I hate it how all of the comments on these videos have to erupt into arguments. I have a question. In your opinions how do you think the war would have turned out without U.S assistance? I'm American by the way, and I understand that we didn't declare war until the very end in 1917. Not looking for a fight.
@TheXxVIP3RxX obviously, but surely if you go to the trouble of filming all that, with the uniforms, trenches, men etc, you could wait till a reasonably sunny day?
@THthefirst France isn't known for its lovely sunnyness in the north only comes around every so often. These things have time schedules you can't wait around for a sunny day
with a battle like the Somme and a short look at it via visuals and film. i have seen about ten respectively. both sides were learning the power of there time of technology..dealing death from a distance. i can see at the end of the war with both German and allied eyes looking over the fields every country was in shock and awe..having ancestors of both Canadian and British soldier linage and German i feel a loss all around...and never want these men to be forgotten
"many british infantry units were ordered to advance at walking pace"
actually, this is nonsense and a C20 myth
Rawlinson's tactical notes to div commanders said nothing about the way the troops were to attack - these decisions were taken on a unit by unit basis - the majority took up positions in no mans land AHEAD of zero hour, others rushed the German lines. There is little evidence of many units marching slowly - that myth developed in the 1960s.
Yeah, tactical common sense is that the troop position themselve in the noman's land during the bombing when the germans are hiding and not after when they take back their firing positions.
@CrimsonbloodSC What would you have done instead? There were no tanks, aircraft were in their infancy. The generals tried to use tactics to maximise success - artillery, the creeping barrage, smoke, gas etc - but heavy casualties were inevitable. As I say, what would you have done? Better military minds than yours struggled with these challenges at the time.
@CrimsonbloodSC They weren't, it's just that the technology cancelled everything out. The Allies learnt how to overcome the technological barrier, which is the point of the video
Lions led by donkeys... the germans got our army then right what was douglas hage think bomb the ground into a swamp then send you men over there and if all the first ones die then just send another thousand people to the slaughter. R.I.P All those fallen troops
@MrConph123123123 because by the Somme in 1916 the British Army had to draft in many, many young men to face the heavily entrenched and numerous Germans. These troops were highly untrained because the Somme had to be carried out as soon as possible to ease the pressure on the French at Verdun. These badly trained troops could not all charge at the same time and the worst thing you want in a charge is a very "wobbly" line as it give more surface area for the Germans to attack. So they walked.
lol... revealed they positions with the whistle, smokeshells directed artillery towards the approximate estimated location of the "army" and some Maxim machine guns delivered from GB/USA/Africa just mowed everyone down who pushed forward. Inacceptable action from the leading personalities if you ask me, moreover, when a MG is shooting just locate it hide and wait... It is not that hard if you take the flashes of the gunpowder (Mündungsfeuer) into account...
@JackGMarch Not all artillery is created equal. The bombardment that lasted one week's time wasn't eclusively conducted with concussion-type shells. In fact, the majority were shrapnel shells that would do little to the Germans who were dug in 20 feet or more deep. Unless one of the heavier shells happened to strike a German bunker directly, they would be unharmed. Furthermore, most of the gunners in the British sector were unskilled and couldn't really place rounds where they wanted.
I dare say that the soldiers on the field had more respect for the Germans than some people alive today do.
both sides suffered great casualties
As Canadian who's grand dad was there from beginning to end + 2 years to clean up the mess. I salute the Germans and the British people for being put into this situation.
@DJsharp707 Do you mean "won" the war? As for that suggestion, I disagree, given that Britain and France had worn Germany down over 3 years, had suffered many times more casualties, had killed more germans, had put more troops into the field etc than the US. Britain also invented the tank, which helped to win the war, well before the US joined. That is not to say the US did not contribute, but to claim it "won" the war is pure nonsense.
@DJsharp707 Typical American Idiot, The propaganda you guys are told is pathetic. The US Forces only arrived after the last desperate attempt by the Germans to break the British-Commonwealth-French Forces ended in disaster. The war started in 1914, Yet the US Forces only arrived 1918. Italy played a bigger role during the war. Germany was left alone desperate, After Ottomans were defeated & Austro-Hungary gave up. Where was this million men?
can someone pleasehelp me with this movie that i dont know the name of i saw it at least 5 years ago i loved it, there was a part where they gto into a forest and a guy gets crushed by a cannon ball and vanishes. ps i dont know if this was WWI or WWII. Another part was they used a pigeon to send a message and i think it was the germans that shoot it and if falls, the camera then focuseson it and its limping. i dont know what part came first. please like this so other people can see this
@Dwaf3Gam3s the film you saw , i one of WW1 i saw it too . It's called something like : American vs German amry ww1 , if you search it , i think you will find it on youtube
@Henza9218 Yes, exept from the dardanelles campaign were the turks and the germans showed the anzac what can be done out of a inferior position, whith a lack of supply and after a few days outnumbered.. That was strategy and bravery. Even with their officiers the anzacs had less of both.
@gotpudding91 the poms came out of the era of red coats of standing inlines type attitude and they assumed that all the krauts would of been killed in the barrage
@gotpudding91 if the men ever reached the enemy trench, you would be useless in hand to hand combat if you were tired (after running all that distance to get to the trench). and also its natural for someone to aim for a soldier running retardedly around in the field. other than that, i have no idea O_O i would still run to the trench though
@gotpudding91 It’s a misconception, really the speed of which battalions crossed no mans land was decided at corps or divisional levels or when the bullets were actually flying. the reason why people believe they walked is because the fourth army tactical notes suggests that they did but on the Somme divisions crossed in different formations so there’s no reason to believe that they all walked over no mans land at a snails pace.
We fought with Britain when she was striped bare of all her allies in Europe. When she stood up high on the pedastel of defeat with the world reigning against her, with so few allies and so little hope. The sons of Canada came to the Empire's aid, the sons of Canada answered the call. In her greatest hour of need Canada stood by Britain. No matter the year be it 1914 or 1939, We will never forget where our loyalty is and where it will always be.
@dismant101 Because they are carrying over 40kg of weight on their backs,if they ran the mile towards the enemy they would be too fucked to fight when they reached the enemy trenches!
