Jack Weber Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 I've been downloading this for almost a month.It's an old,but very in depth dissertation of the 1st World War. I've always looked at WW1 as the beginning of a much larger conflict in Europe.It's really a culmination of hostilities going back at least 60 years previous.It was the last truly "Imperial War" as England,Russia,and,Germany were still ruled by Kings and royal families... So...What I'll do is put up the first segment (each segment is about 40 minutes long),let the people interested watch and comment,and then,go to the next segment... By the way,this whole series is full of great footage... Web Of Alliances Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Weber Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogOnPorch Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 A great series...with rare footage. Got to love how some Allied units went into battle in August 1914 in Napoleonic era colours. Nery is my favorite battle from that campaign. The RHA holding off entire divisions until picked-off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Weber Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 A great series...with rare footage. Got to love how some Allied units went into battle in August 1914 in Napoleonic era colours. Nery is my favorite battle from that campaign. The RHA holding off entire divisions until picked-off. Yes..It was a completely different era... I love the German army Pickelhaube helmets that protected nothing!!They were made of hardened pressed leather!!But they look awesome.Far better than the "Coal Scuttle" helmet that came along in '16... I've been looking to puchase one,but I can't find one (even a replica) from a Pomeranian division(they all were slightly different with different regional insignia),only Prussian divisions.... As for early battles,I've always been intrigued by the Eastern Front more than the Western Front... Tannenburg for one and the Massurian Lakes...Von Hindenburg and Ludendorf at their tactical best...Undermanned against a much larger Russian force,and simply battered them back with superior open field tactics... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogOnPorch Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Yes..It was a completely different era... I love the German army Pickelhaube helmets that protected nothing!!They were made of hardened pressed leather!!But they look awesome.Far better than the "Coal Scuttle" helmet that came along in '16... I've been looking to puchase one,but I can't find one (even a replica) from a Pomeranian division(they all were slightly different with different regional insignia),only Prussian divisions.... Yes the WW1 German coal scuttle was somewhat different than its WW2 counterpart. Deeper rim-lips and the two vent lugs. If you could get one with the optional stirnpanzer eye-shield...that would be a bonus. As for early battles,I've always been intrigued by the Eastern Front more than the Western Front... Tannenburg for one and the Massurian Lakes...Von Hindenburg and Ludendorf at their tactical best...Undermanned against a much larger Russian force,and simply battered them back with superior open field tactics... Ever read 1914 by Solzhenitsyn? Great account...semi-fictional at times, of course...of the Tannenberg campaign. Most Russian generals were idiots...save for Brusilov and a few of the Civil War era guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogOnPorch Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 As well...ever see this version of All Quiet on the Western Front (with John-Boy Walton)? They did a good job re: accurate helmets and uniforms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Dancer Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 As well...ever see this version of All Quiet on the Western Front (with John-Boy Walton)? They did a good job re: accurate helmets and uniforms. ....and Ernest Borgnine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogOnPorch Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 ....and Ernest Borgnine? Roger that. He made a good Katczinsky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Weber Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 (edited) Yes the WW1 German coal scuttle was somewhat different than its WW2 counterpart. Deeper rim-lips and the two vent lugs. If you could get one with the optional stirnpanzer eye-shield...that would be a bonus. Ever read 1914 by Solzhenitsyn? Great account...semi-fictional at times, of course...of the Tannenberg campaign. Most Russian generals were idiots...save for Brusilov and a few of the Civil War era guys. I have not read that book... The corruption and flat out stupidity of the Russian generalship of that time is legendary.So is the ill-equipping of the Russian army from central command.If I'm not mistaken,some divisions of the Russian Army at Tannenburg had to resort to throwing rocks at the advancing Germans because they had run out of ammunition!!!The Russian trains that sent the army to the front came to an brupt halt because they had'nt thought that the guage between the rails,going into Germany,was smaller than in Russia!!! Nothing but a complete cluster... I think they had'nt perfected the stamping process for the coal scuttle in WW1.They almost seem slightly different from man to man... I could get a WW2 coal scuttle with the NAZI insgnia for far less than a WW1 Pickelhaube,but why would I want that?? I have always preferred the Pickelhaube simply because I think it looks better.They are far more ornate and the emblems on the front are all different based upon region.The helmets themselves are slightly different!!! For example...The Pickelhaube's from East or West Prussia are different from Hanover or Bremen.The emblem on the front is completely different and the helmets shape is slightly different... Edited March 10, 2011 by Jack Weber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonlight Graham Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Pretty good documentary. It's crazy to think how different ordinary people were back then, many still believing in the divine right of kings and in the holy do-no-wrongs of the church. Also fascinating to be reminded how horrible conditions were for many workers under laissez-faire capitalism back then, and how Socialism/Communism and Fascism were a reaction to this. Interesting to hear the quotes from the leaders of the time, whom predicted the future and the great war. For those that bemoan current US hegemony, is a multi-polar world any better an alternative? