Old Britannia

Next Video

Patrons,

Thank you for all your kind support on the recent video. Up next we're looking at 1912-1914, i.e. the final year or so before the July Crisis.

This is going to be a bit of a tricky chapter to do, as rather like a mediocre television writer I have left it until the end to wrap up all of the previous subplots whilst also attempting to introduce new ones.

As it stands the script covers everything from internal politics (The Irish Crisis in Britain in particular), the A...

War Plans, Armaments & Economics

Patrons,

I should have added nuclear strike on Great Britain or Patreon's video processing feature deciding to bug out. At one point earlier today I actually thought in the most humiliating of ironies I was going to have to split this into two videos after all just so Patreon could process it! Think it about sums up this video's production. Anyway, I'm very pleased to finally release this.

Timestamps:
0:00: Introduction
7:46 Russia
28:15 Germany
1:02:51 Austria-Hungar...

Full 3 Hour Armaments Video out Tomorrow

Patrons,

The full 3 hour 'War Plans, Armaments & Economics' video will be out tomorrow, barring a nuclear strike on Great Britain or something (I am watching my final draft export now). This time I'm not making one of my stupidly optimistic predictions that I will immediately blow past.

Firstly, I want to apologise for the complete debacle the creation of this has become.

I was not lying when I said I intended to upload the first part of the video in early October. How...

Armaments Video Out This Week & No Charge in October

Patrons,

Thank you so much for baring with me over the past few months. I’m hoping it will very much be worth it. This week you’ll finally get part 1 of the Armaments & War Plans chapter. Coming in at nearly 1 hour and 35 minutes I hope it explains why there has been a dearth of content - I promise I have not just been coasting. It covers Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary. France and Britain I am currently editing and will be in Part 2 (Which I do promise wil...

Quick Update

Patrons,

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! I am well on with the Armaments & War Planning chapter. Unfortunately I got a bit carried away and added quite a lot to the script, meaning it is now about an hour and a half in length. I know that sounds insane for this subject, but I genuinely don't think there is much I can cut. I do want to offer a relatively comprehensive look at each Great Power's War Planning, the Land Arms Race and the economics behind it.

Depending o...

The Balkan Wars

Patrons,

Here we finally are. As I said apologies it took so long.

I do still think there are 2 elements in the video I dislike.

Firstly, the more I've watched it the more I think it's too hard on poor old Sazonov and Russia, whilst being somewhat unfairly lenient on Austria for firing ultimatium's off from the hip. Some of the criticism is meant to be a bit tongue in cheek but I think just ends up coming across as weirdly vindictive in a couple of places instead.

I ...

Balkan Wars will Release Tomorrow

Patrons,

I've completely blown past the deadline I set for myself. But I am doing final checks on the Balkan Wars now, so if it is not out tomorrow you can string me up.

Apologies this has taken so long, as usual whenever I set myself a deadline the work at my day job seems to pile up, though it is also my fault for underestimating the time it would take to review a 40 minute video.

The only major slip up that will be included is that the Ottoman-Greek border is pre-1881. S...

Welcome & What’s Next

Patrons,

I hope you enjoyed seeing the first part of our World War I series on YouTube. I just want to reiterate that it would simply not have been possible without your support, so for that a massive thank you.

There is a number of new members, so to all of you, welcome and thank you for your incredible generosity. You should already be able to watch 3 extra chapters of the Road to WWI series, with more to follow.

This week the chapter on the Balkan Wars will finally be up...

This Week

Patrons,

Thank you so much for you patience. I really do apologise for what I know has been a long wait this time, but I'm pleased to announce that this Friday the first part of our Road to WWI series will release on YouTube! Hopefully making it easier for you all to watch. The most obvious gaffes (though unusually for me there didn't seem to be too many) have been removed, and I have added a bit of extra content with an introduction. I had planned to make the introduction quite long, ...

