The Somme - Sneak Peek Part II

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The city in Poland DANZIG is pronounced Dahn-t'sieghh (like in Sieg, from Sieg Heil only with a long G like in grrrrr) or "Dahn-zish." You know why I posted this ;)

[@nacho1560]

I agree, Andy, both forced into this game of chess while the kings stood back and played the pawns and the board. God bless all who died.

[@oldmanlung]

A number of issues: 1. Rifles are wrong, they're WW2 era No. 4 rifles with Pattern 1907 bayonet adapters 2. Small Box Respirators were not widely issued until well after the Somme, troops would have been issued PH Hoods in bags strapped at the side, not the front 3. The large valise pack would have been left behind after the early campaigns of 1914, only retrived behind the lines 4. The German Lieutenant (Kassel), as per his photo collection left to the IWM shows that he wore glasses 5. I don't see a single set of wire cutters, bandoliers, or Lewis Gun sections. Good luck actually making any progress through Fritz lines! Still, good dramatic effect and documentary. Lest we forget

[@8G00SE8]

Whats even stupider is the fact that the enemy then did the exact same thing in return.

[@gordon2d]

According to Sgt. Ernest Bryan of 17th Battn. King's Liverpool Regiment they followed a creeping barrage on July 1st 1916 ( the first day of the Battle of the Somme). The problem was that the barrage did not lift when they reached the enemy and they couldn't tell which side was shelling them. Info from " Forgotten Voices of the Somme" by Joshua Levine

[@Casey757]

Good book

[@Brough1111]

The young soldier was hit and unable to carry on, he crawled to the bottom of a shell hole, he was able to get under his blanket and pull out his New testament, he was found weeks later still clutching it. This happened thousands of times.

[@jiveassturkey8849]

Rip Cyril Joes. 1899-1984. He was the kid featured at the beginning.

[@terrymyers3116]

I went to the Somme battlefields last December

[@Casey757]

The screaming that you hear at 6:16 seems so real. I can’t imagine the real life horror that this war produced. Those who survived must have seen unspeakable horror.

[@TanzDerSchatten]

I read that in addition to the belief that there would be no resistance after the barrage, the point of walking in was that everyone would arrive at the objective at the same time and not be so winded from running that they couldn't fight or occupy the trench.

[@MauserKar98k]

@Kettch23 Correct. It was also used for decoration and served as a ventilator for the helmet. It's kind of funny how people always assume the spike was meant to be a weapon. The spikes are thin brass; you'd end up breaking it before you hurt anyone with it. Just a bonus, German artillerymen had pickelhaubes with a ball on top instead of a spike (symbolizing a cannonball.)

[@shelbybrown8312]

One of the finest strangest and sweetest and saddest parts of the Somme battle England took the largest casualties but also deployed the Buddy brigades which was a way to boost enrollment by having people from the same town who were friends with each other joined together and trained as a group. It's everything honorable and Despicable about war.

[@scaleyback217]

Britain, not England.

[@nelvaldo.4850]

@@scaleyback217 Well said john👍English myself and 100%right of you.

[@davidhull3652]

They were called pals Battalions,recruited together from the same streets, Bradford pals, Accrington pals etc.

[@dotjai330]

that's right lads. Walk across the fields with no cover into the firing line. old tactics against new weapons

[@UtahMike41]

Hearing that whistle knowing that it's time to go would be worse than the guns themselves. At least I think it would be.

[@tooneythekeeper]

the real sad thing was that almost all soldiers were told they could walk as almost all germans would be killed by the prolonged shelling. Making it easier for the germans to wipe them out. In the few places where the soldiers did charge they did manage to maek real progress and break through, but only to be beaten back by german reinforcements and the lack of support.

[@ThePerfectRed]

One of few videos who display the Germans as normal people.

[@anactualalpaca7016]

And not as cartoonish moustache twirling bad guys

[@warwatch]

Discracefull that they sent people to certain death like this like a fkn game 😯

[@calvacoca]

During ww2, germans where effectively normal people. No SS, no nazies. Prisoners where treated very well. And the same in the other side. The enemies where the men to kill, the land was the place to defend or conquer, but there was no hatred.

[@m3gusta17]

@@calvacoca I assume you meant "ww1" and not "ww2" lol

[@johnmcdonald9304]

@@calvacoca Bullshit. They were Nazis. They stomped around like they owned the Earth and sought to enslave it. Fuck you and your moral relativism.

