Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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What Rhineland 45: nebula.tv/videos/real-time-history-1-come-hell-or-high-water-i-rhineland-45?ref=the-great-war&utm_content=the-great-war
By April 1915, the Western Front was mired in trench warfare. Germany’s new Chief of Staff, General Erich von Falkenhayn, didn’t think his army could break the deadlock, and Germany needed to help struggling Austro-Hungarian forces in the East. Before the Germans turned against Russia though, they decided to attack in the West to keep the Allies off balance. They chose to strike at the vulnerable Ypres Salient – and they would support the coming offensive with a weapon their enemies had never seen.
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Rose Flaglor, Reed Spilmann, Erik Ritter, Cardboard, Ken Brownfield, David Garfinkle, Raymond Martin, Konstantin Bredyuk, Lisa Anderson, Brad Durbin, Jeremy K Jones, Murray Godfrey, John Ozment, Stephen Parker, Mavrides, Kristina Colburn, Stefan Jackowski, Cardboard, William Kincade, William Wallace, Daniel L Garza, Chris Daley, Malcolm Swan, Christoph Wolf, Simen Røste, Jim F Barlow, Taylor Allen, Adam Smith, James Giliberto, Albert B. Knapp MD, Tobias Wildenblanck, Richard L Benkin, Marco Kuhnert, Matt Barnes, Ramon Rijkhoek, Jan, Scott Deederly, gsporie, Kekoa, Bruce G. Hearns, Hans Broberg, Fogeltje
» SOURCES
Cassar, George H. Trial by Gas : The British Army at the Second Battle of Ypres. Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, 2014.
Cook, Tim. At the Sharp End. Canadians Fighting the Great War 1914-1916. Penguin, 2007.
Everts, Sarah. 100 Years of Chemical Weapons, cen.acs.org/articles/93/i8/100-years-chemical-weapons.html?ref=search_results, 08.02.2025.
Girard, Marion. A Strange and Formidable Weapon : British Responses to World War I Poison Gas. University of Nebraska Press, 2008.
Haber, L. F. The Poisonous Cloud : Chemical Warfare in the First World War. Oxford University Press, 1986.
Hart, Peter. The Great War: A Combat History of the First World War. Oxford University Press 2013.
Historique sommaire du 73e régiment d’infanterie territoriale. Imprimeries Oberthur, 1920.
Humphries, Mark Osborne and Maker, John. Germany’s Western Front : Translations from the German Official History of the Great War. Volume II, 1915. Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2010.
Iarocci, Andrew. Shoestring Soldiers. The 1st Canadian Division at War, 1914-1915. University of Toronto Press, 2008.
Jones, Spencer. Ypres, Battles of, 1914-1918-online International Encyclopedia of the First World War, encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/ypres-battles-of/, 17.07.2024.
Lee, John. The Gas Attacks : Ypres 1915. Pen and Sword, 2009.
Ministère de la guerre. Histoire des armées françaises dans la Grande guerre, Tome II. État-Major de l’armée - service historique, 1930.
Omissi David. Indian Voices of the Great War. Soldiers’ letters, 1914-1918. Palgrave Macmillan, 1999.
Prete, Roy A. Strategy and Command : The Anglo-French Coalition on the Western Front, 1915. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2021.
Raith, Anne. Erster Giftgasangriff: Der lautlose Tod, deutschlandfunk.de/erster-giftgasangriff-der-lautlose-tod-100.html, 15.02.2025.
» OUR SISTER CHANNEL
youtube.com/realtimehistory
»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller
Editing: Philipp Appelt
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: above-zero.com
Research by: Jesse Alexander
Fact checking: Florian Wittig
Executive Producer: Florian Wittig
Channel Design: Yves Thimian
Contains licensed material by getty images, picture alliance and Reuters
Maps: MapTiler/OpenStreetMap Contributors & GEOlayers3
All photos and film in our documentaries are authentic historical footage. We do not use generative AI to create new assets. However, we may use AI tools to upscale or clean up certain assets without distorting or compromising the original image.
