The Battle Of The Somme 1916 Digitally Restored DVD Clip

[NiallMS]

It was OK for the German POW's. For them the war was over but not so for the Tommies leading them.......!

[ThePimpycat]

Haha from like 1:c15 to like 1:30 the germans POW'S and british soldiers passe and smile and joke around infront of the camera

[PATRICKEIRE]

What a waste of lives,and from my point of view so many irishmen who died in vain,,fighting for the english with the lie that they were fighting for the freedom of small nations??Where was irelands freedom,,we had to go to war with the brits to get it,,and they still left our nation in civil war and tore our nation apart creating the secterian province of nrth eire,,all for the greed of the so called upperclass and there greed of empire so many lost there lives of the working class ..for shame

[Overlorddz]

Damn these soldiers look like Holocaust survivors

[Grahamo98]

i bet by the end of the war every man u see in that footage will have been KIA

think about that for one moment

[cosmictimes]

The trouble with British and German soldiers are, that they are similar poles on the same magnet. Doesn't matter if they are positive or negative at the same time, they still bounce off one another like there's no tomorrow ............. Doesn't mean they still don't care for one-another though.

[Ahornblatt2000]

Look how thin my guys the Germans are!

It seems the blockade conducted by the Royal Navy worked very well

BTW:The British made the same mistake as we did in Verdun.Wave after wave against an entrenched enemy that is crazy.After Verdun you Brits should have known it better but you  did it likewise!Well Haig and Falkenhayn they both weren't military geniuses!

[cosmictimes]

@Ahornblatt2000 Well you're the one writing in English. Stop pontificating

[Ahornblatt2000]

@cosmictimes What?????

I really don't know what you mean.Is it such a big deal to write in english?

[oldstuffandcollect]

thankyou for such great footage truly a memorable account from the great war very moving 

[RichLN]

Amazing lack of ill-will between guard and prisoner looks authentic, a little bit of larking for the camera by Germans as well as British. The Germans look pretty happy to be out of the fight. Fascinating little insight.

[TheeOneTheeOnly123]

THANK YOU ALL, BRAVE BRAVE MEN.

[MarionDBrown1]

I am the grand daughter of Alfred Frank Pettit who managed to survive the first world war and second world war. My mother was never told why her father won the DCM and the Legion of honour medal, a war hero. My mother told me her father never spoke of the war and I feel I understand why from what I learnt on a trip to the battlefields and watching footage like this. Modest? probably, too many bad memories? very likely. Every love letter he wrote was as if it was his last, so proud of him. RIP x

[Dovenpeis]

@MarionDBrown1

It is not necessarily due to bad memories, and a desire to forget, that your great grandfather never talked about his war experiences. It is common for war veterans to feel that there is no point in talking about their war experiences to somebody who, they feel, cannot comprehend or understand because they were not there, and that makes them incapable, they feel, of telling about their war experiences. Thus they feel they have nothing to tell.

[british123able]

@MarionDBrown1 my dad remembers asking his grandad about world war 2 back in the 70s. a young lad he said: did you ever kill anyone? he went mad and his wife said what did you say to make him so angry? my dad said i asked if he killed anyone in the war.she said never ask him that again young man!!! anyway he was highly decorated, mentioned in despatches, along with 17 medals

[moelman100]

Firstly a simple experiment using soldiers from todays army has shown what a difference moving at speed would have made amoungst other factors. nearly an hour is my information. As for officers, many were not from the same social strata as Generals but lower middles class. Incompetence, ignorance, inability to learn are 3 of the defining factors of the somme. 'A lack of fighting spirit' - one general said of his men - what does that tell you of his attitude towards his men?.

[moelman100]

Lets remember we all know, a commission of senior rank in WW1 was based very muck on your priviledged back ground - not on competance

[helstontvx]

It was not the death toll rather than the grographical concentration in which they were killed...more..many many more died in 39-45 (civillians I grant you) the horror of the 1st ww was that these guys had little chance of survival they were chucked into the horror .....walking into machine gun fire and shelling! FFS whose idea was that?