[@MarsFKA]

Engage trainspotter mode: at 1:26 and 4:11 the soldiers are carrying Lee Enfield No.4 Mk1 rifles that were not introduced until 1941. The blade-type bayonets fitted to those rifles were introduced towards the end of WW2.

[@jason200912]

*getting shot by machine gun fire* lets just keep on walking guys!

[@MrAong10]

WWI: The Forgotten War, The Forgotten Young Boys, The Forgotten Cruel Memory & The Forgotten History

[@Vadamur]

0:51 Titanic hits the iceberg!! Sorry, sorry.... I just love the actor... ^-^

[@rogerauger7766]

German Defenders: "GOT MIT UNS!" Attacking British: "WE GOT MITTENS TOO!"

[@martinpugh1008]

My grandfather fought in the somme he was injured by shrapnel and gassed but survived many thanks for showing this film

[@MotionMcAnixx]

Once again all I can say is "I'm glad I was never a soldier".

[@cindyyourplanet3691]

born at the right time

[@trueaspect5888]

be happy you were not born in the 1890s mate

[@emanre3]

exactly, it follows Omaha beach mg emplacement ideologies from WWII as well. It's the enfilading cross fire that create deadly fields of fire, it's near impossible to tell where the fire will come at you from

[@overopensights]

They were worn on some ceremonial parades and for some special guards like at funerals and painted black for that pupose. I have only seen them on prewar images and very early in the war.

[@anton.chigrinetc.96]

*MG starts firing* Nah, nevermind, fellas, let's just keep casually walking straight to the death.

[@condelevante4]

Reading Churchills the World Crisis 1911-1918 and it makes interesting reading. The allies really played into the Germans hands all the way through the war until 1918. The idea was to wear them down but a look at the statistics shows that the Germans kill rate was unsurpisingly double that of the Allies. The tables were only turned ironically when the Germans felt confident enough to go on their great Spring Offensive in 1918 and lost 800,000 men.

[@Kettch23]

Someone else posted the whole show on youtube, you have to look around a bit but it is there and yes the name is simply "The Somme"

[@jeffmantle2468]

King George V and his cousin The Kaiser could of stopped this war.

[@spudpud-T67]

Why would they stop it if they had started it.

[@boanergesbezerra166]

Cousin Nicholas started war.

[@shelbybrown8312]

Pretty much every major Royal figure at this time was the first or second cousin of each other not to mention the Habsburg bloodline in itself. But William and Nicholas and George all believed each other when they said they had no intention of War, at that time, in their correspondence to each other. William actually went on vacation positive that war would not start in his absence. his biggest blunder I would say was not completely reading the the dossier or information that was gathered about Astro-hungary and Russia and Serbia and when he did read it about a month after the war started he realized that Serbia was not to blame for the action of the Assassin he actually wrote something pretty moving in his diary about how he fucked up. But if anybody is to blame there's a particular austro-hungary general who has one of the funniest quotes ever attributed to a person " he's the worst kind of soldier stupid and relentlessly energetic" the same general had petition war with Serbia 26 times in his career.

[@cindyyourplanet3691]

yes house of Gotha's should have told their kraut family to stand down, shooting at same Germanic mutts to the North

[@DSH1092]

fliping great film LEAST WE FORGET

[@wr0ng569]

Lest*

[@presidentlouis-napoleonbon8889]

tHE FACIAL EXPRESSION IS SOOOOOO DETAILED! VERY GOOD ACTORS

[@jatlasb]

Nah. You're thinking of Flanders (specifically Ypers/Passchendaele after weeks of heavy rain) where the water table was a lot closer to the surface and the battles never really ceased for 4 years. Somme had a much different terrain (dry, chalky soil) and was a relatively calm area before the actual battle, so the ground wasn't so torn up as in Flanders.

[@lautaroalvarez775]

yeah...right!....mmm ...clearly the somme was SO VERY EASY ... specially to all the fine young men that put on them chests to the bullets.... but .... ah!... sorry!!!!, i forgot that you know everything about it so very well, don't you?.... no doubt of course, 'cause you're such a brave and an experimented little kid

[@calicheSCOT]

Actually, the 18th century tactics to which you refer to were not stupid, but effective. Because the firearms of the time were so inaccurate (at 100 yards 1 in 30 would hit the target!) and slow to load, they had to be used en masse to have any effect on the enemy. This meant for troops to use their firepower effectively they would have to advance to within 50 yards and fire together to have any damage on their targets. If used correctly it was devastating.

