Why Soldiers Brought These Weird Items To War
Through the turmoil of ever-modernising battlefields in the 20th Century, it was not uncommon for soldiers to turn to various rituals or superstitions as a coping mechanism. By wearing protective talismans, lucky charms, or even by avoiding certain activities or actions that apparently spelled misfortune, soldiers believed that they - if only minutely - had control over their own destinies.
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There’s another reasonable reason to avoid new boots before a combat. New boots shall always been worn in first, I can imagine soldiers just didn’t want to suffer blisters in the middle of the battle.
@kota1471
3 ай бұрын
womp womp
@ExtantPerson
3 ай бұрын
@@kota1471not even how it’s used
@kota1471
3 ай бұрын
@@ExtantPerson womp womp
@Forgotten_construct
3 ай бұрын
@@ExtantPerson have you ever eaten a tangerine?
@ExtantPerson
3 ай бұрын
@@Forgotten_construct yes, love the username btw
I had 1 superstition. At the time, I was authorized 2 different combat patches. I decided to wear the most current patch. Over the next week, i lost 2 friends and another seriously injured. I put the old patch on, didn't lose anyone else the final 8 months of that deployment.
@PROVOCATEURSK
3 ай бұрын
So you left your country to shoot civilians in other country?
@andrewlanford2378
3 ай бұрын
That's enough evidence for me to prove that you were 100% correct in your assessment. Therefore it isn't so much a "superstition" but rather a "super scientifically proven fact".
@ArariaKAgelessTraveller
2 күн бұрын
The superstition usually comes from other people experience So your case will become so if you share it with your mate and they start wearing old patches themselves
Aw you missed out Unsinkable Sam a cat that lived on the Bismarck before it sank and went on to survive 3 more sinkings which gave him the name "Unsinkable Sam."
@DerDai
3 ай бұрын
tbf it's not clear if Unsinkable Sam was a myth or several cats mistaken as one What I was rather surprised of was that Wojtek, the brown bear that was the mascot of a polish artillery regiment, wasn't mentioned Edit: Wojtek was even officially drafted as private since the British transport ship, which was to carry the regiment to Italy, forbade mascot and pet animals. After Monte Cassino he was even promoted to corporal
@seaasugar605
3 ай бұрын
Damn it's like he did a video about him or something.
@seaasugar605
3 ай бұрын
Damn it's like he did a video about him or something.
@daviddavidson2357
3 ай бұрын
"The ship might sink but the cat sure won't!" I'm sure that filled many salty seamen with courage.
6:12 The epitome of the feline maxim "If I fits, I sits".
@TheManofthecross
3 ай бұрын
for now.
@houselivesay4013
3 ай бұрын
🐈
Weird rituals can calm the nerves and instill confidence which are always great for survivability.
My dad was a WW2 and Korea vet. and he always believed in carrying a acorn on him was good luck.
@theremoteanater
3 ай бұрын
Today that's a weapon
@stevelee123451
23 күн бұрын
Cool bro
@JJW-fg1zp
3 күн бұрын
@theremoteanater lol
My grandmother’s father was in the US Navy during World War II. He said that his ship’s mascot was a monkey and one day a sailor was woken up by the monkey. Irritated, he threw it out at sea. As if being stranded at in the middle of the ocean wasn’t cruel enough, the fact that Monkeys can’t swim only confirms the poor thing drowned.
@nomercyinc6783
3 ай бұрын
thats a stupid mascot to have on the ship
@thatguymatt5816
3 ай бұрын
It makes sense. I can’t imagine how annoying that must have been
@ahaaaaaaaaa
3 ай бұрын
An enlisted sailor throwing the ship's mascot out to sea? I do not believe that for one second.
@user-ph5lx6rx8w
3 ай бұрын
You forgot buying g ite.s made from wood so the could touch wood for good luck
@Gr3nadgr3gory
3 ай бұрын
Monkeys can't swim?!
About the new footwear: another reasons soldiers may have declined new boots was because of the fact that they could’ve come from a dead soldier. **All Quiet on the Western Front intensifies**
@doggydude2668
3 ай бұрын
yeah when he mentioned the part about that, i was a bit confused because there was a scene of a soldier who wanted the boots of a guy who was about to get amputated.
@KevinJD2030
3 ай бұрын
This is true and brand new boots first need to be worn in a little bit to fit just a little bit better
There was one that’s particularly interesting There was a WWl battlecruiser by the name of HMS New Zealand, which was given a Maori piupiu skirt and a heitiki pendant to be worn by the captain during battle. HMS New Zealand only suffered minor damage from the Battle of Jutland.