[Cansseco]

I still don't understand how can they be proud of their kings and queens and call themselves civilized.

[Cansseco]

what a waste of their lives

[thecrazysouthsx]

when all is said and done - our armed forces did us proud in , not one - but 2 world wars - they showed the kraut + italian + all other enemy bastards who was fighting the good fight and who the evil scum were - never forget germany - the nation of the nazis + the holocaust - fuck you all german bastards fuck off.

[moelman100]

The class divide between upper and lower was vast in 1916 and produced an attitude of almost total lack of care from some of the generals to the common soldier. They were there to be used. The German general Erich Ludendorff meant what he said 'Lions led by donkeys' The somme slaughter showed not only true stupidity but thoughtlessness too. The attitude included the R.F.C. too - No parachutes! what scum thought of that one?

[THthefirst]

@moelman100 That's a late C20 myth, put forward by Blackadder etc. The fact is that the officer class was also largely drawn from the public school system, certainly on the Somme (not so much later on), and the generals were also happy to order attacks which killed this group in their thousands. Officer casualties were horrific - a higher percentage than the men.

What was your suggestion for the Somme attack, since you call the Generals stupid?

[moelman100]

@THthefirst  - No C20 myth,- officer casulties correct all were expendable, including the R.F.C. i.e. parachutes. Excuses for the slaughter sicken me. As for my suggestion, if soldiers had advanced running immediately after the bombardment had stopped - not walking to their deaths nearly an hour later, many lives would have been saved and ground gained. Now tell me what you think of the no parachuted idea?

[THthefirst]

I don't agree.No mans land was 800 yards wide in some places, so running (with kit etc) was not practicable. The "walking slowly" argument is outdated. The majority of battalions were already in no mans land before Zero hour, to reduce the gap. A variety of tactics were used. There was nothing like an hour's gap between the bombardment and Zero hour. The key failure was to not destroy the Germans' guns and machine guns. The infantry had no chance in those conditions, whatever tactics used.

[moelman100]

@THthefirst Firstly a simple experiment using soldiers from todays army has shown what a difference moving at speed would have made amoungst other factors. nearly an hour is my information. As for officers, many were not from the same social strata as Generals but lower middles class. Incompetence, ignorance, inability to learn are 3 of the defining factors of the somme. 'A lack of fighting spirit' - one general said of his men - what does that tell you of his attitude towards his men?.

[THthefirst]

@moelman100 You are missing the point. The majority of the men were already in no mans land before Zero hour and many units used various formations. Very few walked. There is NO evidence they were ordered to walk. Rawlinson's orders were quiet on the point. Officers were indeed from the middle/upper class, until casualties by 1916 onwards depleted their numbers. The hour point is wrong, with respect, I have just been to the Somme/read a number of books on it. I suggest you do the same.

[moelman100]

@THthefirst -You missed my point - being attitude of the Generals and their often lack of competence / care for their men, is the point. You already suggested they 'should' have taken out the guns - exactly, incompetence. No evidence? they did as they were told. I've read plenty , e.g. 'cannon fodder' written by a tommy. The somme and other blunders are undefendable. Perhaps firing squads was another good idea for life and moral too? ' As Ludendorff said Lions led by Donkeys' - he would know.

[THthefirst]

@moelman100 I agree that some generals were incompetent, Haig in particular wanted a decisive breakthrough like Waterloo. Both others - Rawlinson and de Lisle - understood the tactical problems and formualted strategies to deal with them, e.g. bite and hold. Really it comes down to Haig overruling his subordinates. But in other battles on the somme, innovative tactics were used with success (night attacks, creeping barrage, tanks). Care for men is difficult to achieve in an industrial war

[moelman100]

@THthefirst Yes there was a vast difference between Rawlinson who learnt and others like Haig. How sad that improvements in tactics came at such an unnecessary slaughter.