[@SiCDisaster]

Agreed. They should really show the daisycutters or shit like that in a movie. The nasty crap that sends shrapnel everywhere, or the results of inhaling gas, instead of just someone coughing a bit. But i like that they read original letters with the feelings of soldiers, and it's well-acted for the rest.

[@Andygharrison]

they also thought the barbed wire would be destryed and from the photos they took (ariel) it appeared they had because it was very accurate shelling..but it just didn't work.

[@magicjj7]

Couldn't agree more. Basically they said "hey look at these awesome modern armies!! Let's try them out."

[@WallStreet987]

I've always admired the bravery of the British soldier. But how many of those both brave and trusting were needlessly sacrificed throughout history because their leaders had bad intel, ignored good intel, underestimated the enemy or just plain didn't care about the cost? Seems in this war stupidity was in direct proportion to rank.

[@calvacoca]

Yes. Most of the British where volonteers. Incredible when you think of it. Many young guys enrolled hiding their true age because they where too young. They didn't know when they signed, that this war will be like this. So inhuman. Brave, or unconscious guys ? Surely both.

[@melonhead82]

3 of my Great Grandas were in that. This programme can only portray so much.

[@evan9201]

It amazes me how they retro fitted the sword bayonets to the no4s also.

[@slowmonkey156]

I'm Scottish, too. Hell yeah for Scotland! Love the Irish too (you bastards are HILARIOUS I love you) and the English know how to rock and roll. I have a Welsh friend. He's cool.

[@IndieVolken]

so your an american then ?

[@McLarenMercedes]

Get this. The brits were very worried about the ever increasing industrial might and growing fleet of Germany. Great Britain was still the world's leading power and had the most colonies. A bigger german fleet meant the germans could conquer british colonies. For you info the Tripple Entente was formed in 1905 and guaranteed the french,russians and the brits would be allies should a war break out with the central powers, which had been formed in the 1880's between Germany and A-H.

[@snakewrithing]

Assault in good order. Battle Tactics have changed. Loss of life in battle has not.

[@williammalmstrm5585]

loss of life has changed are stupid?

[@snakewrithing]

william malmstrøm ?????

[@OpenMawProductions]

I think he means in terms of raw numbers, it has changed quite dramatically. Comparing World War 1 to Iraq and Afghanistan, for example. We have lost but a handful of soldiers compared to the millions lost during World WAr 1.

[@michaelwalia]

My Great uncle was there. torn apart on his 21'st birthday. still have a picture of him RIP

[@spudpud-T67]

So was my Great uncle, died from a bullet.

[@JoeSkylynx]

@Kettch23 At the same time it allowed for country/side identification. It was later removed for the M90 helmet standard, but any of those who still had it would occasionally use it as a melee weapon after sharpening the the spike in their trenches.

[@CelticCanuck4]

my greatgrand father and his brother served with the royal newfoundland regiment.

[@Brendanglo]

This battle is real. us newfoundlanders 600 brave men and only 60 came back. what a blood bath... this is what seperates the heroes from the veterans..

[@Kettch23]

This show has been aired on TV (Channel 4) but as far is I know it wasn't released on DVD.

[@Andygharrison]

Remember on christmas eve...the day before they went over the top, they all had a big game of football, the Germans and British...

[@deadsweetheart1]

I dunno if anyone noticed this but did anyone notice that the english are carrying the wrong rifles? They're supposed to be carrying No.1 MkIII Rifles which have ladder sights and a stock which goes all the way to the end or at least P-14 rifles but it looks like they are carrying the ww2 era No.4 Mk2rifle which is different and that they added a spacer on the end so they could use the ww1 bayonets with the ww2 rifles. I know aboutthe No.1 rifle becasue i own one from 1917.Otherwise good video

[@Andiish08]

i think that ww1 and the treaty of versailles is one of the reasons that ww2 happened. the germans wanted revenge after that in my opinion unfair treaty.

[@calvacoca]

Yes, of course ☹😟😢😭

[@shelbybrown8312]

The League of Nations was absolute garbage everything that happened after World War 1 was retarded and just begging to fall apart in Germany being held solely responsible for everything that happened with so many contributing factors is unbelievable and yes the Treaty of Versailles had a huge part to play in World War II but it's far from the biggest reason it was just a match that Lit a country made into a bonfire

[@tazzdevil24]

Arguably, it was not the better British army improving, rather a lot of the turnaround that happened there in France at that time was the US Marines coming in and turning some of the Germans, and the pressure of a renewed allied force with extra nations on their behalf really demoralized the Germans. I would contend that Germany's militarism was in defense of an expanding British Empire. Germany had only been united a few decades, while Britain and France had been expanding around the globe.