That trench foot, looks like my feet after I take a shower💀
@ngaromatenga2306
3 ай бұрын
Trust me you know when you’ve got it 😊
@kota1471
3 ай бұрын
That shi looks like my foot in any given day
@brianmoyachiuz905
3 ай бұрын
Oh, it's worse than you think
@jonjaquez
3 ай бұрын
That means you're showering for WAAY too long 😂
@justandy333
3 ай бұрын
Dude, unless chunks of rotten flesh are falling off, you ain't got trench foot.
Soldiers are probably the most aware of how random everything is, and how minimal is their own will in the grand scheme of things, a bullet or a shell can drop on you any moment, even if you're doing everything as you should. So it seems normal to boost yourself with the thought that something takes care of you in a way. So that you can carry on in this dangerous environment, doing what you have to do, without bothering yourself too much with the primal fear of death. "random thing can happen to me anytime, but i'm good, i can continue, i have that thing boosting my luck, random is in my favour."
I like how the Itals sprinkled the dirt of their birthplace on them before battle. I haven't been to the state I was born in since I was 4
In iraq we told our guys not to heat up their MREs for good luck because someone said that heating up mres pisses off the locals and they might put an ied on your path
I Kept a $2 bill on me for good luck. I also continued to wear my old boots but it was because they were worn in and comfortable, not because they were lucky.
nahhh, piggy was just emergency food XD
2:00 "3 on a match and you'll wind up in the booby-hatch."
Praying sometimes works because it calm your nerves like “Please Lord, give me the strength to survive another day”
@thatguymatt5816
3 ай бұрын
If it works for you that’s great
@Gr3nadgr3gory
3 ай бұрын
The placebo effect is strong.
@ferretyluv
3 ай бұрын
However, there was a study that said that if you tell someone you’re praying for them, it causes worse outcomes because people get worried about how sick they really are if someone needs to pray for them.
@ferretyluv
3 ай бұрын
@@Gr3nadgr3gory It’s not necessarily placebo, but more like having a ritual calms nerves. It’s the same way any superstition works.
@Gr3nadgr3gory
3 ай бұрын
@@ferretyluv all superstitions are the placebo effect.
I had to have a chicken foot on the end of my gun tube of my tank and we always scored high on gunnery tables
It always makes me smile when looking back to when I was a member of a rifle shooting team. We had a lovely old lady in our midst, she kept us in order 😂. But she had a "lucky bear" toy clipped to her rifle jacket. Didn't make a blind bit of difference to her shooting. But it didn't harm anyone. So despite our misgivings, I hope she still wears that lil bear 🐻
Faith and good luck comes in many forms and ways.
Avoiding new boots is also a good survival strategy: if you had newer boots than the rest of your squad, the enemy might assume you were an officer.
@brendolbreadwar2671
3 ай бұрын
considering they where covered in mud after 10 seconds, that seems pretty irrelevant. They would be looking for your helmet or any badges/ribbons
@brainflash1
3 ай бұрын
@@brendolbreadwar2671 Honey, unless the boots are literally submerged in mud, you can still tell if they are new or not.
@brendolbreadwar2671
3 ай бұрын
@@brainflash1 they where literally in trenches. how could they see their feet from above? if they where close enough to see their boots on top or the same level, it wouldn't matter if they are an officer or not, they would be shooting no matter what. the boots are by far the least noticeable feature when comparing ranks. even when viewing from the trenches, the least likely thing you are to see is their boots, considering the angle.
@mikeb6085
3 ай бұрын
@@brainflash1 Yeahhh they're not going to have the presence of mind to notice you're even wearing the big red boots while they're engaging a combatant. Even if they did, they're going to shoot you, officer or not.
@brainflash1
3 ай бұрын
@@mikeb6085 Alright children, time to learn our words of the day. The first word is "ambush" the second is "sniper".
It isn't just footwear. You only take equipment you know and trust into battle.
@danshakuimo
3 ай бұрын
That moment when you realize in the middle of a firefight that the new boots are wonky despite technically being the same size (you are probably gonna die now)
I also like lighting 3 candles
Can we please have a brief summary of the spanish/philipine-american war
I heard the story of "never lighting three cigs with a single match at night" from Italian WW1 and some WW2 veterans...their reasoning was "When you light the first the enemy wakes up, when you light the second he grabs the rifle and takes aim, and by the tird cigarette he's lined up the shot".