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Weber Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Pretty good documentary. It's crazy to think how different ordinary people were back then, many still believing in the divine right of kings and in the holy do-no-wrongs of the church. Also fascinating to be reminded how horrible conditions were for many workers under laissez-faire capitalism back then, and how Socialism/Communism and Fascism were a reaction to this. Interesting to hear the quotes from the leaders of the time, whom predicted the future and the great war. For those that bemoan current US hegemony, is a multi-polar world any better an alternative? That's why I have always felt that WW1 was just the beginning of a much larger conflict culminating with WW2... The inconclusive nature of the end of WW1,coupled with the punishment(not peace) Treaty of Versailles,and everything that flowed out of that,lead to WW2.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogOnPorch Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 That's very interesting re: the different Pickelhaubes. Some had regimental numbers and such on them, as well. The officers' Pickelhaube was pretty garish looking...but I'm sure it'd be a prize today. Then there's the unique Ulan helmet used by the German cavalry in 1914. I bet they're rare. Helmets/caps (or lack-there-of) sure reflected the culture they came from...though many WW1 allies eventually adopted the French Adrian helmet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 ...The inconclusive nature of the end of WW1,coupled with the punishment(not peace) Treaty of Versailles,and everything that flowed out of that,lead to WW2.... Me thinks China and The Philippines would not agree with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogOnPorch Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 I have not read that book... Great read. It's the story of the one man in the Russian empire who knew the situation in East Prussia/Poland...Samsanov's aide who made several rides inbetween the 1st and 2nd Armies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogOnPorch Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Me thinks China and The Philippines would not agree with that. Yes...The Pacific War and all that CBI stuff were a seperate ball of rice altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonlight Graham Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Was their ever a practical purpose for the spike on top of the Pickelhaube? Was it ever designed/used as a weapon, or simply for ornamental purposes? I can probably see why they got rid of it during WWI, i wouldn't want to be walking around with a big vertical spike on my helmet while walking around in the trenches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogOnPorch Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 (edited) Was their ever a practical purpose for the spike on top of the Pickelhaube? Was it ever designed/used as a weapon, or simply for ornamental purposes? I can probably see why they got rid of it during WWI, i wouldn't want to be walking around with a big vertical spike on my helmet while walking around in the trenches. It was a medieval hold-over from the days of plumes and such. The Pickelhaube as seen during WW1 was designed back in the 1840s. The coal skuttle is also a medieval design...even further back if you take its Corinthian lines into account. Edited March 10, 2011 by DogOnPorch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Weber Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Was their ever a practical purpose for the spike on top of the Pickelhaube? Was it ever designed/used as a weapon, or simply for ornamental purposes? I can probably see why they got rid of it during WWI, i wouldn't want to be walking around with a big vertical spike on my helmet while walking around in the trenches. Part of it is ornate... If you watch the footage of WW1,you'll see that the German helmets are covered in battle.The reason is that under that cover is the very ornate insignias and emblems of the divisions... I've heared that the spike on top is for practical purposes too...The Pickelhaube goes back to Prussian militarism... For example,if it was a hot day,and you were a soldier sitting in a trench...You could just jam the spike into the dirt and leave it there until it was time for battle!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Weber Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 (edited) For those interested in Pickelhaubes,check this out!!! http://www.raisonsbrassband.com/medieval-helmets-prussian-pickelhaube-helmet-c-15_16_99.html There's another site called Kaiserbunker.com that actually goes into a very nice history of the helmet from pre-Bismarck to the end of the Pickelhaube in 1916... I keep trying to link to it,buut it keeps coming up with some hot blonde smiling at me.. Edited March 10, 2011 by Jack Weber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogOnPorch Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 The Brodie also has medieval roots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Weber Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 The Brodie also has medieval roots. My Grandfather kept his Brodie helmet... I wish I had it... I have his medals but I dont't have his helmet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogOnPorch Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 (edited) My Grandfather kept his Brodie helmet... I wish I had it... I have his medals but I dont't have his helmet... I have one of my uncles medals, too...as I think I've mentioned. WW2, though. RE: helmet... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kettle_hat Edited March 10, 2011 by DogOnPorch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scouterjim Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 As a history major in college, and now just a history buff, all I can say is "Thank you!" That is a great series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogOnPorch Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 As a history major in college, and now just a history buff, all I can say is "Thank you!" That is a great series. Yes...there's a rich collection of actual history buffs here at MLW...very nice to see. Jack is also very much up on US Civil War knowledge which is a treat amongst a pack o' Canadians. Re: WW1...anyone here read any of Lyn MacDonald's books? They Called It Passchendaele...The Roses of No Man's Land...etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyeball Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 That's why I have always felt that WW1 was just the beginning of a much larger conflict culminating with WW2... The inconclusive nature of the end of WW1,coupled with the punishment(not peace) Treaty of Versailles,and everything that flowed out of that,lead to WW2.... ...which lead to where we are today... Einstein was right about insanity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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