I don't think any men who fought in this war would be pleased to see what they fought for. British, German Russian, Canadian, French, American or Austrian, they all made bigger sacrifices than any of you could even contemplate. And for what? Certainly not for you to be able to argue on youtube. The war ended 93 years ago, isn't that long enough for us to bury our hate for ex enemies and just realise how awful this war was for everyone involved? While you are all arguing just remember that.
@stig781 While I am proud of my English/British ancestory, I believe the badge on their uniform said Australia. Since 1901 Australia was a nation not a colony, and we always help our friends in good time and bad and as an Australian I find it very disrespectful that you can't recognise that. But it's not only disrespectful to myself and my fellow Australians, it's even more disrespectful to the 61,000 diggers who fought for the empire in this war and will never return home.
we should not argue over who is better this was a great war so respect to all countries fighting including britian germany france ect . these germans wer NOT nazis to all you americans
@bhoward422 if you were in the war join the army of the country your nearest if your in north france join the british if your in east france join the germans am half german and half scoutish
@bhoward422 No it´s not. Sei stolz auf Deinen deutschen Teil. Wir haben uns in diesem Krieg gegen die Engländer nichts aber rein gar nichts zu Schulden kommen lassen.
@RodrigoBorgia Oh yes, that indeed is a most intelligent way to clear things. Just like the Englishman I once met, who was wearing a T-Shirt which said: "Instant asshole, just add alcohol"...And now, Give me some more...
Its so sad my great grand father died in the somme's got killed by by a gattaling gun when he was orded to go over the top riped him to pices god rest his sole
The technology had gone far beyond the idea of "the great battle plan" Even though, the generals in this war must never have witnessed an assault themselfs. Walking proved to be a costly affair in the beginning of the war, wy keep it up? The old gents truely made this generation suffer more then needed. We can at least glad ourselfs that the civilion population sufferd less in this grand war besides lack of food and goods, unlike WW2.
@tyskbulle You partially answer your own question. There were issues with technology and the size of armies. These were the largest armies in human history and the technology to co-ordinate them largely did not exist in 1914 or until 1916. The 'old gents' were personally affected by their lost men and it was not as callous as we like to think. They could not stop an attack, once it began tehre were phases that needed to continue and steps which could be aborted. The follow up was canceled.
why did the British walk to their doom everybody asks.The reason being no German cunt was to survive the month long barrage.When they did breakthrough the generals never pushed through the advances they did make,medals for the generals whilst a generation of fine men died
@southlondon63 What´s embarrassing? To win two worldwars and still to have such a tremendous decline. Lost your empire. Lost your own country to people from all over the world, who do not give a damn about old England. How pitiful.
@FranzLudwigErthal we helped defeat the most evil regime this planet has ever
known in ww2 ,embarrassed, not in the least. . As for losing a empire at least we had one to lose.This country through language, arts and linventions has left it's mark ,am l still embarrassed . Please don't answer because like most Germans you are bland and boring.
@southlondon63 To WWII: Point taken. But Germany is - and also was - more than Nazism! But this simple fact doesn´t get into the minds of the rather simple minded people. Am I right? And here we come back to the beginning: You called the german soldiers of WWI 92 years after the war has ended (!!) "german cunts"....
@FranzLudwigErthal Well at least YOU are one of these cunts.Germany is not "more" than Nazism. In all times from the geographical region called Germany produced war, invasions, attacks against others. If not against others they attacked themselfes.Learn some bout your own history. History is more than watching YT-vids and sqeaking around. Read from the beginning, from Tacticus, dark german Middle Age, Thirty Years' War etc.Germany NEVER was a country of "great thinkers".
First of all, who attacked Germany until 1870 again and again?
Alsace-Lorraine was a original German territory!
Second, yes France and England were very peaceful nation during the Middle age ; ). Saying that a group of people or a country is brutal and aggressive in general is not more than racism.
Wars are planned and executed by the leaders. The the normal soldier is only the idiot are victim who has to follow.
@RodrigoBorgia Yes, History is more than watching vids. So let´s go: Germany is located in the middle of Europe. The consequence of this was, that its neighbors invaded it a couple of times. The thirty-years war happend in Germany, but who fought there? France, Sweden etc. In 1648 Germany was spoilt. Only one third of its population had survived, because what the swedish had done here was godless! And later: Napoleon! He invaded Germany, annexed most of it an squeezed the rest out. All true!
@FranzLudwigErthal Many British soldiers that came back from the war in 1918 had some affection for the German front line soldier; it was governements that messed up the peace, and don't we all know it!
even though Poland is the true faschist by willingly joining the evil Austro-hungarian empire! who would've thought Poland would fuck things up. Them and the French need to learn, nothing goes their way because their pathetic countries that are too cocky. If they weren't so cocky (which is what led to France's inevitable defeat) then maybe Britain wouldn't have to (oh sorry, AGAIN) Rush to their aid.
@WolfytheWolf5667 What the hell are you talking about? Hello? This is about WW1!! There was no Poland at the time. YOU didn´t rush to anyones aid. You couldn´t find the break just in time. That is what happened.
@southlondon63 ... That is inacceptable. If you were a man of honor an dignity, you would 1. know more about the way EUROPE stumbled into this war and 2. would pay respect to all victims of the war, because at the end, they were all brothers in arms and probably closer to each other, than you are to me. Amen.
can you imagine living in those conditions for 4 years, just have a look at the trench and then think about living in a small hole dug into the side of the trench where bodies of french soldiers were sometimes found as there was nowhere else to bury the dead
The assumption was shock and awe a la 1916, the artillery bombardment of 3 million shells for 7 days was supposed to annihilate the Germans. This had never been tried before and smaller scale operations in 1915 indicaated that normally trenches could be destroyed in this manner- but unknown to British was the advanced construction of German trenches in the area (later repeated everywhere).
The majority of British forces in action this day were 'New Army' who had poor ...
@dismant101 ...training and really were not up to the task of being the assult wave. However necessity meant that the British HAD to launch an Offensive to relieve the French at Verdun. So they HAD to use the 'New Army' as they were the only full strenght and fresh units avaliable.
