WW1 Defense in Depth - Trench Tactic (Cross Section)

Masterminded in the latter half of World War I, the German trench strategy called Defence in Depth proved to be a much more formidable and sustainable system than the earlier 'hold the front line even if it creates rivers of blood' tactic.

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

Chris Kane

[brainflash]

Its honestly amazing that anyone made it out of the Western Front alive.

[IntrepidMilo]

I have always been fascinated by trench warfare.

[WolfsongFlyHalfFullHeart]

Captain darling:So blackadder would you like to know our plan for the front?
Blackadder so is this where we slowly walk towards the enemy and get mowed down?
Captain darling:How could you know that blackadder that’s classified information!
Blackadder:it’s the last plan we used…and the sixteen times used before

[kjaubrey]

He fell in October 1918, on a day that was so quiet and still on the whole front, that the army report confined itself to the single sentence: All quiet on the Western Front. He had fallen forward and lay on the earth as though sleeping. Turning him over one saw that he could not have suffered long; his face had an expression of calm, as though almost glad the end had come.

[HeisenbergFam]

Its wild to see Raid Shadow Legends ads still being prevalent across YT 3-4 years later

[Jaakkogc]

I remember a quote from Ernst Jünger "Storm of Steel" where he said that in 1916-17 German High Command limited to a few meters the depth of bunkers because they were getting so deep that in some occasions soldiers didn't notice the enemy attack. Also described how officers used to decorate their rooms with wallpaper and civilian forniture.

[lukaswilhelm]

Reminds me back to that young Indiana Jones episode when they assault German trenches that immediately push by huge German counter attack with gas attack, flamethrower and cavalry charge.

[YubertTubert]

These cross section videos are definitely my favorite thing from this channel right now. Please keep doing them! :)

[corymorimacori]

“I cut my teeth in the trenches if the Somme, you larped your Santa Claus butt to Vietnam!” JRR Tolkien

[Darth_Traitorous]

Is that why the demands were so unrealistic in the armistice, because of how many casualties they were given because of this tactic.

[abdullahrizwan]

Many people talk about how good the German defences were in WW1, however, can you make a video covering the other side? Allied tactics during the Hundred days offensive would make an interesting video. It will be cool to see what actually broke such impressive defences.

[napoleonibonaparte]

WW1, a classical siege, on a national level.

[dqy]

Recently I am reading <Lossberg's War: The World War I Memoirs of a German Chief of Staff>, and this video gives me a brief look upon the German defense system that time. Inside the book, the same things just happened again and again: Long time preliminary bombardment → Forward posts got destroyed → Enemy pushed forward → Launch a hasty counterattack → Failed? → Then give them a deliberate attack! → Enemy was pushed back → Depleted divisions were relieved by fresh ones → Another offensive A BLOODY

[dev-pjvi]

Awesome and informative video, thank you for posting it.
Trench warfare is horribly fascinating even if it was not the majority of how fighting in WW1 was done. This idea of elastic defense in it's day was absolute brilliance just like many of the ideas created by the Prussian and German military commands. The understanding that firepower, not manpower, should be the focus is still critical war knowledge to this day.

I love that you also explained where this idea stemmed from. It wasn't that they were just brilliant from the start or because of they're race as the Nazis would later claim. These men came up with elastic defense as a desperate idea to mitigate the appalling death rates they were experiencing. Germany and Prussia have always been decisive and inspirational militarily because they have had to be. They are surrounded on all sides by countries who have been at war with them at some point and unlike many of they're counterparts, they do not have the manpower or resources to not be brilliant on the battlefield.

[ReallyDebbieeee]

perfect time to watch this video learning about this exact topic in

[nuguns]

*modern Russian soldier frantically taking notes*

[russianhorde]

Suggestion: bring up text when you start your sentence rather than at the end. That allows us to read as you speak rather than focus on one over the other. Like the four doctrine moment.

[ivandanilov]

Besides world war ll, world war l has to be the most underrated modern warfare conflicts of the 20th century. It was the peak of all military branches combined and technology. For the style of warfare was brutal, it costed more then enough dead on all sides. We won't ever see that again in such a scale. Chilling just imagining reliving that moment

[finaladvance]

Interestingly, a lot of “the Great War western front” players have taken on the defence in depth mindset for their play throughs.

[kazaragi]

I am a huge fan of your channel thank you for all the interesting content, I've honestly learned more from your channel than school