Quick Update

Patrons,

Apologies for the delay in getting the next chapter on the Balkan Wars out. It shouldn't be too much longer now, it is nearly 40 minutes which hopefully explains it!

As another question: My original aim with this project was to upload the completed series as one giant documentary. Unfortunately as I've gone on, it has gotten longer than even I imagined (and I imagined it to be very long indeed). So at this point I think it might be wise to consider uploading the document...

The Italo-Turkish War

Patrons,

This will first be available for Bismarck tier and above, everyone else in a day or so.

I hope you enjoy this next part in our Road to WWI series, looking this time at the Italo-Turkish War. It's one of those events in the lead up to the war that, whilst extremely important in explaining the origin of the conflict via the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, I don't actually think requires much more than a fairly brief outline like this. Still, I hope you enjoy it.

Nex...

Russian Resurgence

Patrons, this will first be available for Bismarck and above tier, everyone else in a day or so.

I hope you enjoy this next chapter in the Road to WWI Series. This time looking at the resurrection of Russian power. Sorry it took awhile, cant really put my finger on what took so long with this one, just the way it works out sometimes.

Next Up: a shorter one on the Italo-Turkish War, before things really start heating up with the Balkan Wars!

Agadir: 1911

Patrons,

This will first be available for Bismarck and above tiers, everyone else in a day or so.

I hope you enjoy the next part in this Road to WWI series, this time looking at the Agadir Crisis of 1911.

Next Up: Russian Resurgence

The Naval Arms Race

Patrons,

This will first be available for Bismarck tier's and above. All other tiers in a day or so.

I hope you enjoy the next part in this Road to WWI Series, this time looking at the Naval Arms Race. I'd considered looking at the People's Budget and the way Britain paid for the extra expenditure in this chapter, but I found it distracted from the Naval Arms Race itself too much. I'll have to see if I can slot it in later on in the series.

Thanks for your support as ever, ...

Dress Rehersal: Bosnia 1908

Patrons,

This will first be available for Bismarck tier and above. Everyone else in a day or so.

Sorry for the delay, feels like its been a bit of a momentum killer taking 2 weeks. I ended up getting waylaid finally writing the introduction for the series!

I hope you enjoy the next part in this Road to WWI Documentary, this time looking at the Bosnian Crisis. This is the first episode where I find myself feeling a bit disgruntled with the lack of information included (not ...

The Anglo-Russian Agreement

Patrons,

This will first be available for Bismarck and above tier's, everybody else in a day or so. I hope you enjoy the next part in this Road to WWI Series, looking at the origins of the Anglo-Russian Agreement. Next up, Dress Rehearsal: Bosnia 1908

Dreadnought

Patrons,

This will first be available for Bismarck and above tiers, all others in a day or so.

I hope you enjoy the next part in this Road to WWI series: Dreadnought! It's a bit of a scattergun episode, brushing through most of British pre-war politics between 1902 and 1909. Hopefully informative though.

Thanks for all your support as ever. Next up: The Anglo-Russian Agreement

The First Moroccan Crisis

Patrons, this will first be available for Bismarck tier and above, everyone else in a day or so.

I hope you enjoy the next part in our Road to WWI Series. Bit shorter this time, as although this the Crisis that really gets the ball rolling towards WWI, it's actually relatively short and uninteresting in and of itself.

Cheers for all your support as always, next up: Dreadnought!

Edit: Just realised as I released this I've messed up the weight scales for the German graphic at ...

Before the Deluge: Imperial Russia 1894-1906

Patrons,

This will first be available to Bismarck and above tiers, everybody else in a day or so.

I hope you enjoy the next part in the Road to WWI series, this time looking at Imperial Russia 1904-1906.

Next time, the Crisis' finally begin with First Morocco!

Thanks for your support as ever!

The Entente Cordiale

Patrons,

This will first be available for Bismarck and above tiers, all other members in a day or so.

Please enjoy the next part in this Road to WWI Series: The Entente Cordiale.