Problem
1. The German trenches were not destroyed but the British had no way of knowing.
2. As the attack progressed the technology of the time meant no once could get inforation to people who could stop it
Christ! I wish I was an 'Armchair General' and knew so much about winning wars as these people posting military advice here!
British casualties though heavy were 50% of the French number and less 30% of the German figure. Caualties are always tragic but it was British and French troops that held the Victory parade and not the Germans!
FP470: Yes point taken! However The Brritish army in 1918 was the only army in the West that was much stronger than it was in 1914. It could have fought on while French and Germans on their 'chinstraps' I was thirty years in the Infantry (RWF)therefore perhaps biased. In our battalion War diaries it is often remarked " Jerry never sang in his trenches after the Somme:
As an aspiring, although poor, mlitary historian from Australia I am not familiar with the abbreviation RWF. Is that Royal Welch(or Welsh) Fusiliers?
Do not be too afraid to take value out of the war diaries, especialy since your experiences are loosely similar to those you read about.
Just remember they tend to be incomplete rather than deliberately misleading. So they wont often talk about the really cool new stuff they get to play with and how they love driling with it for 12 hrs
Entente casualties~ 600,000, Germany ~ 500,000. Entente gained about a centimeter of territory along their front for every man they lost. Fairly dismal victory.
@gunninlinguist It is not as simple as that. The Great war was one of attrition not a war about capturing huge swathes of terriotory, which is why moderns can find the war hard to conceive. The current war in Iraq has been 'won' the US occupation is total, but are they areally winning the war? Holding territory is no longer how you necessarily 'win' wars in the 20th century, ww1, ww2, vietnam, iraq 1 & 2 are telling us this.
@gunninlinguist Call it a dismal victory if you wish; I admit that the battles on the Somme depleted the British army, but it broke the back of the german army. It caused the retreat to the 'Hindenburg line' which in turn was attacked and taken by the alies some months later. After the fall of the Hindenburgh line The germans just went slowly back until their failed attack of March 1918, from then on they were pushed back into Germany.
Sorry pal,thats not true.They were told to walk,behind a creeping barrage of artilley.They were also told to walk as parts of no mans land were quite wide,soldiers running across a battlefield (which would have been impossible because of the pot holed terrain)then they would have been in no condition for the trench fighting on the other side.Yet another myth.
1. They were not involved in a creeping barrage. It was a mass artillery attack of the style done by Napoleon, by the Germans on Stalingrad and by the US during Shock and Awe. As opposed to a creeping barrage which suppresses the enemy till the attacker is within effective rifle range of the enemy trenches.
2. They were told to walk because; they assumption was that all significant resistance would have been eliminated. Also these troops were very poorly trained and not skilled in more complex attacks. The pre-war Ulster division actually did run despit the chopped nature of ground.
and just a side note the only british division to capture their objectives that day was the ulster division, only the generals were to retarded to send support and they couldnt hold, ww1 sucked!
It was more so that the Ulster Division was a largely pre-war formation, highly trained with good morale and thus were competant enough to run.
Also the Generals could do very little once the battle commenced. The lack of radio equipment, a sufficient sized staff officer corps and a general reserve were the key overarching issues here- that when mixed together with poor artillery work is what brought about the result of the first day of the Somme
to keep time with other divisions, the generals had no real grasp of what type of warfare they were dealing with and they were very rigid and unflexable
British soldiers were not told by the generals to walk towards the enemy in slow long straight lines. They were told to use the most appropriate formation for the ground they had to cover and the experience of the troops they had. This programme alludes to that on several occasions. As for officers; they died in greater proportion than their soldiers.
okay,,when i see a comment like this i have to ask where you got your information from,,how can more officers have died when there were more soldiers ,,and the troops were told to walk because they were told there was no need to run because nothing could have survived the shelling and because they were,nt professional soldiers and not to tire themselves out..
aT THE TIME EVERYBODY FIGHTED IN THE SAME WAY....Moving forward and try to survive.
And why your docu didnt spaek about the hundred thousunds of "other" peple who are on your side_?Algers at the france side and arabs at english side.....etc.
It's ways about just britain.....Not just britain lost a lot of soldiers.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
in a few hours lol what happened in 1921? your empire couldnt beat us... and again in the troubles a army of 30,000 couldnt beat 800 ira hahaha a ew hours catch yourself on.. even the taliban are kicking your fucking ass ha
jvmax100: The british army staff used to think that the command is easyer when the soldiers don't run. The power of the machine-gun was sub-valued.... It was one of the anachronisms (french uniform, german helmet....) observed at the begining of the war.
1) They had waaay too much equipment on their backs, so sprint wasn't so easy as it is with only clothes on self.
2) As what I read from one book, British totally didn't expected that forward german positions would survive bombardment, so the first line of attackers was totally surprised and shocked and it took a while before they even realised that there are fortified positions of enemy to rush to ahead of them.
Because officers didn't know how to fight a war like this. The British were still used to war without machine guns, where massive bodies of soldiers would advance towards another massive body of soldiers and because of discipline and unit moral they would hold under fire until they reached engagement range, either melee or carbine. They never fought against a weapon capable of killing entire battalions in minutes. Soldiers are told to walk as it keeps unit cohesion/energy better then a run.
@pythag123 ud think after a few years officers on all sides would develop modern tactics to adapt to shells , long range high power rifles, and the machine gun
@8thman420 If you watch the entire documentary it shows that contrary to belief the 1st day of the Somme was not indicative of the remainder of the operation nor the remainder of the war. Ths documentary goest on to demonstrate the new tactics that helped win the Somme and the war. Without WW1 the modern would not have been developed to much later. WW2 benefited alot from the developments of WW1 and today we still use the same concepts as in 1916-1918
I hate it how all of the comments on these videos have to erupt into arguments. I have a question. In your opinions how do you think the war would have turned out without U.S assistance? I'm American by the way, and I understand that we didn't declare war until the very end in 1917. Not looking for a fight.
JustStaringOutWindow 2 weeks ago
why is it shown as being muddy, when in fact 1 July was a blistering hot day.
