WW1 and Self-Inflicted Wounds

An overview of self-inflicted wounds during WW1.

Movies/Video Games Featured:

A Very Long Engagement 2004
Sand Castle 2017
Blackadder 1989
Downton Abbey 2010
King and Country 1964
Paths of Glory 1957
The Trench 1999
Captain Conan 1996
The Simpsons 1989

#history #ww1 #army

[toughspitfire]

To understand how bad the French military courts were, one of France's most famous soldiers in WW1 was almost executed for desertion. In truth he had actually snuck for hours into no mans land to save a wounded French Officer, however the French court was so rushed and biased they didn't bother to find the officer to confirm his story, and with no other witnesses he was sentenced to death. Dude was only hours away from the post when a message was delivered from the wounded officer to confirm his story and halt the execution.

[SeanDahle]

Horrible what these soldiers went through 😔

[waynes]

My great grandad was a runner in thre Somme. One quiet day he heard a gun shot and man sream around the corner in the trench. After turning the corner he saw a fellow soilder holding his foot. My grandad immediately started cleaning the guy's rifle for him before an officer arrived. The guy said he wouldn't have done it if he know it hurt so much.

My great grandad hated the upper class higher ranks. They sat deep in the ground and drank wiskey whilst playing cards. He'd run back from the front line and they would say "tell him to wait". This cost his fellow soilders lives.

[oreolaw]

PTSD is one thing I wish no one would have to suffer through any more from my experience at can be crippling and stop you from living properly for several years of your life . and what is really horrific is that so many people had to go through similar experiences to what I had without any proper medical assistance

[DialTransmition]

This isn't as brutal as what's talked about in this video, but in my country military service is mandatory and many people find ways to avoid it, including self harm. I have a friend who right after he got into the army, which was during winter, he exposed his fingers and hands to the cold as often as he could resulting in him getting frostbite. It worked as he got discharged only a few weeks later, but the trade off was that he now lost the feeling in his fingertips probably due to nerve damage

[darthtitteous]

I love that you included Blackadder. It’s often theorised that Baldrick’s final cunning plan was to get a few nasty splinters from the ladder so that the boys wouldn’t be able to hold a rifle, and therefore wouldn’t be able to go over the top.

[wspencerwatkins]

representation of psychological issues related to war is a gold mine, your weapons videos are great too but I’d love to see more like this. Sky’s the limit

[davidrobinson]

My Grandfather served as part of the British Army in WW1, He was wounded twice and finally sent home after being gassed but he did survive, in his opinion the most traumatic thing he did was to be part of a Firing Squad although if I remember right it wasn't called that, (but it was a Scotts Regiment) they were shot for cowardice or I think it was called lack of moral fibre or similar, I know they tried refusing the duty but were left in no doubt as to what would happen if they did, according to my Grandfather this happened in the early war a lot more and as things progressed "Shell Shock" became a thing and was treated slightly more sympathetically, A tough subject to cover especially when looked at through our modern sensibilities looking at things the horrors of whichwe can only imagine. Well Done JJ.

[Turnip]

Thank you for talking about these kind of things with tact and respect. Covering a lot of parts of history that often gets overshadowed or forgotten. Keep it up

[janfg]

My great-grandfather was about to be drafted to fight for Germany at the last months of the war after he turned 18. He would cut himself on purpose while shaving, and then added dirt, mud and shaving cream to the wound. It succesfully created an infection which got him out until the war ended.

[adamsakauye]

I liked your note at the end about how PTSD affects everyone from all walks of life. It's simply what happens to use after we experience something "traumatic" and "stressful". It's as simple as that, and I'm glad you made sure to put that in there.

[fortis]

Wasn’t there a scene in 1993’s Stalingrad, where during the airfield evacuation, a German doctor ordered a soldier to be taken away after thinking his burns were self inflicted?

[waverly]

I just watched "The Guns of August" narrated by Fritz Weaver on you-tube. It covers the entire war. A group of clueless generals and politicians wiped out a whole generation of young men. The war didn't become a stalemate in the trenches until the "miracle of the Marne" when the German army with their modern weapons was stopped, and the Allies learned the Germans were not invincible.

