blockaded because it still had access to the Baltic but British planners did conceive of the Baltic Project to seize Danish Zealand and then destroy German logistics in the Baltic, potentially shortening the war by a couple of years. They never went through because many thought it a too risky of an idea. In any case, Britain’s blockade was just an expansion on a strategic tool that had precedent in British strategic thinking, and is remarkably not talked about enough as one of the significant factors, potentially the most significant, in the Entente’s victory over Germany.

@martinwebb3017

Ай бұрын

The British did send a submarine flotilla to the Baltic, which severely restricted the flow of iron ore from Sweden, and prevented the High Seas Fleet from using the Baltic as a training area.

1:43 You mentioned France role in the Adriatic Sea but not Italy who was right here and helped the blockade (Otranto strait, Brindisi)...

@theotherohlourdespadua1131

Ай бұрын

I mean, Italy didn't join the war until 1915 so the French did that blockade initially...

"An army marches on his stomach." -Napoleon

Soldbuch review please

"....turnip for the next one," Lmao. Good stuff.

That’s such a war crime that it took the Allies to remove the blockade till mid 1919

I enjoyed this branching out. Maybe one on medical issues during war? I know that it was quite likely the biggest impact on armies until "modern" Time.

With a Kaiser like his, who needs enemies? With his reckless ambitions, Wilhelm II literally starved Germany out of power.

@SolidAvenger1290

Ай бұрын

The French government almost screwed the pooch as well, seeing how the French military almost had a Syndicalist revolution against the government.

@beneficialuncle4136

26 күн бұрын

I recommend you watch “The Innocence of Kaiser Wilhelm II” by Christina Croft or Lavader’s videos on Wilhelm II. Might change your perspective on the guy 👀

maybe you can do a video on the swiss mercenaries.

Good video. Another issue that Germany faced was finances. Most of Germany currency was backed by the gold mark, which was held in overseas banking for ease of doing commerce. As soon as war broke out, Germany financial problems arose. It didn’t help that Britain made sure that Germany currency would become useless by 1918, this already ensuring Germany defeat in 1914. However, Germany came close to winning as its submarine fleet had swept away Britain merchant marine and the British were having major problems of supplying enough ammunition for her troops.

@bigblue6917

Ай бұрын

This does not explain the huge stores the British Army had in 1918

@samsonsoturian6013

Ай бұрын

Currency doesn't matter, what matters is how much stuff there is to buy with it

@alexsmith-ob3lu

22 күн бұрын

@@bigblue6917 By 1918, America was already on the British side for 3 years. Stores of supplies held by Britain? More like stores of debt that Britain needed to pay back to American bankers.

@alexsmith-ob3lu

22 күн бұрын

@@samsonsoturian6013 Haha, you just contradicted yourself, Lol. Germany couldn't even feed its own populace at the outbreak of war and relied on vast food imports from Russia, Canada, USA, Brazil, and Argentina. If you're currency is worthless and nobody will accept your money (German marks); how are you supposed to get all the food supplies you need?

I've heard of two secondary effects of this starvation: -Germany tried to get around the labor problem on the farms by using large numbers of POWs to do the harvest work,primarily Russians/Slavs, since they had taken the largest numbers of those prisoner. -The second was that after Russia fell apart and Germany made rapid gains in the east, the basically confiscated as much as possible of the 1918 Ukraine harvest. That didn't do the Ukrainian population much good, as they went from one war to another.

You sure did beet a dead horseradish there at the end.

why no videos from the new all quiet on the eastern front? i thought they showed very well the starving issues and everything 🤔

Great video yes, let’s all maybe just take one second just one second and be thankful for what we have sounds so easy but it’s so hard

I don't carrot all for these end of video puns.

For anyone interested in this topic, I can recommend the book Ring of Steel by Alexander Watson, which examines how the Entente bockade affected both the militaries and civilian populations of Germany and Austria-Hungary during World War 1.

The Great War Channel has a video on the Turnip Winter and a video on the sheer amount of food needed to keep the armies fighting in the war fes

As a kid my family knew an old German couple, the lady was old enough to have been in the Turnip Winter. She told me the only thing to eat were Turnips. I just thought to myself, 'go to a different store' She was living in Marin County California back then one of the richest in the nation. She did well for herself.