All rights reserved - Real Time History GmbH 2025
Support us and get 40% off Nebula: go.nebula.tv/the-great-war
What Rhineland 45: nebula.tv/videos/real-time-history-1-come-hell-or-high-water-i-rhineland-45?ref=the-great-war&utm_content=the-great-war
By April 1915, the Western Front was mired in trench warfare. Germany’s new Chief of Staff, General Erich von Falkenhayn, didn’t think his army could break the deadlock, and Germany needed to help struggling Austro-Hungarian forces in the East. Before the Germans turned against Russia though, they decided to attack in the West to keep the Allies off balance. They chose to strike at the vulnerable Ypres Salient – and they would support the coming offensive with a weapon their enemies had never seen.
» SUPPORT THE CHANNEL
Patreon: patreon.com/realtimehistory
Nebula: nebula.tv/the-great-war
» THANKS TO OUR CO-PRODUCERS
Rose Flaglor, Reed Spilmann, Erik Ritter, Cardboard, Ken Brownfield, David Garfinkle, Raymond Martin, Konstantin Bredyuk, Lisa Anderson, Brad Durbin, Jeremy K Jones, Murray Godfrey, John Ozment, Stephen Parker, Mavrides, Kristina Colburn, Stefan Jackowski, Cardboard, William Kincade, William Wallace, Daniel L Garza, Chris Daley, Malcolm Swan, Christoph Wolf, Simen Røste, Jim F Barlow, Taylor Allen, Adam Smith, James Giliberto, Albert B. Knapp MD, Tobias Wildenblanck, Richard L Benkin, Marco Kuhnert, Matt Barnes, Ramon Rijkhoek, Jan, Scott Deederly, gsporie, Kekoa, Bruce G. Hearns, Hans Broberg, Fogeltje
» SOURCES
Cassar, George H. Trial by Gas : The British Army at the Second Battle of Ypres. Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, 2014.
Cook, Tim. At the Sharp End. Canadians Fighting the Great War 1914-1916. Penguin, 2007.
Everts, Sarah. 100 Years of Chemical Weapons, cen.acs.org/articles/93/i8/100-years-chemical-weapons.html?ref=search_results, 08.02.2025.
Girard, Marion. A Strange and Formidable Weapon : British Responses to World War I Poison Gas. University of Nebraska Press, 2008.
Haber, L. F. The Poisonous Cloud : Chemical Warfare in the First World War. Oxford University Press, 1986.
Hart, Peter. The Great War: A Combat History of the First World War. Oxford University Press 2013.
Historique sommaire du 73e régiment d’infanterie territoriale. Imprimeries Oberthur, 1920.
Humphries, Mark Osborne and Maker, John. Germany’s Western Front : Translations from the German Official History of the Great War. Volume II, 1915. Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2010.
Iarocci, Andrew. Shoestring Soldiers. The 1st Canadian Division at War, 1914-1915. University of Toronto Press, 2008.
Jones, Spencer. Ypres, Battles of, 1914-1918-online International Encyclopedia of the First World War, encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/ypres-battles-of/, 17.07.2024.
Lee, John. The Gas Attacks : Ypres 1915. Pen and Sword, 2009.
Ministère de la guerre. Histoire des armées françaises dans la Grande guerre, Tome II. État-Major de l’armée - service historique, 1930.
Omissi David. Indian Voices of the Great War. Soldiers’ letters, 1914-1918. Palgrave Macmillan, 1999.
Prete, Roy A. Strategy and Command : The Anglo-French Coalition on the Western Front, 1915. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2021.
Raith, Anne. Erster Giftgasangriff: Der lautlose Tod, deutschlandfunk.de/erster-giftgasangriff-der-lautlose-tod-100.html, 15.02.2025.
» OUR SISTER CHANNEL
youtube.com/realtimehistory
»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller
Editing: Philipp Appelt
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: above-zero.com
Research by: Jesse Alexander
Fact checking: Florian Wittig
Executive Producer: Florian Wittig
Channel Design: Yves Thimian
Contains licensed material by getty images, picture alliance and Reuters
Maps: MapTiler/OpenStreetMap Contributors & GEOlayers3
All photos and film in our documentaries are authentic historical footage. We do not use generative AI to create new assets. However, we may use AI tools to upscale or clean up certain assets without distorting or compromising the original image.
All rights reserved - Real Time History GmbH 2025