THthefirst 3 weeks ago
@THthefirst must be what the conditions were like on the day of filming
TheXxVIP3RxX 2 weeks ago
@TheXxVIP3RxX obviously, but surely if you go to the trouble of filming all that, with the uniforms, trenches, men etc, you could wait till a reasonably sunny day?
THthefirst 2 weeks ago
@THthefirst France isn't known for its lovely sunnyness in the north only comes around every so often. These things have time schedules you can't wait around for a sunny day
TheXxVIP3RxX 2 weeks ago
3:10 that is hard!
MRbreakthroughx 1 month ago
with a battle like the Somme and a short look at it via visuals and film. i have seen about ten respectively. both sides were learning the power of there time of technology..dealing death from a distance. i can see at the end of the war with both German and allied eyes looking over the fields every country was in shock and awe..having ancestors of both Canadian and British soldier linage and German i feel a loss all around...and never want these men to be forgotten
RayneStrifeSway 2 months ago
Canada is the UK's truest friend. fighting alongside us in every war except the falklands and malaya, which is understandable. loving the moose!
hordichuck 3 months ago
@3:10 one guy gets completely blown to shit by a shell!!
beemahwomanzz 3 months ago
crazy. They dig trenches so that they can protect themselves from gunfire and artillery, but they walk across a bullet infested open ground.
108Dax 3 months ago
man all these campers
Holtunu 4 months ago
@Holtunu mate, thats low. Don't take the piss.
bijl531 3 months ago
"many british infantry units were ordered to advance at walking pace"
actually, this is nonsense and a C20 myth
Rawlinson's tactical notes to div commanders said nothing about the way the troops were to attack - these decisions were taken on a unit by unit basis - the majority took up positions in no mans land AHEAD of zero hour, others rushed the German lines. There is little evidence of many units marching slowly - that myth developed in the 1960s.
THthefirst 4 months ago 12
Yeah, tactical common sense is that the troop position themselve in the noman's land during the bombing when the germans are hiding and not after when they take back their firing positions.
etistone 4 months ago
Comment removed
dave777blaster 1 month ago
C'mon lads! this is a walk in the park!!!
amartinjoe 4 months ago
the tactics were so fucking stupid compared to WW2
CrimsonbloodSC 4 months ago
@CrimsonbloodSC What would you have done instead? There were no tanks, aircraft were in their infancy. The generals tried to use tactics to maximise success - artillery, the creeping barrage, smoke, gas etc - but heavy casualties were inevitable. As I say, what would you have done? Better military minds than yours struggled with these challenges at the time.
THthefirst 4 months ago
@CrimsonbloodSC They weren't, it's just that the technology cancelled everything out. The Allies learnt how to overcome the technological barrier, which is the point of the video
dmax631 4 months ago
talk about rushing 7:30
12F220 5 months ago
5:44 Stammler is either stuttering or he's a retard
CacaLauncher23 6 months ago
@CacaLauncher23 hmm he seemed a little slow saying just one word
Master1906 5 months ago
@CacaLauncher23
call him idiot
for me hes got balls of steeel
GiasingaSTRIZZI 3 months ago
6:00 Haha blank rounds.
TaZ101SAGA 8 months ago
@zotaaxHD I know I tought I deleted that comment. I was just wondering whether there were scoped Lee enfields and what type of crosshairs they were
tornadodude1609 8 months ago
Lions led by donkeys... the germans got our army then right what was douglas hage think bomb the ground into a swamp then send you men over there and if all the first ones die then just send another thousand people to the slaughter. R.I.P All those fallen troops
TheToxicPenguin 8 months ago
is tthis ww1 or ww2? i know lee enfield scoped wasnt in ww1, but i just gotta be sure
tornadodude1609 8 months ago
@tornadodude1609 this is ww1 u can easy see that on their gear/weapons/area
zotaaxHD 8 months ago
"5:09" gibihnen saures :D
TheRedSkin2009 8 months ago
Why didn't they charge??
MrConph123123123 8 months ago
@MrConph123123123 because by the Somme in 1916 the British Army had to draft in many, many young men to face the heavily entrenched and numerous Germans. These troops were highly untrained because the Somme had to be carried out as soon as possible to ease the pressure on the French at Verdun. These badly trained troops could not all charge at the same time and the worst thing you want in a charge is a very "wobbly" line as it give more surface area for the Germans to attack. So they walked.
threadgoldc 8 months ago
lol... revealed they positions with the whistle, smokeshells directed artillery towards the approximate estimated location of the "army" and some Maxim machine guns delivered from GB/USA/Africa just mowed everyone down who pushed forward. Inacceptable action from the leading personalities if you ask me, moreover, when a MG is shooting just locate it hide and wait... It is not that hard if you take the flashes of the gunpowder (Mündungsfeuer) into account...
Duodax 10 months ago
how did the germans survive all those shells, i don't really understand?
JackGMarch 10 months ago
@JackGMarch Not all artillery is created equal. The bombardment that lasted one week's time wasn't eclusively conducted with concussion-type shells. In fact, the majority were shrapnel shells that would do little to the Germans who were dug in 20 feet or more deep. Unless one of the heavier shells happened to strike a German bunker directly, they would be unharmed. Furthermore, most of the gunners in the British sector were unskilled and couldn't really place rounds where they wanted.
browsfan 9 months ago
60,000+ dead by noon.. ok.. whos the blame ? anyone ? .. alas.
teddythebenny 10 months ago
why were they walking while they were being shot at?
Madara2233 10 months ago
@Madara2233 they were told to do so, or trained to, if they run something worse could happen
TheMARINE216 10 months ago
@GreaterGermanReich The battle-scars of experience! >:3D
Shadowfang3000 10 months ago 2
i am german and the germany soldiers speak very crazy german:D!
fiddevogel 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
they have balls
illiniman34 11 months ago
I dare say that the soldiers on the field had more respect for the Germans than some people alive today do.
both sides suffered great casualties
As Canadian who's grand dad was there from beginning to end + 2 years to clean up the mess. I salute the Germans and the British people for being put into this situation.
dave777blaster 11 months ago 17
@dave777blaster it was the americans who one the war, cant forget that derp, 1 million fresh troops agaisnt a small battle weary army...its a fact
DJsharp707 2 months ago
@DJsharp707 Americans lol that's daft
dave777blaster 2 months ago
@DJsharp707 Do you mean "won" the war? As for that suggestion, I disagree, given that Britain and France had worn Germany down over 3 years, had suffered many times more casualties, had killed more germans, had put more troops into the field etc than the US. Britain also invented the tank, which helped to win the war, well before the US joined. That is not to say the US did not contribute, but to claim it "won" the war is pure nonsense.
