First World War Lectures/Presentations/Discussions on YouTube

[The Ibis]

As you most likely know, YouTube is loaded with videos of lectures and seminars discussing WWI topics. As I come across new ones that seem interesting, I'll post them here. Please feel free to do the same. Academic stuff only, please. No History Channel.

Also, I would ask that if you want to start a discussion about one of the videos, that you start a new thread in the appropriate area, rather than do so here. My intent for this thread is for it to serve as a repository.

Finally, I apologize in advance if I post a video that has already been linked on the forum previously.

So, without further ado:

Brownbag: "Russia and the Outbreak of the Great War," Bruce Menning (History). 9/9/2014

This one is really excellent and provides a glimpse into an article that was published this past summer entitled "Russian Military Intelligence, July 1914: What St. Petersburg Perceived and Why It Mattered." Its online here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hisn.12065/abstract. Here is the video:

[The Ibis]

Explaining the Outbreak of the First World War - Closing Conference Genève Histoire et Cité 2015 by Margaret MacMillan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWDJfraJWf0

Quote

Streamed live on May 16, 2015

Margaret MacMillan, Professor of International History, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford.

Professor MacMillan is former Provost of Trinity College and Professor of history at the University of Toronto and previously at Ryerson University. A leading expert on history and international relations, MacMillan is a commentator in the media.

One hundred years after the event there is still no agreement on how or why the war started. Explanations range from national rivalries to arms races, focus on policies such as alliances and arms races, or seek to assign responsibility to particular powers or individuals. This lecture will ask why the forces tending towards war were stronger than those for peace and whether the war could have been avoided.”

This lecture is part of the “Construire la paix” festival organised by the University of Geneva’s Maison de l’histoire in collaboration with the Graduate Institute and HES-SO Geneva.

Edited 21 February , 2017 by The Ibis

[Don]

Well done Ibis

I am watching them with great interest

Thank you for the link

Gerry

[The Ibis]

Why the First World War Still Matters: Reflections on the Centennial, 1914-2014 by William I Hitchcock and posted on the YouTube page for The Science Media Production Center at Cornell. Description of the lecture is posted below the video. For those unfamiliar with the speaker (as was I), here is the link to his bio: http://history.virginia.edu/user/333. It looks like his focus has been on post-WWII topics.

Anyway, on with the show:

Published on Mar 23, 2015

On Monday, March 2, 2015, William Hitchcock from the University of Virginia (UVA) gave a lecture entitled "Why the First World War Still Matters: Reflections on the Centennial, 1914-2014" as part of the Foreign Policy Distinguished Speaker Series.

After a brief introduction from Einaudi Center Director and Vice Provost for International Affairs Fred Logevall, Dr. Hitchcock organized his lecture with three underlying themes: the origins of WWI, the difficulties of building a stable peace after WWI, and the impact of WWI on soldiers. In each section, Dr. Hitchcock drew connections between WWI and the most recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dr. Hitchcock and framed the discussion on the origins of WWI in five concentric circles. The four outer circles were the shifting balance of power in Europe at the time, the level of threat perception and what each state saw as the principal threat to its security, domestic politics in each state, and the weight of the military within each state’s government. The outbreak of the war was the center circle. He elaborated on how the first World War engulfed the entire world, with reasons varying from structural and economic factors like the shifting balance of power to domestic politics and threat perception.

In doing so, Hitchcock tied the events preceding WWI to the events preceding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the origins of peace and its subsequent “legitimacy” in both contexts. In his words, “throw in nuclear weapons, and you have 2015.”

Finally, Dr. Hitchcock discussed the human conditions surrounding WWI, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He addressed the differences in scale, then and now, but he also noted the similarities in the experiences that soldiers (then and now) shared, ranging from extreme physical discomfort to shell shock or what is now known as PTSD.

Dr. Hitchcock concluded his lecture with a quote: “Our public discourse is heavy with the language of war, and the tragedy of it is that those voices will always be able to find some young people to answer the call. As in WWI, so in our own time, it will be the young who have to pay the terrible price of war.”

The Foreign Policy Distinguished Speaker Series features prominent leaders in international affairs who can address topical issues from a variety of perspectives. The Speaker Series is part of the Foreign Policy Initiative at Cornell University led by the Einaudi Center to maximize the intellectual impact of Cornell's outstanding resources in this area.

[The Ibis]

The University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy's YouTube site has posted two playlists containing videos of presentations discussing the use of artillery at Gallipoli. The videos are part of a seminar series described as:

The Royal Australian Artillery Historical Company wants you to be part of its history seminar series entitled Firepower: Lessons from the Great War. The series is part of Army’s wider contributions to the Centenary of Anzac commemorative activities over the period 2015-2018.Firepower: Lessons from the Great War aims to provide a comprehensive review of the role of firepower during what is regarded to have been one of the most globally significant conflicts of all time.