[@kingsman565]

It was a made for T.V. docudrama in the UK you could probably get it on DVD if you look around the net.

[@SatchmoSings]

@RevengeOfRedBaron What brought Hitler to power was not Germany having been screwed over (though they were) after the First War; what brought Hitler to power was something called "The Great Depression" and the huge conflict that the Left brought to this event. During the good years of Wiemar, 1925-29, nobody gave much thought to the post-war peace treaties; Hitler played upon this as part of his politics during The Depression.

[@Andygharrison]

think you'll find i'm not as some of the weaponry was a good 20 years old, not to mention the fact he rejected the concept of tanks which caused great downfall, it was only in 1918 he began to shape up. Everyone knew it any many voiced it.

[@Urinesauce]

You're right, no one really won that war. We all just lost millions of men for nothing. Germans, English, Russians, French all of us, killed each other for what.

[@A101stEagle]

Ty i found it it is called (1/11) The Somme Just incase anyone else wanted to find it :) Ty again

[@thomastaylor6355]

War is a true Halloween. Not the fighting part, but the aftermath

[@doitman9974]

@TheSabbath8 the movie fails to show this properly but they were carrying 66lbs of equipment on average. And they were told to walk, too, because all the Germans were supposed to be dead by then..

[@Sunshine121121]

that one general is the 1st officer from the movie titanic. "Why aren't they turning" I'd recognize that face anywhere. Just FYI

[@clio2rsminicup]

1- It was Brits + French vs German 2- Brits had more soldiers of his colonies from Canada, Australia, New-Zeland and India 3- If Brits + their colonies were the most numerous because this battle proceeded on the British front and not French front, brits used 26 divisions, BUT French used 15 divisions and lost also much more soldiers in this battle, few time after their butchery of Verdun & even in the field of the Artillery, the French used more guns (light and heavy) than the Brits ...

[@JD0124]

So surreal - how they were just leisurely strolling through a meadow… towards machine guns and near-certain annihilation.

[@McLarenMercedes]

Modern well respected historians almost all agree World War One was unavoidable and would have broken out anyway sooner or later even if there never even was an asassination of the arch-duke. The tension and rivalry between the colonial powers was too high. Pacts had been made YEARS before the assassination and Von Schlieffen worked out his plan YEARS before. It is also clear the Austrian ultimatum was so harsh and humiliating they knew damn well the serbs would never agree on them.

[@dengsiao]

Hi I'm german. My grandpa was in Verdun but he never talked about it. My father had to fight in North Afrika. They must have made some horrible experience. It is always the elites starting the war not the regular people. Today we can be lucky (i hope so) that they only will take our money by inflation. Our parents and grandparents had to go to war and give their lives ...

[@philipsimpson6793]

My grandfather was on the Somme with the Salford pals. I don't know how but he survived it and I had the honer of talking to him before he passed away at 80 yrs. old. although he was wounded and had extensive bayonet wounds. Those lads deserve every honer just for having the courage to go and what for.

[@bern9619]

my great grandfather was there too! on the german side...

[@LachoDroogie]

well mate remember the trenches stretched from the swiss alps to the belgian coast, so i doubt there would be much flanking. a line at all is stupid becoz the MG's can just spray. small shock groups (which were used at the end of the war) supported by a creeping barrage is the best way to cut casualties. at the battle of hamil, sir john monash incorporated tanks, planes, artillery and infantry to massive effect. peaceful penetration, massive gains with minimal losses

[@Scoob505]

You seem like a reasonable British person. I like how you are not biased towards the Irish, I am an Irish hrepunlican. Peace to you brother, between England and Ireland.

[@blaisejones]

I believe the Lee-Enfield was the standard weapon of the British Empire since the later 19th century. The No.4 is basically the same weapon except better and easier to mass produce.

[@XenophonOfThebes]

1: Belgium was neutral, very little fortification. 2: the german arrived at the Marne river withing weeks after the invasion. The move in Belgium was a attempt to outflank the french up until they were stoped at the marne. In other words, the war wasen't always staled and/or static. most of the war was, but not always

[@charly05nav]

My great grandfather was happy harvesting in a small town in Peru. LOL

[@punkazn77]

the reason why the battle of the somme was so bloody was because the british still fought in the coventional style of walking in ranks. after the battle they learned their mistake, and created trench warfare.