[THthefirst]

@moelman100 Yes - though major wars will always see heavy casualties. In Britain, we are particularly focussed on WW1 because we suffered heavily. The losses on the Somme compare with the British/Allied losses after D-Day in the fierce fighting that followed. But that was not the norm in WW2. In the main, Britain avoided the long term attritional fighting of WW1 - and left that to the Russians who did it for them and lost 20 million.

[Oakleaf700]

The sheer wastage of life was appalling..on all fronts..and the ''battlestress that followed for the survivors..my son's great grandad was in the BEF [Royal Horse Artillery] 1914-1919 he survived, but who knows the stresses he suffered afterwards..along with every other survivor..they rarely spoke of their experiences, maybe as it just was too much to drag up, but it would emerge in the form of nightmares and general depression.And is it any wonder! Respect to them all.

[MrTubbymarshall]

when the tommy turns round at 1:30 with his slung rifle with bayonet still attached, wacth the nervy jerry behind him duck. those bayonets were fucking lethally sharp. the jerry had good reason to nervously duck!!!

[casattack23]

my great great great uncle died in this battle, his name was alexander russell, never forgotten RIP UNCLE ALEX A HERO 4EVER X X X X

[wolfandcub0070]

Ironically, the haggard and forlorn Germans were the lucky ones. They were finished with the slaughter and most likely got to go home to their loved ones in '18. The jaunty and cheerful Lancastrians almost certainly had to continue to endure the horrors of the war until death or injury came their way,

[MrMitchieD]

Another interesting fact : Turkey had bought and paid for Warships off the British Govt and were awaiting delivery. When war broke out Britain told the Turkish govt that they couldn't have their ships because Britiain needed them and didn't refund them the money either. Naturally Turkey decided to side with Germany - so Gallipoli should never have happened!!.

[RollaArtis]

I say! Isn't that you-know-who at 0.26?

[pnm47]

@RollaArtis No, that's not AH. He was not a POW, and he had a much bigger moustache then. There is a photo of him at Fromelles in 1916.

[vinnothelizard]

they are drunk!!! they shud be shot!!

[charliebarosio]

"Dumb stupid animals", as I believe Nobel "Peace" laureate Kissinger put it. Now that Oh Bama has his "prize" it is clear why these amerikan war meisters have been awarded the coveted explosives prize. Of course if these morons refused to fight their working class opponents but instead tore down the system that uses them and war.....

[3Huba]

englische propaganda.

wie üblich.leider.

[0Zolrender0]

@3Huba you did lose.....twice....

[FranzLudwigErthal]

@0Zolrender0 "Twice we have beaten the Germans. And now they are back." Margret Thacher in 1989 during a EU-Summit. She was wrong in one sense: We already were back. If you are british, then take a look at your country today, walk through the streets of London and then tell me: Who has lost? Who is lost?

[0Zolrender0]

@FranzLudwigErthal im not british but australian. still the germans lost 2 wars..but looking at them now..im wondering if they are ready for a 3rd..i know they wont. they have learnt...its other contries now we have to worry about.

[FranzLudwigErthal]

@0Zolrender0 You seem to be a reasonable man. Now please tell me one thing: Who started the Great War? And please don't tell me who declared it. Everyone knows that. But who is responsible for it. I am looking forward to hear what "down under" thinks about it. (I have seen the Anzac-Museum in Canberra and was not amused...)

[0Zolrender0]

@FranzLudwigErthal England, Germany, France, ottoman empire and Russia are all to blame for WW1. The assassination of arch duke Ferdinand was just the spark that lit the powder keg that was europe at the time. The start of WW1 was very diff to WW2. and if the allies went a bit easier on germany at the end of WW1(instead of blaming the whole shabang on them unfairly and running the country into the ground) then maybe WW2 wouldnt have happened.

