Could You Survive as a German Soldier in World War One?

We hope you enjoyed this second episode of our 'Could You Survive' WW1 special! If you've enjoyed these videos, please do like and comment below where you'd want Luke to travel to next (as well as what time period) 👇

As a German, watching this makes my stomach churn. I was born in the late 1970s and I recall my grandfather who fought in WW2 telling me that war was "absolutely filthy". He told me to ignore the pomp and ceremony and to understand that the reality for the fighting men on a day to day basis was much different. Between the nightmarish noise of bombs, gunfire and screaming, you see friends and comrades fall all around you. "Young men dying in muddy blood pools screaming for their mothers" asking you to help them, but you cant, you must step over them or duck behind them for cover. No one ever wins a war, particularly not those poor souls that pay the ultimate price. War is hell on earth but thank you for making this documentary.

The short answer is yes, I would survive and then go on to have a lifelong passion for art and politics.

“We have so much to say, and we shall never say it.” - Erich Maria Remarque, Author of All Quiet on the Western Front and German veteran of the First World War.

I very much doubt it.

I have to admit it that the German M16 helmet had the best look in the WW1, WW2 and beyond. That silhouette is timeless.

I really liked how both these dudes just straight up nerded out and gave an excellent presentation of the German side in the short amount of time they had. Honestly did not get bored of this.

"I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow." ― Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front

I did NOT want this to end..! One of the if not the greatest production from History Hit!! Bravo👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

A little fun fact about the German language: The Machine Gun 08 had a later version, the 08/15 (you get the numbers from the year it was first introduced and the year the modification was introduced). And this gun was known (at least in the propaganda, I have no idea about how it was perceived by its soldiers) as so reliable that it entered language. Even today, many germans use the phrase "etwas ist null-acht-fünfzehn" ("something is zero-eight-fifteen") to describe something that is very common.

My great grandad was a sharp shooter in the Lancashire fusiliers at Ypres. One of the stories passed down to me was how he shot a German officer who regularly popped his head up above the enemy trenches to survey the British lines. I've always wondered who that German was and how his death impacted his family.

My grandfather did. He served as a medic in the Kaiser's army. He was briefly called by up in WWII but was injured when a troop train was strafed and sat out the rest of the war. My uncles served in WWII on the Russian front. One was killed when he was hit by artillery in 7/41; the other survived the entire war but had a terrible case of PTSD.

"Erbswurst" is no preserved meat. It's soup concentrate compressed into a sausage ("Wurst") like shape, made mainly out of peas (German "Erbsen" or "Erbs" for short). Dissolved in hot water it makes pea soup. You can buy it in supermarkets up to this day in Germany. Edit: Seems Knorr stopped production of the Erbswurst in 2018 due to lack of demand. I used to buy these for camping trips.

My grandpa survived at the western front. He lost a leg and his body was full of shrapnel pieces. He said he only survived because a big guy was giving him blood a few times.

Well, they are worse fates - trying to survive in WWI Russian Army, or for pro players, trying to survive in Italian Army under command of Luigi Cadrona 😅

That final segment was very sobering. Listening to that German soldier's journal, and the photographs of the common EMs in the German army had a poignancy. Bravo, History Hit!

I've had the privilege of handling a tankgewehr 1918. I've handled a lot of firearms so I understand weight, but that thing is just something else. It felt like hefting a railroad sleeper

My grandpa had a friend at his summer house (Sweden) An elderly man that still chopped his own wood, being over 90 years of age. He was knowned as a retired sailor, and had tattoos. He actually worked on ships with sails! Met him as a kid in the late 80´s. He volunteered for the German army in ww1 (back then, in Northern Europe the Germanic sphere was much like the influence the Anglosphere have today) I asked him about it. He just looked at me, and told me to read up on it.

Bravo lads, finally a fair depiction of the German army for the sake of enlightenment ❤

This is one of my favorite series you have developed. Love the channel and keep up the great work!!