THthefirst 1 month ago
@DJsharp707 Typical American Idiot, The propaganda you guys are told is pathetic. The US Forces only arrived after the last desperate attempt by the Germans to break the British-Commonwealth-French Forces ended in disaster. The war started in 1914, Yet the US Forces only arrived 1918. Italy played a bigger role during the war. Germany was left alone desperate, After Ottomans were defeated & Austro-Hungary gave up. Where was this million men?
martynrobin121 1 month ago
@dave777blaster
But,You don't salute the 1 000 000 French dead in this war ? That's fine.
xByTheGraceOfGodx 1 month ago
@xByTheGraceOfGodx them too sure
dave777blaster 1 month ago
All the men walking to the death. Stupid english officer.
The war make the rich to the poor are killed
MIKKOBROWN 11 months ago
can someone pleasehelp me with this movie that i dont know the name of i saw it at least 5 years ago i loved it, there was a part where they gto into a forest and a guy gets crushed by a cannon ball and vanishes. ps i dont know if this was WWI or WWII. Another part was they used a pigeon to send a message and i think it was the germans that shoot it and if falls, the camera then focuseson it and its limping. i dont know what part came first. please like this so other people can see this
Dwaf3Gam3s 11 months ago
@Dwaf3Gam3s its called my boy jack and it was made in 2007.
edthewise 11 months ago
@Dwaf3Gam3s the film you saw , i one of WW1 i saw it too . It's called something like : American vs German amry ww1 , if you search it , i think you will find it on youtube
JulianGiotto 11 months ago
@Dwaf3Gam3s It`s called "The Lost Battalion".
Diwonusoio 11 months ago
3:12 pwnd by a shell
eikkkN 1 year ago
lol shooting the officers only worked on everyone exept the anzacs and candians we would just shrug and get on with the job
Henza9218 1 year ago
@Henza9218 Yes, exept from the dardanelles campaign were the turks and the germans showed the anzac what can be done out of a inferior position, whith a lack of supply and after a few days outnumbered.. That was strategy and bravery. Even with their officiers the anzacs had less of both.
FranzLudwigErthal 1 year ago
2:53 Kilted Scotsmen
SCOTTISHB0Y 1 year ago
y did they walk their way to enemy trench?
sry i dont understand.
no flaming
gotpudding91 1 year ago
@gotpudding91 the poms came out of the era of red coats of standing inlines type attitude and they assumed that all the krauts would of been killed in the barrage
Henza9218 1 year ago
@gotpudding91 if the men ever reached the enemy trench, you would be useless in hand to hand combat if you were tired (after running all that distance to get to the trench). and also its natural for someone to aim for a soldier running retardedly around in the field. other than that, i have no idea O_O i would still run to the trench though
MonsterPianos 11 months ago
@gotpudding91 It’s a misconception, really the speed of which battalions crossed no mans land was decided at corps or divisional levels or when the bullets were actually flying. the reason why people believe they walked is because the fourth army tactical notes suggests that they did but on the Somme divisions crossed in different formations so there’s no reason to believe that they all walked over no mans land at a snails pace.
Monsstar10 9 months ago
wtf why are the germans speaking swiss german???
fy4wbibv1 1 year ago
@fy4wbibv1 I guess is the best german speaking actors they had at the time.
i personally cant see the diffrense since i dont speak german.
Suomipanzerdiv13 1 year ago
Wow, why are they just walking? your a damn target out there!
whopper1209 1 year ago
thats are boys blow them fuckers up
elf2341 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
We fought with Britain when she was striped bare of all her allies in Europe. When she stood up high on the pedastel of defeat with the world reigning against her, with so few allies and so little hope. The sons of Canada came to the Empire's aid, the sons of Canada answered the call. In her greatest hour of need Canada stood by Britain. No matter the year be it 1914 or 1939, We will never forget where our loyalty is and where it will always be.
FourDollarDoobie 1 year ago
It took true men to go over the top, knowing you will not come back.
23Revan84 1 year ago
Was this on CBC a couple of years ago?
guitarheromanabc 1 year ago
I have a great Idea why don't ran in stead of walking
dismant101 1 year ago
@dismant101 Because they are carrying over 40kg of weight on their backs,if they ran the mile towards the enemy they would be too fucked to fight when they reached the enemy trenches!
Therifles100 1 year ago
Give em beans!
adrenaline100100 1 year ago
I don't think any men who fought in this war would be pleased to see what they fought for. British, German Russian, Canadian, French, American or Austrian, they all made bigger sacrifices than any of you could even contemplate. And for what? Certainly not for you to be able to argue on youtube. The war ended 93 years ago, isn't that long enough for us to bury our hate for ex enemies and just realise how awful this war was for everyone involved? While you are all arguing just remember that.
MrKingharkinian 1 year ago
@MrKingharkinian What about Australian forces, dont lump us in with the British.
Prime4571 1 year ago
@Prime4571 They were Brits just living abroad anyway
stig781 1 year ago
@stig781 While I am proud of my English/British ancestory, I believe the badge on their uniform said Australia. Since 1901 Australia was a nation not a colony, and we always help our friends in good time and bad and as an Australian I find it very disrespectful that you can't recognise that. But it's not only disrespectful to myself and my fellow Australians, it's even more disrespectful to the 61,000 diggers who fought for the empire in this war and will never return home.