@KidarWolf
3 ай бұрын
How wonderfully pithy! I like their reasoning!
@DonPatrono
3 ай бұрын
@@KidarWolf it was an exemplification, obviously, but it was clear the idea of "keeping a match light for too long on the frontlines, invites attention from the enemy"...which, especially in the trenches, made a lot of sense
The fire department also has some wild superstitions. One (that always got me) is that you never wash your bunker gear before or during your shift. If you do wash your gear, expect to get a call to a nasty structure fire & to get broiled (like a lobster) in your damp, half-dried gear. I can confirm this one with 100% accuracy.
@nomercyinc6783
3 ай бұрын
thats not a superstition thats literally lifesaving advice.
@JackalX111
3 ай бұрын
@nomercyinc6783 I apologize, guess I wasn't the clearest in my OP. The superstition is that "wet gear attracts fires". I was a rural fire fighter; so structure fires were few & far between; but when we did get a call, we would all look around to see whose gear was damp / clean (usually mine).
@GhostBear3067
Ай бұрын
Biggest one among all emergency services is never say the Q-word on shift.
@A_Cold_Winter9219
29 күн бұрын
@@GhostBear3067the dreaded q word…. Heaven forbid the new kid says it
Thank God I am a Catholic. The Rosary and the Sign of the Cross will save faithful
@cympimpin20
3 ай бұрын
Well no, not exactly. Jesus will save the faithful. Trinkets and symbols might remind you of Him, but they don't do any saving on their own.
@ClickClack_Bam
3 ай бұрын
@@cympimpin20It's physically & literally a holy symbol to make the sign of the cross. You do so in the name of Jesus. Your post is lunacy.
don't eat the mre charms. it will rain
@ClickClack_Bam
3 ай бұрын
The guys I work with have said they won't eat them. They said you'll die in battle when you curse yourself to the opposite of 'charmed'.
@DJ-iu5bb
3 ай бұрын
Generation Kill 😂
@matthewjay660
3 ай бұрын
The raspberry ones make the rain 🌧️.
@GhostBear3067
Ай бұрын
I think newer MREs no longer even have charms because of that.
0:03 I know that not everything is a video game reference but I have a feeling that this has gotta be a reference to Swift's death in Black Ops 1
The first one made me "PUT THOSE GRIPPERS AWAY"
Yes my daily dose of Simple History as prescribed lol right on time😂😂🎉🎉 Perfect upload!
You should talk about "the dai hong dan incident". Where in 2007, a north Korean cargo ship got hijacked by Somalian pirates. And a US warship came to the rescue after hearing their distress call. Fortunately, the NK sailors took the ship back after killing 2 of the baddies, and capturing 5 more. 3 of the sailors needed medical treatment, where US Navy medical personnel helped them. When the news spread around NK, they made a VERY RARE statement, PRAISING the US navy for answering the distress call for the their sailors. Worth talking about it. I'mma keep posting this comment until I get Simple History's attention! 😅
@nomercyinc6783
3 ай бұрын
that isnt a significant event. nothing from north korea matters or is important.
you should make a history video about the three Brazilian Heroes Arlindo Lúcio da Silva, Geraldo Baeta da Cruz, and Geraldo Rodrigues de Souza, Pinned by Sabaton In 1945 in Montese, Italy, a bloody battle ensued between Brazilian troops and the Germans they bravely fought until they ran out of ammunition and engaged in close combat with their bayonets. They were immediately shot dead and the Germans buried them and placed a cross with the inscription “Drei Brasilianischen Helden” (Three Brazilian Heroes) on their grave
@xAtonement101x
3 ай бұрын
Scriptwriter here…. that video will come at some point (I’ve already written it) 😀
@GhostBear3067
Ай бұрын
@@xAtonement101xget ready for the flood of Brazilian commenters when you do post it.
I have heard the 3 smokes with 1 match.
I hoped for mentioning Wojtek the bear
@GhostBear3067
Ай бұрын
Well he would not fit the theme as he was not a mascot he was an enlisted soldier of the Polish Army, and that is CORPORAL Wojtek to you.
Excellent as usual!
Simpson and his Donkey want a word about their lack of involvement in this topic 😅😅😅
Glanced and thought title said "Super Soldier Syrums that'll save your life" and got excited for a second
@ZackShark1
3 ай бұрын
Stroke
Poland had a military bear called Wojtek in WW2. To pay for his food he was enlisted as a soldier.
