Comments by "Winston Smith" (@kryts27) on "Armistice: The Bitter Endgame Of World War One | Armistice | Timeline" video.

  1. A bit tough on Haig. Everyone hates Haig, because it was his war strategy that condemned millions to death in 1916 and 1917, but Haig was an introverted conservative who appeared to be cold and calculating. In reality, Haig had allies in the highest echolons of the British Army, could recognize and support tactical innovators like John Monash, and did care about the sacrifice of the men under his command, but could find no way to express it fully. World War One was a new version of total war fought with a host of new types of weapons, that were not tactically understood and used appropriately until late in the war. Many generals failed at the task of preparing effective tactics for utelizing them in 1916 and 1917, as well as preparing reserves soldiers which had to slowly traverse no-mans land to a new front line under counter-attacking shellfire. Haig also did not get on with the British PM, David Lloyd George, who conveniently promoted a bit of anti-Haig sentiment after the war himself.
    1
  2. The mobile warfare on the Western Front in 1918 by the Entente allies, was pioneered by a relatively little known Australian general (at the time) Lt-Gen. John Monash. Ironically, a man with German-Jewish heritage.
    1
  3. It is not quite that simple. World War One brought a new political age; Totalitarianism, first in Russia in 1917, Italy in 1922 and Germany in 1933. We still live in the political age of Totalitarianism (China). The previous political age was revolutionary nationalism, exemplified by the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte. World War 1 (starting as a nationalistic Napoleonic style war) was a classic German geostrategic effort as a contested central European state bordered by two powerful traditionally hostile states; France and Russia, West and East. The German strategy was go for broke; grab enemy territory and settle for a humiliating peace and adding buffer territory (Alsace-Lorraine). This was still exemplified by the Kaiserschlacht (German offensive in 1918), was a typical "go for broke" geostrategical German tactic after the two front war was settled by the collapse of Russia (becoming the Soviet Union). This is further verified by the Blitzkrieg tactics in 1939 and 1940 (and the Franco-Prussian War), but that time under Totalitarianism (Nazism). Germany has always suffered this two fronts war thing. Can win a one front war (in 1939 and 1940), but not a two front land war that World War 1 began with and World War 2 ended with In 1918, Ludendorff's one front attack was too late. The Germans underestimated the attritional 3rd front forced on them in 3.5 years by the British; naval blockade.
    1