Napoleon in Russia Part One - early access (Patreon)

Hello Patrons,

Here it is, ad-free early access to the new Napoleon in Russia video. This is the first of 3 videos that will cover Napoleon's Russian campaign, and deals with the build up to war, the Battle of Smolensk and sets the stage for the Battle of Borodino. 

One lesser known fact about this campaign is that Napoleon lost more men during the summer advance to Moscow than in the winter retreat. In this video you'll find out some of the reasons why. 

I hope you enjoy this episode, and as always do feel free to share any thoughts or feedback (or point out any mistakes!) I'll post a link when the video goes live on YouTube next Friday. 

How much your support matters... 

On another note, some of you who follow other YouTube history channels (e.g. The Great War) may have seen them talking about the problem of 'demonetization' this week. 

In summary: YouTube will stop promoting and running ads on a video it has identified as 'inappropriate for advertisers'. But unfortunately, its automatic process can't really tell the difference between something that is genuinely inappropriate (e.g. sensationalised violence, hate speech etc.) and an educational video talking about historical conflicts (presumably, simply because both contain references to violence and death). Some of my WW1 and Russian Revolution videos have been demonetized on this basis. 

Creators have very limited right to appeal when a video is demonetized, it can happen at any time without warning, and videos that were approved years ago can suddenly be 'unapproved'. It's bad news for independent creators like myself, and creates a lot of uncertainty. YouTube have so far not responded to any creator feedback, as far as I'm aware. 

Fortunately, I also have you great bunch of people supporting me, and helping me to keep making videos. So I just want to say thank you again - and to let you know that when I say this channel wouldn't be possible without you, it's no exaggeration. 

Thanks again for all your support. Now on to Borodino... 

Toby