“I cut my teeth in the trenches of the Somme, you larped your Santa Claus butt through Vietnam!” JRR Tolkien Stevie Wonder: Very Superstitious, wash your face and hands.
@leehyun6513
3 ай бұрын
ERB reference eh?
@cheezits_christ
3 ай бұрын
@@leehyun6513 "eh?" 🦫🏒🍁
@doggydude2668
3 ай бұрын
i never understood that quote
@leehyun6513
3 ай бұрын
@@cheezits_christ Not in the Canada kind btw
@leehyun6513
3 ай бұрын
@@doggydude2668 Epic Rap Battle of History reference mate
Great video!
German soldier used "Signal" magazines for luck.
Love the BF1 themes in the background.
Don’t eat the Charms…
@chemistryofquestionablequa6252
3 ай бұрын
Not hard, they suck anyway.
@jaxofdeth1
3 ай бұрын
We weren't even allowed to bring charms into the truck
@nomercyinc6783
3 ай бұрын
never even got charms. we always got m&ms and skittles. not once charms. in over a decade
Used to refuse "third light" while hanging around 'smoker's corner' at school.
Best animal mascot was that bear that served with the polish artillery.
I'm interested on the apricots, seems so out of left field
"Superstition is born of ignorance and fear, and thrives the most when reason is asleep." - Zarathushtra
0:05 swift. . .
@cadetcrockett2276
3 ай бұрын
I’m not the only one who immediately thought back to that lol
2:48 as an orthodox, I can confirm
The swastika was also a good luck talisman of the native americans, It is a Navajo symbol for good luck, also translated to "whirling log".
Thanks as always Simple History. This was an interesting video about superstitions of luck, kudos.
I see you Captain Nixon lol
@matthewjay660
3 ай бұрын
"I'm looking for Major Winters."
One friend told that her grandfather, who was a “Poilu” (French WWI soldier), survived an assault during the Verdun Battle, as his Virgin Mary Medal stopped the bullet that certainly should have killed him.
I hate how much detail you went in on the one shoot of the foot 😂
I bet Hitler saw the swastika being worn by Indian or British soldiers when he was fighting in WW1, and used that as the inspiration for the flag.
@drewf41
3 ай бұрын
I had always heard he got the idea from Roman symbolism, in an attempt show longevity of the "pure race".
Phone thing about keeping good luck charms makes a lot of sense and if my grandfather watch this well he probably would have been telling you the story about how the first time when you fixed the vehicle when he was in the service he kept one of the nuts in that vehicle and that not is still in my family's possession
While it surely was only in the movie and the book it was based on, it's commonly assumed that right before Battle of Grunwald in 1410, both sides claimed that God would help His loyal subjects, with both King Jagiełło and Grandmaster von Jungingen saying exactly the same words. Nowadays this is mostly used in memes and jokes, with God replying to them that he doesn't want to be involved in it.
5:18 Out of all the symbols they could’ve used, they chose the one that aged poorly 20 years later.
Simple History can you do a video on the War of 1812.
Don't eat the Charms candy. It will rain.....too much
They had the power of plot armor and God on their side.
The bit about a pair of dice blessed by a priest had me chuckling like mad
I hope the crewmen on the dreadnought checked the barrels often
I thought it was a negligent absence to not include rosaries in the protective talismans section, but was then pleasantly surprised and intrigued to see that Catholic/Christian superstitions actually got their own mini-section!
Avoiding brand new boots. I have heard of similar superstitious ritual among some pro-baseball pitchers. Some does not wash their hands after winning the game; they thought it serves not to lose their luck.
8:01 To add to that one. If you ever put apricots on a tank the crew will kill you. When my dad was in basic training someone put apricots on the generals tank. That general made the entire tank unit do push ups for 6 hours straight. When you passed out you got an IV drip or water and went back to doing push-ups.