Wooo johhnnyy

One factor in Germany's food shortages - was the fact that they grew crops using specific fertilizers which they imported. The British Blockade limited their ability to import this fertilizer.They had to adjust the crops they grew based on what they could grow but this took time. Another factor was the number of farmers drafted into the Army. They defeated Russia in 1917 and were ceded a lot of land by the Russians in their peace treaty - but they were not able to grow enough food in the time they had left to end their famine. The Prussians had been British Allies against Napoleon and in 1870, the British had done nothing while Prussia defeated France. Two things changed. One of them was that Kaiser Wilhelm II, whose mother was Queen Victoria's Daughter making him her oldest Grand Child, spent a lot of time in Britain and loved the Royal Navy. It is my personal opinion that given a choice to be Kaiser or an Officer in the RN - Willy would have chosen the RN. That of course - could not happen as he certainly did NOT have that choice - but - if he couldn't be in the RN - as Kaiser - he could build his own Navy. It just doesn't seem to have occurred to him - that the British might not like that. Next - both Britain and Germany were among the guarantors of Belgian Neutrality. Here - one of the factors was that Germany didn't want to fight a war on two fronts. When Serbia started the war by killing the heir to the Austrian Throne, Austria went to war with Serbia - and the Russians sided with Serbia. Germany was allied with Austria and so (despite the fact that the Czar and the Kaiser were related by marriage as the Czar's Wife was also a grandchild of Queen Victoria) it ended up at war with Russia - which made the Russian Ally France - a German enemy. The Franco German border was in very rough terrain and lined by forts on both sides. Rather than go through there as they had in 1870 - they opted for the von Schlieffen Plan to go through Northern Belgium - which was nice and flat and had fewer (though not no) Forts. The idea was that they'd sweep down on Paris from the North and knock France out of the war. The problem here - was that violating Belgian Neutrality - brought Britain into the war and got them Blockaded. This was the biggest mistake they made. France was squealing for Britain to come in on their side - but - it was not a sure thing that they would - until the Germans went into Belgium. What the Germans could have done - was to stay on the defensive behind their own line of forts in all that rough terrain along the Franco German Border - while they and the Austrians concentrated on the Russians. The German High Seas Fleet - didn't make any contribution to the war for Germany - and - when it mutinied in 1918 may have cost it the war. Germany would have been a lot better off with a small enough Navy to deal with the French - but - not a large enough one to alienate the British. If they had not squandered as much military strength in a Navy that did them no good and not gone into Belgium - there is a very good chance they would not have been blockaded. They beat Russians even as it was - if they'd concentrated on it - instead of France - they might have won. .

@theotherohlourdespadua1131

Ай бұрын

That plan of yours assumes TWO things: 1) That Britain WOULDN'T do anything when the two are at war, and 2) The Germans didn't do anything that would trigger the British into action. The first one is premised on the idea that Britain still follows the "Balance of Power" concept of international politics. Throughout the 19th Century, Britain has been flipflopping on temporary alliances as to maintain the "balance of power" on the continent and keep Britain secure. This "Splendid Isolation" policy that started in the 1810's is becoming problematic upon the start of the 20th Century due to Bismarck getting the boot. Britain is already alarmed that a unified Germany existed and is challenging British economic supremacy in 1871, what stopped them is Bismarck's assurance they would not step on what is Britain's "turf" (ie empire building and being the world's workshop). That changed with Wilhelm II and his change of direction as to foreign politics (establishing German colonies in the empty spaces left in Africa and Asia and meddling in British colonial affairs such as in Morocco), reigniting British fears of being outdone by the Germans. Such far flung colonies require a more blue water navy, leading to a snowballing effect of the British increasing spending on the navy then the Germans expanding their navy to match Britains vice versa, all fueled by those who wanted to challenge British naval supremacy other than the Kaiser. Not to mention the British public's opinion of the Germans before and during the war (which isn't high given how Germany is an antithesis of the British way of life, read without any of the liberty and democracy they enjoyed). Much of the initial animosity of the British public towards the Germans is due to stories of atrocities that happened in Belgium; with or without Belgium, the stories of atrocities that would happen in France - whether real or imagined - would not put Germany in any favorable position as far as the British public is concerned. Even if Germany didn't invade Belgium to try to encircle the French in a pincer movement (how that strategy came about is a whole different story which involves European militaries being obsessed to reenact the Carthaginian victory of Cannae over the Romans), Britain wouldn't be comfortable letting a victorious Germany dictate the Continent on its own terms so it would do what the US OTL did prior to its entry in WW1: help France with everything short of sending troops. If it means escorting the supply ships using the Royal Navy, they would do it. This statement leads me to my second point... Britain would only remain de jure neutral for as long as Germany didn't do anything that would give them a reason to join the war. If Germany still does submarine warfare, unrestricted or otherwise, at some point some overzealous KM captain would raid or sink a supply ship flying the British merchant marine to stop it from reaching France. That act wouldn't go unnoticed by those who already are not fans of the Germans. The whole situation of a neutral Britain to this alternate WW1 is basically something like OTL US prior to its entry to WW1: despite being neutral, it has some clear bias as to who to favor and will do un-neutral things to keep their biased choice afloat...

@theotherohlourdespadua1131

Ай бұрын

P.S. Forgot to mention the Ottoman Empire. The only reason the Ottomans joined the Germans in this war is due to British and French threats to its territorial integrity. If the Ottoman Empire decides to join in the war to defend its territory against the French and British, the Germans are compelled to declare war on Britain and Britain in turn would be compelled to declare war on Germany. If not Belgium then Egypt or the Gulf States may be the Casus belli...

8:12 Fat chance of UK today being Gaunt. It is Johnny Fatman today. (oops! no disrespect intended, I was refering to John of Gaunt , with a slight hint towards John Bull :-) ).