Prime4571 1 year ago
@Prime4571 Fough for the Empire? SO Australia is still colony after all
ImperialGuard9001 1 year ago
@MrKingharkinian God bless you, you are a reasonable person my friend. Hatred and war are evil things.
meniosgomenios 1 year ago
we should not argue over who is better this was a great war so respect to all countries fighting including britian germany france ect . these germans wer NOT nazis to all you americans
ChiddsVids 1 year ago
see that poor guy at 3:10 got blown to pieces.at least he didnt suffer,R.I.P
richyloike 1 year ago
Being half German half English this is a tight situation for me
bhoward422 1 year ago
@bhoward422 if you were in the war join the army of the country your nearest if your in north france join the british if your in east france join the germans am half german and half scoutish
jasincl 1 year ago
@bhoward422 No it´s not. Sei stolz auf Deinen deutschen Teil. Wir haben uns in diesem Krieg gegen die Engländer nichts aber rein gar nichts zu Schulden kommen lassen.
FranzLudwigErthal 1 year ago
@FranzLudwigErthal Dumb FAG. You havent learn anythink out of that, have you? Dumb arrogant squeaking faggot.
RodrigoBorgia 1 year ago
@RodrigoBorgia shut the hell up dumb moron who lives in his moms basement and thinks hes cool go to hell
wowhobbster666 1 year ago
@RodrigoBorgia Oh yes, that indeed is a most intelligent way to clear things. Just like the Englishman I once met, who was wearing a T-Shirt which said: "Instant asshole, just add alcohol"...And now, Give me some more...
FranzLudwigErthal 1 year ago
watch as the german soldier loads BLANK ROUNDS into his rifle at 6:00... lol
paz5449 1 year ago
Anyone ever read Charley's War ( Battle, IPC Magazines)? The Somme got me interested in military history.
Noodles37UK 1 year ago
Its so sad my great grand father died in the somme's got killed by by a gattaling gun when he was orded to go over the top riped him to pices god rest his sole
solidsnake117100 1 year ago
@solidsnake117100 sorry to hear tht
ur great grand father died serving his country
and i respect him for tht
xXiBuLlEtXx1 1 year ago
why did we advanced like the that. We should had been running and leting out our war crys at them
Monopoly907 1 year ago
The technology had gone far beyond the idea of "the great battle plan" Even though, the generals in this war must never have witnessed an assault themselfs. Walking proved to be a costly affair in the beginning of the war, wy keep it up? The old gents truely made this generation suffer more then needed. We can at least glad ourselfs that the civilion population sufferd less in this grand war besides lack of food and goods, unlike WW2.
tyskbulle 1 year ago
@tyskbulle You partially answer your own question. There were issues with technology and the size of armies. These were the largest armies in human history and the technology to co-ordinate them largely did not exist in 1914 or until 1916. The 'old gents' were personally affected by their lost men and it was not as callous as we like to think. They could not stop an attack, once it began tehre were phases that needed to continue and steps which could be aborted. The follow up was canceled.
fp470 1 year ago
I mean. the BBC is very good at creating the ATMOSPHERE of the actual battle, like we were actually THERE.
spinynorman230 1 year ago
why did the British walk to their doom everybody asks.The reason being no German cunt was to survive the month long barrage.When they did breakthrough the generals never pushed through the advances they did make,medals for the generals whilst a generation of fine men died
southlondon63 1 year ago
@southlondon63 German cunts and a generation of fine man...You obviousily don´t belong to them.
FranzLudwigErthal 1 year ago
@FranzLudwigErthal your so right Fritz l am not a German cunt, thanks for the info
southlondon63 1 year ago
@southlondon63 What I said: Not a fine man at all.
FranzLudwigErthal 1 year ago
@southlondon63 What´s embarrassing? To win two worldwars and still to have such a tremendous decline. Lost your empire. Lost your own country to people from all over the world, who do not give a damn about old England. How pitiful.
FranzLudwigErthal 1 year ago
@FranzLudwigErthal we helped defeat the most evil regime this planet has ever
known in ww2 ,embarrassed, not in the least. . As for losing a empire at least we had one to lose.This country through language, arts and linventions has left it's mark ,am l still embarrassed . Please don't answer because like most Germans you are bland and boring.
southlondon63 1 year ago
@southlondon63 To WWII: Point taken. But Germany is - and also was - more than Nazism! But this simple fact doesn´t get into the minds of the rather simple minded people. Am I right? And here we come back to the beginning: You called the german soldiers of WWI 92 years after the war has ended (!!) "german cunts"....
FranzLudwigErthal 1 year ago 40
@FranzLudwigErthal Well at least YOU are one of these cunts.Germany is not "more" than Nazism. In all times from the geographical region called Germany produced war, invasions, attacks against others. If not against others they attacked themselfes.Learn some bout your own history. History is more than watching YT-vids and sqeaking around. Read from the beginning, from Tacticus, dark german Middle Age, Thirty Years' War etc.Germany NEVER was a country of "great thinkers".
RodrigoBorgia 1 year ago
@RodrigoBorgia
Read your history books carefully.
First of all, who attacked Germany until 1870 again and again?
Alsace-Lorraine was a original German territory!
Second, yes France and England were very peaceful nation during the Middle age ; ). Saying that a group of people or a country is brutal and aggressive in general is not more than racism.
Wars are planned and executed by the leaders. The the normal soldier is only the idiot are victim who has to follow.
hussi188 1 year ago
@RodrigoBorgia Yes, History is more than watching vids. So let´s go: Germany is located in the middle of Europe. The consequence of this was, that its neighbors invaded it a couple of times. The thirty-years war happend in Germany, but who fought there? France, Sweden etc. In 1648 Germany was spoilt. Only one third of its population had survived, because what the swedish had done here was godless! And later: Napoleon! He invaded Germany, annexed most of it an squeezed the rest out. All true!
FranzLudwigErthal 1 year ago
@FranzLudwigErthal Many British soldiers that came back from the war in 1918 had some affection for the German front line soldier; it was governements that messed up the peace, and don't we all know it!
overopensights 1 year ago
@overopensights Yes, because politicians weren´t in the trenches. But if you read some comments around here, obviously not all of us know it...
FranzLudwigErthal 1 year ago
@FranzLudwigErthal
even though Poland is the true faschist by willingly joining the evil Austro-hungarian empire! who would've thought Poland would fuck things up. Them and the French need to learn, nothing goes their way because their pathetic countries that are too cocky. If they weren't so cocky (which is what led to France's inevitable defeat) then maybe Britain wouldn't have to (oh sorry, AGAIN) Rush to their aid.