please do a video on these (this is a copy and paste list for a few channels) history of south Russia (just above caucuses) how Mongolia helped Russia in ww2 and cold war, greek life under rome, Mongolia life under china, and later in ww2/cold war and mabey a little on modern units and tactics/evaluation of loadouts of troops (from different jobs (and other branches) like the 82 snd 101 airborne units or infantry tank units, (or when tanks were assigned a infantry unit like i think earlier war Russia then all tanks were formed into there own units wich meant the infantry no longer knew the true strength of there own tanks but alowed tank units to fight more efficiently) the evaluation of tank doctrine of countries evaluation of tanks/armored vehicles of different countries evaluation of aircraft types of different countries, different between navil and army/air force fighters logistics units of the axes and allied powers in ww2 ww1 estern front tactics Russian Civil war tactics and strategies navil ship cross sections (all the rooms and how it all works) evaluation of types of ships or evaluation of navil warfare (or just dedectsded videos on ww1 and ww2 navil doctrine as theres stuff out there on other times of history) air craft carrier strike group formations exsamples (from different countries) ancient persan ships, ancient veneti ships (gauls that fought ceaser) ships used by genoa and the vernesain republic the vernesain republic government all sailing ships, (i know theres many on yt but some contradict each other and i think theres more left out) ancient macenean greek and trojan troops 2b9 vasilyok morter tactics used so far in the Ukraine war, better for squads to be 2 teams of 5 or 3 teams of 3, and probably the easiest, better to keep troops well feed or starved like an animal how dose age effect comsnders eg napoleon got older so took less risks, ancient urban warfare ww2 tactics in Asia, tactics in the Chinese age of warlords, (and Chinese civil war) tactics in the ruso jap war cold war navil tactics, Korean war tactics, strange tactics or unque battles from the American war of independence and America civil how were 17th centry sailing ships build comands given on sailing ships (like ease the sheets and get ready to chine, or slack n beases, basically things you hear movie capitns say) why did the nazis never return (or a video on best occupations) why did the Japanese empire fall, dont just say "America" like things like how there army and navy argued alot alot more on the Polynesians and māori, but please learn pronounceations if you do this
@streitrat
3 ай бұрын
So...tanks!
@theromanorder
3 ай бұрын
@@streitrat lol, alot More then that lol
0:41 during my time at the auxiliaries, our sergeant scolded us for wearing new boots and to be honest I myself found it hard to patrol or move in difficult terrains using new boots
0:03 *Mason on crack looking at Victor Resnovsno with red beating eyes*
0:06 Rest in peace swift
nice, time to absorve Superstitions i never had before into things i'll never experience
Nice black ops reference 0:04
Very good job dudes!! Congratulations 996.6% yo. I also like lighting 3 candles!
6:40 🙈🙈🙈🙈 I wonder what Jacko's duties involved 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
USMC vet here. NEVER and I MEAN NEVER eat the Charms out of an MRE.
do a video about weapons we think are new but are decades old
The Germans really said “if we can’t beat their symbol then just take their symbol”
I believe the cover image is a reference to George Vinall. A British World War I Soldier whose life was saved by the Bible he was carrying.
I like trench foot
5:48 nooooo wake island rail
Master Sun Tzu warned against believing in superstitions in the Art of War.
Hey can you make a video of the gun truck of vietnam war please and thank you
😂i wonder who looked inside the barrel before each firing for the kitty
I believe in ww2 a polish artillery unit had a pet beat named wojac I think. I haven't regoogled when making this
In Hinduism, the symbol of swastika is considerd auspicious
United We Stand
Remember this, Germany wanted the swastika to strengthen their luck
Missed on the Charms candy in MREs
I wish you could dress him up as “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair
I have a superstition about having my foot sweeped by a broom.
@commonsense571
3 ай бұрын
I never heard that one.. where’s it from?
Also the History Ancient Roman Military, reusing a number or a Standard of the Fallen Legion is considered a curse that recruits believed were going to share the same fate like famous 14th Legion
I can get in trouble for leaving a comment but there was a cat named unsinkable sam that was found in the wreck of the Bismarck by a British ship,then that ship sunk and another hence the nickname,unsinkable sam,also he survived all of them may I add
6:49 Polish Soldier Bear Wojtek 🐻🐻🐻: *_"AM I A JOKE TO YOU?!??"_* 🙄
I like the COD Black Ops reference in the beginning
Those damn charms
Introducing the Japanese Hiroshi Funasaka,He is immortal
Years of watching movies have convinced me that pictures of loved ones are the exact opposite of a protective charm, it's a death magnet.
never eat charms, only skittles
The real myth of the third match light : light it ,sight it , shoot it !!!! ....you see the match being lighted , then you sight your target , then you kill your target , henceforth that's why you dont except the third light .
@ferretyluv
3 ай бұрын
*accept
@andrewbull3537
3 ай бұрын
@@ferretyluv ,yes your correct, thanks
@ferretyluv
3 ай бұрын
@@andrewbull3537 *you’re