[Bytional]

PTSD can happen after a long time, one of my father's coworker, injured by a grenade in the war, suddenly broken down after 7 years, killed himself after another 5 years.

[haggis]

I was in a combat environment for about two weeks. I know that two weeks is nothing... in the real world it is the blink of an eye. Time is different in combat. I'm in awe of any man who survived a month ... or 6 months... a year or more in combat. My grandfather somehow managed a little over 3 years in War 1 on the western front. One Uncle nearly a year in Europe during War 2. Another Uncle 3 years and 8 months in the Pacific theatre of War 2. My Dad a year in Korea. My wife's grandfather, over 4 years in the Pacific theatre of War during War 2. My father's friend - a non blood Uncle - who was 6 years in combat! 6 fucking years!
There are others that I know... the vast majority of whom spent far, far more than my wee 2 weeks.
I understand how a siw could be the best way out... I'd never judge a man who did that.
Wonderful video... thank you!
Like, comment, yada, yada, yada.... alright Johnny!

[Tony]

Thank you for these videos. For British soldiers the slang word for getting back home with a sufficient bad injury were called a Blighty.
Towards the end of war these happened less and less. I read about of group of gassed British soldiers were offered a ride to the French seaside but were tricked to go back to the front line for an upcoming offensive.

[bigblue]

In his autobiography, 'Adolf Hitler. My Part In His Downfall, ' the comedian Spike Milligan tells of an incident of a fellow soldier inflicting a wound on himself which happened when they were on a train heading to a port to shipped to fight in the desert. He decided to shoot himself and claim his gun had gone of accidentally. The problem was the man was carrying a submachine gun which was on full and he not only shot himself but several others as well.

Milligan himself suffered from PTSD which was caused after being pinned down while manning a forward observation post in Italy. He and the officer with him came under fire from an 88 mm gun and because of the speed and flat trajectory of the incoming shell they had no idea the round had been fired until it exploded. This caused him mental health problems for the rest of his life which resulted in him being sent to a mental institution on several occasion.

I did read of incidents which happened with US Army soldiers in Europe after D-Day who wore dentures. The US Army was in the habit of leaving units in the front line for long periods and sending replacements rather than pulling them out of the line for R and R. So soldiers with dentures would 'accidently' lose one of the plates which meant that because they could not eat standard rations they had to be pulled out of the frontline until they got replacements.

[ryanh]

I had this Uncle that served in a war way back when and I didn't find out until after his death that he had severe problems with alcohol related the combat that he saw. Now life just went on as usual and we just accepted that our uncle as much as we loved him was a drinker and just try to not be one It wasn't until years after his death we found out he was in the Battle of Okinawa and that is simply what you did in those days is just drink it away so you can get up and carry on the next day because they simply didn't understand that what they do know about PTSD.... He never talked about it ever just he was in the army during a war because of his age he very well could have been in WW 1 or 2 or Korea (he would have been older but it was possible). One of those things you just have no way of knowing or understanding fully like they did.

[tommythecat]

WWII was terrible but the soldiers believed in what they were doing, it had a meaning. WWI was senseless, millions of kids were thrown on battlefields over a conflict they didn't understand and couldn't possibly care about, they thought they were going to adventure, becoming men, instead they came back to a world that didn't know what to make of them, and lived lives of desperation.

[Taterisstig]

Hi! This is actually the main focus for my masters research as I look at the correlation between the decline of War Fervor and the increase of Non-suicidal Self Inflicted Wounds (NSSIW) in WWI, Vietnam and conflict in the Middle East post 9/11 in addition to contrasting the data to WWII, a more "favorable" war in the public eye. This is absolutely wonderful to bring to light and to see as a short snippet on YouTube! Its a very difficult topic to research due to the immense complexity of reporting including the increase of sympathetic feeling of officers and the belief that if one were to go so such extreme lengths to get out of war, they were a hazard to the men around them so often their compatriots would lie for them to help get out and keep the trenches more secure. Its an incredibly complicated topic but one that is so important!

Your research is very solid and the video is well written! Well Done!