Scottish Black Watch (World War I)

“Ladies from Hell”
In the history of the British Armed Forces, there have been many Regiments whose glory and fame was forged on battlefields across the world. However, there is a unit whose devotion to duty and gallantry earned it the honour to be ranked among Britain's finest. These are the men of the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland. This is the unit of Scottish Highlanders, also known as the Black Watch.

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Credit:
Created by Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London)
Script: Dejan Milivojevic
Narrator:

Bryan 'Lazlo' Beauregard

[Simplehistory]

The Germans called these Scottish soldiers “Die Damen aus der Hölle, ” the "Ladies from Hell" in reference to kilts they wore and their bravery in combat.

[MaccaBax]

My grandpa from Glasgow was a teenage soldier in the black watch, 5th Highland light infantry. He fought in the battle of the Somme and the battle of Ypres. I had chills watching this knowing more about what he must have gone through, just wish I could have met him.😔 He survived the war ranking as a regimental sergeant major, and died later as an old man long before I was born. So proud of my Scottish heritage and what he went through to give us our freedoms we have today.

[Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache]

You may think you're cool if you did everything these guys did. But let me ask you, could you do everything they did _without pants?_

[Warspite-]

Black Watch (1739-2006) battle honours:

- Guadaloupe 1759, Martinique 1762, Havannah, North America 1763–64, Peninsula War, Waterloo 1815, Mysore, Busaco, Salamanca, South Africa 1846–47, Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt 1882 '84, Kirbekan, Nile 1884–85, Paardeberg, South Africa 1899–1902 (Boer War)

- World War 1: Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914 '18, Aisne 1914, La Bassée 1914, Ypres 1914 '17 '18, Langemarck 1914, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, Givenchy 1914, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers, Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Arras 1917 '18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917 '18, Arleux, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 '18, St Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Lys, Estaires, Messines 1918, Hazebrouck, Kemmel, Béthune, Scherpenberg, Soissonnais-Ourcq, Tardenois, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line 1918, Épéhy, St Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Courtrai, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914–18, Doiran 1917, Macedonia 1915–18, Egypt 1916, Gaza, Jerusalem, Tell'Asur, Megiddo, Sharon, Damascus, Palestine 1917–18, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1915–17

- World War 2: Defence of Arras, Ypres-Comines Canal, Dunkirk 1940, Somme 1940, St. Valery-en-Caux, Saar, Breville, Odon, Fontenay le Pesnil, Defence of Rauray, Normandy 1944, Caen, Falaise, Falaise Road, La Vie Crossing, Le Havre, Lower Maas, Venlo Pocket, Ourthe, Rhineland, Reichswald, Goch, Rhine 1945, North-West Europe 1940 '44–45, Barkasan, British Somaliland 1940, Tobruk 1941, Tobruk Sortie, El Alamein, Advance on Tripoli, Medenine, Zemlet el Lebene, Mareth, Akarit, Wadi Akarit East, Djebel Roumana, Medjez Plain, Si Mediene, Tunis, North Africa 1941–43, Landing in Sicily, Vizzini, Sferro, Gerbini, Adrano, Sferro Hills, Sicily 1943, Cassino II, Liri Valley, Advance to Florence, Monte Scalari, Casa Fortis, Rimini Line, Casa Fabbri Ridge, Savio Bridgehead, Italy 1944–45, Athens, Greece 1944–45, Crete, Heraklion, Middle East 1941, Burma 1944

- Post War: Korea 1952–53; Al Basrah, Iraq 2003; Second Battle of Fallujah, Iraq 2004

The Black Watch, although no longer a regiment, still exists today as the 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (the Black Watch) and did two tours of Afghanistan in 2009 and 2011.

[michaelhowell]

That horse at 1:15 has some good moves. It's moon walking there and a lot of people can't even do it.

[AndrewPonti]

Absolute chills watching this. As an American, I've always been fascinated with Scotland and the Scots in general, especially their fearsome fighting forces like the Black Watch. I was over the moon to visit back in 2009 both Edinburgh and the Highlands and meet so many amazing people in that proud country. Some of the nicest people in the world I've met yet.

[lib]

The Canadian Black Watch also fought valiantly in both world wars and is deserving of recognition. To this day they are perpetuated by a reserve infantry unit based in Montreal.

[Deadspud]

I was born and raised in England, but Scots/Irish heritage. My Great Uncle was in the Black Watch and was killed at Dunkirk. We never knew what happened to his body, until we stumbled upon his grave in Northern France 15 years ago. The bravery of all these soldiers can never be forgotten.

[Cameraobsura]

One of my favorite units, thank you for covering them!!

[rtgMTB]

My great uncle is Lieutenant Colonel Fred Beattie of the 1st Black Watch, he was personal body guard of Queen Elizabeth II and an all round gent.

[goldenglorsty]

Nice to see some strait up history of famous units, please make more they are quite simple but very enjoyable from it's own unique simple perspective

[officialdratsie]

“Give ‘em steel boys! Give ‘em steel!”
- Unknown Scottish Soldier, 1805

[digitalbrix]

My great grandfather was in this unit before immigrating to the states, Thank You for giving these brave men a stage on which people can be educated about them! Truly the bravest and highest class of men!

[Blama_]

Thanks for making this video! It makes me even more proud to be scottish

[oliversherman]

I'm a Brit who lives in Sotogrande, southern Spain which is about 20 minutes away from Gibraltar. In Gibraltar there's a reenactment group which parades through main street dressed in Black Watch uniforms (red coats, kilts, fur skin hat and brown bess muskets)

[jacobprice]

When you’re a newly arrived German conscript and the eerily beautiful music of the pipes starts playing Johnny Cope on a misty morning.

[cloaker]

No matter what anyone says despite them not being as good as they use to be the Blackwatch has to be one of the greatest regiments to ever live.

[mktrafton]

My grandmother had two step-uncles from Glasgow, Scotland that served in WW1. I believe one served in the Black Watch while the other served in the Scots Guards.

[walovinci]

I got a request for a video. 2ENG during the Korean War. Engineers along with an Artillery Unit held the line near the 38th Parallel while everyone else had to retreat. They got surrounded and held out for 4 days before they had to burn the colors and flee into the jungle. Same 2E that earned "Devil Dog" status with the Marines in WW1. Wish they get more recognition.

[Eorel]

The Black Watch is so Famouse that they are used in a Lot of Science Fiction as Well. They are used in Battletech for Example and where so Dedicated to Duty and Honor that they couldnt even be Killed Completly by Useing Nukes against them. They are a Legendary Regiment both in Real Life and in Fiction.