WolfytheWolf5667 7 months ago
@WolfytheWolf5667 What the hell are you talking about? Hello? This is about WW1!! There was no Poland at the time. YOU didn´t rush to anyones aid. You couldn´t find the break just in time. That is what happened.
FranzLudwigErthal 7 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@FranzLudwigErthal FUCK the jewish bankers that funded both sides of ww1 and ww2.
pigeonpsycho 6 months ago
@southlondon63 ... That is inacceptable. If you were a man of honor an dignity, you would 1. know more about the way EUROPE stumbled into this war and 2. would pay respect to all victims of the war, because at the end, they were all brothers in arms and probably closer to each other, than you are to me. Amen.
FranzLudwigErthal 1 year ago 51
Long live the german army and the german soldiers. Rest in peace our brave and glorious german soldiers.
XantiimperialistX 1 year ago
Rest in peace, our brave soldiers of the mighty British empire.
MrDeano324 1 year ago
can you imagine living in those conditions for 4 years, just have a look at the trench and then think about living in a small hole dug into the side of the trench where bodies of french soldiers were sometimes found as there was nowhere else to bury the dead
EXTREMEPOPE 1 year ago
thumbs up if u think german helmets look better than british ones
Gtaivownz 1 year ago
why did they walk
dismant101 1 year ago
@dismant101
The assumption was shock and awe a la 1916, the artillery bombardment of 3 million shells for 7 days was supposed to annihilate the Germans. This had never been tried before and smaller scale operations in 1915 indicaated that normally trenches could be destroyed in this manner- but unknown to British was the advanced construction of German trenches in the area (later repeated everywhere).
The majority of British forces in action this day were 'New Army' who had poor ...
fp470 1 year ago
@dismant101 ...training and really were not up to the task of being the assult wave. However necessity meant that the British HAD to launch an Offensive to relieve the French at Verdun. So they HAD to use the 'New Army' as they were the only full strenght and fresh units avaliable.
Problem
1. The German trenches were not destroyed but the British had no way of knowing.
2. As the attack progressed the technology of the time meant no once could get inforation to people who could stop it
fp470 1 year ago
you watch a docudrama. you become experts.
kilomeister 1 year ago
Pure British courage
afrothunderdrumer 1 year ago
i cant belive they walked to the german trench in this movie
Theempore1234 1 year ago
cant belive the just walk past wounded lads
obistakenobi 1 year ago
haha we watched this in history when we were doing ww1
GreyFox1000000 1 year ago
@GreyFox1000000 bravo
Praventore 1 year ago
@Praventore is that sarcastic or what ?
GreyFox1000000 1 year ago
@GreyFox1000000 ofc yes , dont know whats so Funny about this part of history , by funy i mean " haha"
Praventore 1 year ago
This was a cakewalk compared with Bastogne.
swanningaround 1 year ago
The sad thing is the artillery only made the surviving germans pissed surviving germans.
THEDUCKMAN52 1 year ago
in history class we're talking about wwI now
therse been attacks like this one a few times, casualties 320.000 on each side. territory gain: 0
waste of human life =/ such a shame
SatoTM2 1 year ago
Christ! I wish I was an 'Armchair General' and knew so much about winning wars as these people posting military advice here!
British casualties though heavy were 50% of the French number and less 30% of the German figure. Caualties are always tragic but it was British and French troops that held the Victory parade and not the Germans!
overopensights 1 year ago
Well done, finally someone points out who won the war.
It does not require much to be an armchair general althought do not be so critical.
A good book is Paddy Griffith's Battle Tactics of the Western Front; The British Armies' art of attack 1916-1918.
fp470 1 year ago
FP470: Yes point taken! However The Brritish army in 1918 was the only army in the West that was much stronger than it was in 1914. It could have fought on while French and Germans on their 'chinstraps' I was thirty years in the Infantry (RWF)therefore perhaps biased. In our battalion War diaries it is often remarked " Jerry never sang in his trenches after the Somme:
overopensights 1 year ago
As an aspiring, although poor, mlitary historian from Australia I am not familiar with the abbreviation RWF. Is that Royal Welch(or Welsh) Fusiliers?
Do not be too afraid to take value out of the war diaries, especialy since your experiences are loosely similar to those you read about.
Just remember they tend to be incomplete rather than deliberately misleading. So they wont often talk about the really cool new stuff they get to play with and how they love driling with it for 12 hrs
fp470 1 year ago
@overopensights
Entente casualties~ 600,000, Germany ~ 500,000. Entente gained about a centimeter of territory along their front for every man they lost. Fairly dismal victory.
gunninlinguist 1 year ago
@gunninlinguist It is not as simple as that. The Great war was one of attrition not a war about capturing huge swathes of terriotory, which is why moderns can find the war hard to conceive. The current war in Iraq has been 'won' the US occupation is total, but are they areally winning the war? Holding territory is no longer how you necessarily 'win' wars in the 20th century, ww1, ww2, vietnam, iraq 1 & 2 are telling us this.
fp470 1 year ago
@gunninlinguist Call it a dismal victory if you wish; I admit that the battles on the Somme depleted the British army, but it broke the back of the german army. It caused the retreat to the 'Hindenburg line' which in turn was attacked and taken by the alies some months later. After the fall of the Hindenburgh line The germans just went slowly back until their failed attack of March 1918, from then on they were pushed back into Germany.
overopensights 1 year ago
0luckyinternet, the Brits walked because the Generals had drilled it into the mens heads that all of the enemy soldiers would be dead.
wannahuckaloogy5 1 year ago
@wannahuckaloogy5
Sorry pal,thats not true.They were told to walk,behind a creeping barrage of artilley.They were also told to walk as parts of no mans land were quite wide,soldiers running across a battlefield (which would have been impossible because of the pot holed terrain)then they would have been in no condition for the trench fighting on the other side.Yet another myth.
cnosni 1 year ago
@cnosni A few things.