This is the link to the The Royal Australian Artillery Historical Company's website where past and future seminars are listed. http://artilleryhistory.org/history_seminar_series/history_seminar_series_2015-2018.html

Back to the YouTube pages. Each playlist has six videos. The playlist entitled Firepower History Seminar - Gallipoli: The Anzac Landing contains the following presentations:

• Gallipoli, Command and Control
• Gallipoli, The Human Side
• Gallipoli, Naval Gunfire Support
• Gallipoli, New Zealand Artillery
• Gallipoli, 7th Indian Mountain Artillery Brigade
• Gallipoli, Plenary Session

The link to the playlist is here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLY36E3-1932mL6rMsurLim0woEOP65sI

The playlist entitled Firepower History Seminar - Gallipoli: Suvla Bay/August Offensive contains the following presentations:

• Tactics and use of Artillery in the ANZAC Campaign, 1915
• The ANZAC Commanders and Employment of Firepower
• The Ottoman Artillery at ANZAC
• Counter Battery Fire at Gallipoli
• Artillery Logistics over the shore
• Plenary Session

The link to the playlist is here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLY36E3-1933iin0dqWuP3vDsM9A9plMg

[The Ibis]

'Now and Forever: The Many Faces of Tommy/Poilu Relations on the Western Front' - Chris Kempshall on the Leeds Legacies of War YouTube page.

The YouTube page didn't have a description of the talk but I found a summary of Kempshall's work: http://www.firstworldwarstudies.org/member-research.php?s=chris-kempshall. Here is a snip:

My research focuses predominantly on the interactions and relations between allied soldiers of different nationalities. My recently completed PhD thesis focused on the relations between British and French soldiers on the Western Front. Whilst previous studies have touched on the relations between common soldiers, this has often been within specific case studies. I drew particularly on the contemporary diaries, letters and written records of British soldiers within the Imperial War Museum and also the postal censorship records of the French army at the Archives de l’armee de terre in order to trace the nature and evolution of these relations across the war.

Whilst I followed these Tommy-Poilu interactions across the war I paid particular attention to specific moments of high contact such as the First Battle of the Marne, The Battle of the Somme, the German’s Spring Offensive of 1918 and the Final Hundred Days.

[The Ibis]

An oldie but a goodie: 'John Terraine and the Battle for the History of the First World War' - Gary Sheffield

[The Ibis]

To kick off 2016...

'Illiterate but Literary: The Censored Correspondence of Indian Soldiers in France, 1914-18'

Published on Jan 6, 2016

Dr David Omissi of the University of Hull examines the personal correspondence of Indian soldiers who fought on the Western Front. The lecture reveals not only their thoughts and fears about the conflict, but also some of their cultural interaction with Western society.

Part of the Lunchtime Lectures series - a programme of free talks from the National Army Museum in London.

[The Ibis]

"Nations Worth Dying For? National Identities and the Coming of the Great War," Dr. Pierre Purseigle

Published on Jul 13, 2015

Dr. Pierre Purseigle, historian and President of the International Society for First World War Studies, discusses the evolution of national identity and nationalism in prewar Europe, the differences between national identity and nationalism, and the changing relationship between empires, states, and their subjects/citizens.

Presented at the World War I Historical Association Symposium, "The Coming of the Great War," November 8-9, 2013

[The Ibis]

Here is How the War Ended by Nick Lloyd. I know his book "Hundred Days: The End of the Great War" has been discussed on the forums before.

[The Ibis]

Podcast: Failed Intervention: Britain in the Trans-Caucasus 1918-20 featuring Dr. Alex Marshall.

The podcast is from 2006, but was posted in 2015. The YouTube description states "Why British intervention in this region failed, and the roles and attitudes of key political and military personnel."

[The Ibis]

A War within a War by Dr. Jeffrey T. Sammons and Dr. John H. Morrow, Jr.

Interesting stuff. Here is the YouTube description:

Published on Feb 9, 2016

A War within a War: World War I Black Combat Soldiers and the Fight for Equality by Dr. Jeffrey T. Sammons and Dr. John H. Morrow, Jr.

In 191 days of fierce combat on the brutal front lines of World War I’s bloodiest trenches, one of the American Expeditionary Force’s units performed above and beyond the call of duty. The unit lost 280 men killed, but never gave up an inch of ground or lost a single man captured. Back home, the unit received accolades and the nom de guerre, “The Harlem Hellfighters,” despite the prevailing racism of the day and the fact that the entire unit was black. In the trenches, however, the unit, self-identified as “The Harlem Rattlers,” still dealt with racism and bigotry despite their proven prowess in combat. Dr. Jeffrey Sammons of New York University, and Dr. John Morrow, Jr. of the University of Georgia expand on the story of the 369th Infantry Regiment and take it beyond the injustices on the field of battle in their book, Harlem’s Rattlers and the Great War: The Undaunted 369th Regiment and the African American Quest for Equality. In this lecture, they will go even further, connecting the African American Soldiers’ struggle against the Germans and their own command to the wider context of racism in the Army and how the Harlem Rattlers set the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement.

[hazelclark]

Thank you so much for posting this.

H.C.

[The Ibis]

Some naval history (and statistical theory ) ...

8 Bells Lecture | Niall MacKay: A Bayesian study of the Battle of the Dogger Bank

Published on Feb 24, 2016

Niall MacKay, "Weighing the Fog of War: A Bayesian study of the Battle of the Dogger Bank, 24th January 1915," Eight Bells Book Lecture, Naval War College Museum, Feb. 4, 2016.