In my fictional novel, I have two entire chapters that deal with immense hunger, but in the perspective of a soldier. These soldiers only got peppered grass, boiled-liquified rice and salt, and pork combined with potatoes turned into a mush which could be sipped or eaten with a spoon. These soldiers, without warning and without orders, attacked at night. They took all the food they could carry from the enemy trench, and back out into no mans land, and back into their own.

@thevirtuaIscience

19 күн бұрын

Is there somewhere I can see more about your project? I am really interested about this topic.

You're making me hungry

When pretzel are need.

WW1’s placement in history is so fascinating to me. It’s right after the Victorian era, where the general social image is one of elegance and self-restraint, of dignity and civilization. And yet, despite that being the culture taught to the generation of the time, they were thrown into a horrific war that unveiled the raw savagery of human beings faced with extreme hunger and circumstances worse than hell itself. Maybe I’m not making sense, but I think it’s an interesting contrast.

@jarrethcutestory

Ай бұрын

I think so too. The horror of WW1 contradicts the supposed civility of the time. What so-called leaders were prepared to put their soldiers through is insane.

@coling3957

Ай бұрын

wars are never civilised. the World War was a battle of attrition and neither side wanted to quit. the German terms for a peace were far harsher than that handed down at Versailles and would have left Germany in occupation of all the lands their army had taken - so Belgium would simply be annexed entirely along with northern France and the eastern lands stretching from East Prussian to the Black Sea.. taking so many casualties neither side wanted to simply step back and see sacrifices made for nothing . the Central Powers should have won on paper. the huge empires of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottomans were all conjoined. with strong internal rail links etc.. but they screwed up. the quick win in France didn't happen and the long war of attrition on Western and Eastern fronts dragged on.

@ExtantPerson

Ай бұрын

@@coling3957 Never said that wars were ever civilized. But it’s undeniable that WW1 marked the start of a new brand of brutality

“I can end the war quickly” -someone who couldn’t end the war quickly

@samsonsoturian6013

Ай бұрын

It's a matter of risk tolerance

@tiagodecastro2929

Ай бұрын

If the avoidance of total disaster relies on your plan succeeding greatly and quickly, then change your plan. Can't rely on hopes. As they say, no plan survives contact with the enemy.

a sad one, but necessary to understand the reality of it all.

An army marches on it's stomach ya know what I mean. - ernest p. Worrell.

Can u do m1911 pistol

What makes this different than the famines that proceeded it like Belgium in WWI and the US South in the civil war is that there was no occupying army taking all the goods, it was their own army taking everything. That is INSANE commitment that ive never seen from another european country. Thats that old prussian military state vibe.

To be pedantic, Britain's (not just England's geography helped with the blockade as a major naval base was in Scotland. However absolute masses of Brownie points for making a well thought out video on the most fundamental aspect of war; the ability to feed the troops, munitions workers, etc. Royal Navy blockades date back to the Napoleonic era.

@coling3957

Ай бұрын

and are highly successful. Napoleon invaded Russia because of the RN blockade and his failure to maintain the "continental system" to stop Europeans trading with Great Britain... in both world wars the Royal Navy blockaded Germany and stopped supplies from abroad reaching the Baltic .. a few blockade runners did get through early on, but not many. Germany's attempt at blockading the British with U-Boats was less successful. and with advances in ASW , became less and less so as war progressed with 1943 being the year the U-Boats took a hammering.

A less known aspect of war. War is hell, but we used quite often to forget about this simple, but cruel fact

See the title … not very interesting. I’ll support Johnny by watching anyway … oh my gosh!! I’ve just learned new history. So good! ❤❤❤

Don't bite the hand that feeds you

(2:57) Money is power!

The direct cause of the famine can also be found in the over-drafting of soldiers in 1914/15. All sides thought that by bringing the most men to a battle they could achieve something. But the side effect of drafting away all of the nation’s labor force too a much bigger negative impact than any it pushed toward victory. In the end every nation began to send troops back in 1916 to grow food and fill important industrial tasks.

Wish me luck on my finals that are tmmrw and all of next week till Friday!!!

@JohnnyJohnsonEsq

Ай бұрын

Good luck to you! Have a good breakfast in the morning. Get a full nights sleep.

@bolnol

Ай бұрын

@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq thank you I think I passed it hopefully 🤞

Funny i see this and work at the ww1 museum

I think you forgot about German modern mushrooms cultivation which lead to even more modern present mushrooms cultivation

and now can you make video about food shortages in russia empire during ww1 ?

Hello brother

My father had a neighbor who fought for the Germans in WW 1. It got so bad that he had to eat his own horse at the end of the war.

My grandparents were children during WW I and have told us a lot about their hungry childhood duringhorrible time. At least they survived, else I wouldn´t exist. Greetings from Germany🙂

People forget how important the British blockade of Germany was! In the words of Frederick the Great - Amaeturs think tactics, professionals think logistics!

Just remember the common man is lead by his wallet but will always follow his stomach

Jagdpanzer IV fr.