1. They were not involved in a creeping barrage. It was a mass artillery attack of the style done by Napoleon, by the Germans on Stalingrad and by the US during Shock and Awe. As opposed to a creeping barrage which suppresses the enemy till the attacker is within effective rifle range of the enemy trenches.
fp470 1 year ago
@cnosni
2. They were told to walk because; they assumption was that all significant resistance would have been eliminated. Also these troops were very poorly trained and not skilled in more complex attacks. The pre-war Ulster division actually did run despit the chopped nature of ground.
fp470 1 year ago
Someone really fell asleep at the switch in the planning meetings.
ibtnm25 1 year ago
At 3:11 / 3:12 AMAZING, POOR GUY
R.I.P.
fredrunlikehell 1 year ago
and just a side note the only british division to capture their objectives that day was the ulster division, only the generals were to retarded to send support and they couldnt hold, ww1 sucked!
Evilde4d4sh 2 years ago 2
It was more so that the Ulster Division was a largely pre-war formation, highly trained with good morale and thus were competant enough to run.
Also the Generals could do very little once the battle commenced. The lack of radio equipment, a sufficient sized staff officer corps and a general reserve were the key overarching issues here- that when mixed together with poor artillery work is what brought about the result of the first day of the Somme
fp470 1 year ago
Why they don't run?
loveLP500 2 years ago
to keep time with other divisions, the generals had no real grasp of what type of warfare they were dealing with and they were very rigid and unflexable
Evilde4d4sh 2 years ago
is available in spanish?
guillermola 2 years ago
Stupid Brits why didnt they run instead of walking like a bunch of silly grenadiers?!
0LuckyInternetUser0 2 years ago
@0LuckyInternetUser0 they weren't well trained. The barrage was supposed to have made it '..a walkover...' they were wrong...
frequentfiler 1 year ago 4
If you look at 6:00, you can see them loading blank rounds instead of live or dummy ones.
tevyethemad 2 years ago
Not thankyou sir. Must have smoked a packet of my own already.
fp470 2 years ago
you know when your officer says good luck that things are not going well
dblancer 2 years ago
Comment removed
eamonnmc1 2 years ago
British soldiers were not told by the generals to walk towards the enemy in slow long straight lines. They were told to use the most appropriate formation for the ground they had to cover and the experience of the troops they had. This programme alludes to that on several occasions. As for officers; they died in greater proportion than their soldiers.
VaucluseVanguard 2 years ago 2
your are a nured
badiceluna 2 years ago
okay,,when i see a comment like this i have to ask where you got your information from,,how can more officers have died when there were more soldiers ,,and the troops were told to walk because they were told there was no need to run because nothing could have survived the shelling and because they were,nt professional soldiers and not to tire themselves out..
andrewkenworthy 2 years ago
aT THE TIME EVERYBODY FIGHTED IN THE SAME WAY....Moving forward and try to survive.
And why your docu didnt spaek about the hundred thousunds of "other" peple who are on your side_?Algers at the france side and arabs at english side.....etc.
It's ways about just britain.....Not just britain lost a lot of soldiers.
gun844 2 years ago
because its a documentary about the somme battle. A British offensive on the western front. Its not about the whole war
xxxholly 2 years ago
british officers were total losers but their infantrymen fought well and brave. The germans said they were lions commanded by sheeps.
GinTonicdrink 2 years ago 2
Walking pace had something to do with all their gear, up to 60 lbs, and difficult terrain.
As to "planning this shit" wtf would you have done? Hindsight is 20/20.
TommyGlint 2 years ago 2
3:12
niklashdf 2 years ago
I freaking hate the generals and their so called planning.
Lynn15 2 years ago
Advance in a walking pace, just fuck those moron General who planned this shit, suicide. Just slaughter for the soldiers.
thipadey 2 years ago 4
This comment has received too many negative votes show
i know wasnt it so funny fuckin british cunts
thaIrishLad 2 years ago
you dare insult a country that can destroy yours within a few hours you feeble little fuck
yak5408 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
in a few hours lol what happened in 1921? your empire couldnt beat us... and again in the troubles a army of 30,000 couldnt beat 800 ira hahaha a ew hours catch yourself on.. even the taliban are kicking your fucking ass ha
thaIrishLad 2 years ago
does anybody know why they were advancing at walking pace
jvmax100 2 years ago 9
jvmax100: The british army staff used to think that the command is easyer when the soldiers don't run. The power of the machine-gun was sub-valued.... It was one of the anachronisms (french uniform, german helmet....) observed at the begining of the war.
13laciotat 2 years ago
thanks man
jvmax100 2 years ago
also they were carrying so much equipment, they couldn't go any faster. They were also going uphill.
paratrooper6 2 years ago
1) They had waaay too much equipment on their backs, so sprint wasn't so easy as it is with only clothes on self.
2) As what I read from one book, British totally didn't expected that forward german positions would survive bombardment, so the first line of attackers was totally surprised and shocked and it took a while before they even realised that there are fortified positions of enemy to rush to ahead of them.
Thisis3 2 years ago 3
Exactly they thought the bombardment would win its self. The Germans tried this from time to time and it did not work also.
jmay2002 2 years ago
Because officers didn't know how to fight a war like this. The British were still used to war without machine guns, where massive bodies of soldiers would advance towards another massive body of soldiers and because of discipline and unit moral they would hold under fire until they reached engagement range, either melee or carbine. They never fought against a weapon capable of killing entire battalions in minutes. Soldiers are told to walk as it keeps unit cohesion/energy better then a run.
pythag123 2 years ago 23
I see thanks
oarenw 2 years ago
aye in school we looked at a newspaper headline from the first world war and it said 'Lions led by Donkeys'
ccclllsport 2 years ago
@pythag123 ud think after a few years officers on all sides would develop modern tactics to adapt to shells , long range high power rifles, and the machine gun
8thman420 1 year ago
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fp470 1 year ago
@8thman420 If you watch the entire documentary it shows that contrary to belief the 1st day of the Somme was not indicative of the remainder of the operation nor the remainder of the war. Ths documentary goest on to demonstrate the new tactics that helped win the Somme and the war. Without WW1 the modern would not have been developed to much later. WW2 benefited alot from the developments of WW1 and today we still use the same concepts as in 1916-1918
fp470 1 year ago