The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle fought near the Dogger Bank in the North Sea on 24 January 1915, during the First World War, between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet. Even though it was considered a British victory, both Britain and Germany soon replaced commanders who were thought to have shown poor judgement. Both navies made some changes to equipment and procedures in response to problems identified during the battle.

Edited 26 February , 2016 by The Ibis

[Fattyowls]

Hi Ibis, I keep popping into this thread which just gets better and better, but also longer and longer. I'm going to have to start making time to go through some of them before too long. Your efforts are really appreciated.

Pete.

[The Ibis]

Cheers.

Edited 27 February , 2016 by The Ibis

[WilliamRev]

Professor John Bourne (of Wolverhampton University) probably knows more about British Generals than anyone else. He is a wonderful lecturer, (and he seldom fails to mention his beloved football team, Port Vale.) His lecture "Hiring and Firing on the Western Front" is fascinating:

William

[The Ibis]

Imperial Apocalypse: The Great War and the Destruction of the Russian Empire presented by Dr. Joshua Sanborn.

Published on Nov 5, 2015

Joshua Sanborn is Professor and Head of the Department of History and Chair of the Russian and East European Studies Program at Lafayette College (Easton, PA). Prior to writing Imperial Apocalypse, he authored Drafting the Russian Nation: Military Conscription, Total War, and Mass Politics, 1905-1925 (2003) and, with Annette Timm, Gender, Sex, and the Shaping of Modern Europe (2007, 2nd ed., 2016).

[The Ibis]

Entente Strategy in 1918 by Dr Meighen McCrae

Published on Mar 9, 2016

Dr Meighen McCrae presents 'Ambushed by Victory: Allied Strategy on How to Win the First World War' to the Defence Studies Department's First World War Research Group, 1 March 2016, at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham.

[The Ibis]

Here is John Keegan discussing his book The First World War, recorded in 1999. YouTube is great!

[The Ibis]

8 Bells Lecture | Richie Kohler: Mystery of the Last Olympian

Published on Mar 16, 2016

Richie Kohler, "Mystery of the Last Olympian, Titanic's Tragic Sister Britannic," Eight Bells Book Lecture, Naval War College Museum, March 10, 2016.

Jacques Cousteau located the wreck of the ocean liner HMHS Britannic in 1975. It was not until 2009 that Richie Kohler and his dive partner discovered the secret of what had sent the ship to its watery grave. Kohler is one of rare few who have been to both the RMS Titanic and the Britannic.

*****
Disclaimer: The views expressed are the speaker's own and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Naval War College, the Department of the Navy, the Department of Defense, or any other branch or agency of the U.S. Government.

[The Ibis]

The Institute for the American Constitutional Heritage (IACH) at the University of Oklahoma recently conducted a day-long "teach in" where 6 historians presented on various topics related to the First World War. These were:

John Horne - “World War One: Rethinking the Centenary”

Eugene Rogan - “The First World War in the Middle East"

HW Brands - “We’re All Wilsonians, Whether We Like It or Not”

Philip Jenkins - “Christendom’s Last Holy War? The First World War as a Crusade”

Heather Perry - “Recycling the Disabled: Modern Medicine in the First World War”

Christopher Capozzola - “Uncle Sam Wants You: Oklahoma, WWI, and the Making of Modern America”

Panel - Question and Answer.

A description of the talks is here: http://www.ou.edu/content/web/news_events/articles/news_2016/ou-teach-in-2016.html The talks were all uploaded on YouTube and can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLasIqyRsX-vBClw_SpyJYNywLJ8UzSEhP

This is Horne's keynote presentation:

And here is the wide-ranging roundtable discussion:

Edited 9 April , 2016 by The Ibis

[The Ibis]

‘The Kitchen is the Key to Victory’: Women, Food & The Great War, a PAPER delivered by Professor Karen Hunt - University of Keele, at the Home, Food & Family Conference, 5 March 2016

The First World War saw new kinds of warfare on an unprecedented scale. One of its novel features was that food was used as a weapon of war against civilian populations of entire countries. In everyday Britain, this meant a cost of living crisis as prices rocketed, with food shortages, unequal distribution of food and fuel and long food queues.
This particularly affected women as they had the principal responsibility in most households for translating the family’s income into meals on the table. This talk takes the famous First World War poster that urged ‘The Kitchen is the Key to Victory’ and explores the different ways in which women on the home front responded to this escalating crisis. Local examples will be used to show how diverse experiences were across the country and the extent to which the food crisis not only challenged but also empowered some women.

[David Ridgus]

Ibis

Only just stumbled on this treasure trove of a thread. Such a wonderful variety of topics. It's a cup of tea and the battle of Dogger Bank for me this afternoon!

Thank you for taking the time

David

[WilliamRev]

I found this Western Front Association lecture of great interest. Essentially it is about how and why Germany failed to win the war in the first few weeks, with various fascinating new angles. Dr Robert Foley is a formidable academic who really knows his stuff - he currently lectures in War Studies at King's College London.

William