[FranzLudwigErthal]

@0Zolrender0 Thank you for your fair and well informed comment. Take a look at the german soldier at 1.11 who's talking to his neighbour. Maybe he spoke some english and had the luck that I just had: to find someone who understands. (Aussi oi oi oi! ;)

[MrNamchebazar]

@FranzLudwigErthal ..The real cause of ww1 was the uniting of the Prussian states into one unified counrty..They wanted an Empire like Britains and France..They entered into an arms race with Britain for controll of the sea building dreadnorts then super dreadnorts The killing of the Archduke was real just an affair between Austria and Serbia ,but with Germanys backing Austria gave Serbia 10 altomatoms ,9 0f them they agrred to,, but one was to send in there police to investigate Serbia said no

[FranzLudwigErthal]

@MrNamchebazar Thank you for yout comment. I think you are right. An american magazine wrote recently: "If the first world war comes on stage again, it will be china, that plays the role of Germany and the USA will play the british empire." Funny somehow, don´t you think?

[MrNamchebazar]

@FranzLudwigErthal ..well not quiet funny ..down right scary...but i know what you mean..its worth rembering though that China has been the world power for most of History.but i tell you one thing the USA is loosing its roll as world policeman and inspite of what people think they didnt do too bad a job,when ever there was a disaster the first thing you saw was the grain bags withe the stars and stripes on,,you wont see this when India or China are in controll things are getting bad now...

[FranzLudwigErthal]

@MrNamchebazar That´s right. Time goes on. World population grows and Europe and the USA are only small parts of it. So it´s only fair, that big countries like India and China take up responsibilities of their "Großraum". (greater area). The grain bags of course still have to be delivered by us, because - and I have heared this a lot of times - we (the western world) are responsible for the poverty of the world because of Colonalisation in the 19. cent.

[MrNamchebazar]

@FranzLudwigErthal ...Franz..i read what your saying..but we wont be able to afford it in the future..then lets see if they (china ,india,ect) rise to the challenge i dout it ,they will just be like a greedy man in a cake shop looking through the window at the poor..A third world war will come,,it will be over trade,,99% of wars are over trade ,,even the crusades were over trade ..the protection of the silk road..thats why Bin laden hit theTrade towers..im going to the Somme in March for a week.

[TASHKENTGOATMAN]

ps they have realy cleaned this up well..what a treasure ,,we wouldnt have a clue without this film...just imagine that light hit that film on the 1 july 1916,,,at Gommecort ,Serre,Thiepval ect men were dying at that second in there hundreds the pals were falling ,, villages were loosing there.entire menfolk..unbelievable

[TASHKENTGOATMAN]

please dont get in to arguments about Canada v Britian...not when watching these poor buggers..but it is worth remembering that 73% of Canadians were first Generation British or French with 47% having spent less than 10 years in Canadaand with the Anzacs the figure was 92%with 76%having been in Australia or NZ less than five years,,but even by then they were fitter and healthier than the average British Tommy from the Shire countys

[rossking1964]

my country lost more soldiers per-capita than any other in ww1...but all the survivors said that the british tommy had it far worse than they did...

LEST WE FORGET!!!!!!

[BlackCountryPuddler]

I always look for my grandad, but I never see him.

[rorydog1]

I cannot help but recall the surgeon's line in 'Zulu'. "Damn you, damn all you butchers, Chard!'

[TOMaNdBEN1]

if you think about it every one on this video are dead we have like 3 veterans left if that

[tashpish]

even though what those brave people went through i still kind of envy their generation.

fantastic people.

[tubbymarshall]

no matter what they went through,, they can still manage a smile and a joke with the camera. the ever cheerful little tommy. huge respect to you,, all of you,, whoever you were. none now left alive as time has taken them all.. MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

[HOLLISTERaddictLAWL]

@tubbymarshall i think that you shall find that this video was made only for recruitment and propaganda purporses back then, although they did not have television, photos will have been taken of them "smiling", the "smiling" people were only "smiling" for the split second that the photo was being taken and they soon went back to the grim life of war. May i ask why would they even try and crack a smile anyway as they really didnt have any reason to smile at all now did they?