Thanks for all your support as always, it makes an enormous difference in allowing me to fund this project.

Next up, Before the Deluge: Imperial Russia 1894-1905.

Wilhelm, Tirpitz & the Origins of the Naval Race

Patrons,

This will first be for Bismarck and above tiers. All others in a day or so.

I hope you enjoy the next part in this Road to WWI series. This time looking at Wilhelm's decision to start the Naval Arms Race

Thanks for all your support as ever. Next up: The Entente Cordiale!

The British Empire 1897-1902

Patrons,

This will first be available to Bismarck tier and above, everybody else in a day or so.

Please enjoy this next part in the Road to WWI series, looking at the British Empire and the end of its policy of Isolation.

The Franco-Russian Alliance

Patrons,

This will first be available to Bismarck and above tiers, then all other Patrons tomorrow.

I hope you enjoy the next part in this Road to WWI series, this time looking at the emergence of the Franco-Russian Alliance and hardening of the European Alliance system. Next up, the British Empire 1897-1902!

Thanks for your support as ever, hopefully it should be as nice for you as it is for me to have a video out (kind of) ahead of schedule.

Bismarck's Fall & The Rise of Weltpolitik

Patrons,

This will first be released to all Bismarck and above tiers. Tomorrow I'll release it for all Patrons.

I hope you enjoy the next part in this Road to WWI series, this time looking at Bismarck's fall from power and Wilhelm II's first few years in power. Next up: The Franco-Russian Alliance

Thanks for your continued support, I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Feel free to make any suggestions!

Twilight of the Habsburgs

Patrons,

I'm very happy to share Chapter 3, Twilight of the Habsburgs. This focuses on the Austro-Hungarian Empire and its burgeoning rivalry with Serbia and Russia at the turn of the century. Next up will be the Fall of Bismarck and Wilhelm's New Course! Will hopefully be out very soon now everything's winding down for Christmas and I have more time on my hands!

Thanks for all your support, hope you enjoy!

Any feedback welcome as usual.

Bismarck's New Order

Patrons,

I hope you enjoy the next part in the Road to WW1 Series. Sorry I'd hoped to have it out much earlier, but I just really disliked the original version when I came to review it a few weeks ago. It didn't flow as quickly as the previous video etc. So I decided to remake much of it. Hopefully for the best, but please feel free to offer criticism.

Thanks for you support as ever. Next Up: Twilight of the Habsburgs.

Bismarck & The Unification of Germany

Patrons,

Thank you for your patience. I'm happy to share the first chapter in the Road to WWI documentary 'Bismarck & The Unification of Germany'. It starts a bit abruptly, as there is an introduction to go before hand that I haven't added yet (definitely not because I'm still unable to write a good one), but hopefully gives you a good taste of the style we're going for.

Obviously, I suspect most of you will know the story here already, but I think it serves as a decent littl...

Next Video Update

Patrons,

Thanks for your support on the last video, especially considering how long it took.

Over the last week I've been working on my 'How the War Began' video. This is something I discussed a couple of updates back: At the moment an around 3 hour long comprehensive overview of how the First World War began, starting with Bismarck etc. and ending with the July Crisis. Hopefully it will cover areas that haven't really been touched on before in History YouTube.

Obviously the...

Austria Against the Revolution

Apologies for the delay everyone,

As per my last notification, I managed to contract a nasty strain of COVID in the year of our lord 2024! Which took me out of commission for a few weeks. It also left me a ridiculously persistent cold as a parting gift that meant I couldn't record any edits to my audio.

Anyway, all better now. Thank you for your kind messages, I feel very bad for not posting an update sooner, but I'm always reluctant to bug people with posts that are...

No charge this month

Sorry everyone, been sick as a dog this week. The video is unlikely to be out before the 31st as a result, so I’m going to suspend billing for this month if that’s the case.

Sorry to all those who were waiting. Thanks for your support as ever.