[caporalchef4]

@HOLLISTERaddictLAWL You are wrong. As a soldier and a Veteran, I can assure you that what you see here (soldiers smiling and joking) is what we call good morale. Hardened soldiers and good leaders tend to accept their harsh lives and are cynical about death. There is nothing merry about war but in each life situations, one has 2 choices: Laugh and make jokes to make life more bearable or cry with self-pity and get nothing accomplished. Attitude and morale is what it's all about.

[THthefirst]

@caporalchef4 "hardened soldiers" - the vast majority of the british troops on the Somme were from the new armies, raised in 1914-15, and were not fully trained, and had never seen action before. I am not disagreeing with your general point, but I think that this distinction should be made - ie. that there was a certain degree of naivety/innocence within the new armies v the BEF regulars.

[caporalchef4]

@HOLLISTERaddictLAWL Furthermore, the soldiers you see here in this footage are British soldiers escorting German POW's and wounded back to the rear. They were probably relieved from the front lines by another unit in order to get some rest. I'd be smiling too.

[zenoist2]

@tubbymarshall I noticed that too.

You have to respect these guys.

Their morale is always superb no matter what they went through.

[AbberancyDNB]

well plus imagine living a horrible, wretched life, and then the novelty of a camera popping into your life. any distraction would cheer you up.

[star0shadows]

Its hard to see them smiling as they walk to their almost certain deaths. In my opinion, war like this isn't worth one life, let alone the 20 000 lost in the FIRST day of this battle.

[BaFUD]

Its propaganda also you jerk, offcourse they smile for the camera.

[19smokey19]

as in other clips you see them on their way to front lines, the new recruits smile and pose at cam, but those who had seen battle always hav grim faces as they know they on there way to die... like a death sentence realy...poor sods..

[19smokey19]

strange all smiling and posing for camrea, i bet not 1 on there had seen any real action..

[bearshitwoods]

19smokey19,,,, interesting comment,, i wonder if the hundreds of german prisoners theyve got,, just walked over and gave up? please dont disrespect these fine young men. thats the flower of our nation your seeing, wiped out for nothing. poor souls.

[0Zolrender0]

@bearshitwoods acutally theres recoreded instances of hunredes of germans giving up under relativly light fire because they thought they were over run. see the australian advance in 1917 for this.

[bobbeth6]

I have always heard that the German superior trench systems made the week long 2 million shell allied artillery bombardment largely ineffective. 58,000 Bristish dead on the first day of the battle would prove the point. The German troops had not had much sleep for a week, however, and psychologically they were at that optimum fighting condition.

[CanadianCatastrophes]

most of those "brittish" were actually from the dominion of newfoundland (canada)

[GonzoRecovery]

@CanadianCatastrophes What makes you think that, CC ? The frontpiece describes them as a Lancashire battalion, and though re-mustering after annihilation of a battalion might see troops sent to another, completely different regiment, I don't know that this included being detailed to serve in another country's forces, even if they were allies...

[h0ah0ah0ah0ah0a]

exactly, at the time part of the british empire. so, rightly british.

[CanadianCatastrophes]

ummm, except for the fact that it was still called the dominion of canada, and the land the soldiers came from is this land we call canada, so rightly canadian, canada had its own acting government, its own laws, its own currency, CANADIAN.

[Woodlander65]

@CanadianCatastrophes

Newfoundlanders were still part of the British Empire, didnt join Canada till 1949.

[doverstraits]

@CanadianCatastrophes No they aint there Lancs

[JoeDiversion]

They said in WW1 that "the only troops who were ever bayonetted had their hands up first"

Nervousness of that outcome is clearly visible at 1.30.

The effects of the long British bombardment are apparent especially on the first prisoners who appear utterly dazed and delirious.

[19smokey19]

where i couldnt notice, in bk ground do u mean... thanks