[@busterdog321]

and with this battle, the Machine gun and her crewmen shows the higher ups what a pair of them can do agaisnt the largest army they could amass

[@MusaJames]

The SS also had to use Czech weapons for the lack of german weapons(early war). As German production picked up the availiable surplus would trickle down to the SS.

[@Andygharrison]

they would often be shot on site but to be honest, a lot of the time people just started running anyway

[@Rex1987]

@SushiSounds i was really just asking a rhetorical question just to make you and other views think about if the world of 1916 is really that different from the world we live in today. i mean dispite that after the end of world war 1 there where a wish to end war for good, there are still war and suffering. Two of these wars are adminsted by Obarama whom in his campain talked constantly about CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE and yet the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continues.

[@sf14031952]

My Grandfather was also there,and more officers were killed in percentage , as the normal soldiers !

[@Scotford_Maconochie]

Nearly 100 thousands allied troops were lost in the first hours of the assault at the Somme.

[@retroflow44]

The MG-42 was NOT used in WW1. It wasn't adopted until 1942. Before then, the Germans used the MG-34 from...1934. There were other MGs used in WW2 but those were among the most common. And no, Enfield No.4s were not used in WW1. This is just a goof. The SMLE, Rifle No. 1, Mk III (*) was used in both World Wars...

[@masonmaceachern1858]

Ww1 riffle with a Jungle Carbine bolt , with the hole in the ball on the bold Wichita made it lighter

[@37Dionysos]

Artillery for 7 days and nights before and a solid wall of barbed wire was still waiting for them. You are screwed.

[@emanre3]

yes but the British army proceeded this way because they thought the bombardment to be a huge success, formation was turned walking pace, then all hell fell on them from unexpected machine gun crew survivors

[@trueaspect5888]

seemed like such a waste of resources to march all those men into the slaughter like that

[@macnos]

Whenever the British attacked they would carry all their equipment which was heavy. So it was deemed best for them to run only when they were nearing the enemy trenches, that way they could manage short bursts of speed. If they started running as soon as they left their trenches they would be out of breath and tired by the time they reached the Germans.

[@Nikitns]

Of course there were several points along the line.. But still, yes. A trench was defended only by two German machine-guns from the side (and those two killed far more enemies then 8 shooting from the front would have).

[@davejay2277]

The first of July 1916 was the worst Day in the History of the British Army with 20,000 dead and 40,000 wounded and it was also the same day that Dame Olivia De Havilland was born and she will be 104 Years old next Month.

[@bullpupgaming708]

@trooper59 That and also it was used as a melee weapon if they lost their rifle or something.

[@barkon]

Of all the senseless wastes of life in the Great War, the Somme had to be the worst.

[@Redcoat66]

"They fought like lions, but were led by donkeys"

[@cindyyourplanet3691]

by mass murderer criminals, Hague

[@dimitriofthedon3917]

If the uniforms were red and the rifles muskets you'd think you were watching sharpe, poor lads should've charged

[@willembrock]

many of the soldiers carry a Lee Enfield No 4....a dire historical inaccuracy! In the First world War they all used the SMLE No 1.

[@BeachofDreams]

Russel, that's the worst argument I have ever heard. That's like saying that hunger is essential to being fed.

[@coingod]

Thought the same! "Come on.. Come on.. Turn!" xD

[@revolutionist37]

March towards machine guns, what a brilliant tactic!

[@fatbrowncenk5475]

1 July, 1916 - A Generation Sacrificed

[@SuperLordHawHaw]

Brits made sure they grabbed even more colonies afterwards

[@mackshayster]

you're right. the Chinese don't use it anymore, but they did in their civil war and in the Korean war; just saying. now they're pretty technologically advanced

[@SuperRIDDE5]

because they thought that their artillery would have destroyed the german defences, but that didn't happen, so they littarly ran into a wall of ledd

[@melonhead82]

My Great Grandads were all in the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.

[@LachoDroogie]

its bloody stupid for Haig to send them in with full equipment anyway and tell them to walk in a straight line... WALK in a straight line... its senseless murder. Sir John Monash got it right in the end though at the battle of Hamil

[@hoppieeatpie]

Actually In the Battle of Somme the British walked in straight lines, Which, the officers thought would "minimize" the death toll when it was actually the other way around.

[@IndieVolken]

actually they didnt trust Kitcheners new army of conscripts to move in any other format other than a well controlled "Napelonic" line - some regiments actually used the barrage to advance close to edge of enemy trenches though - the Ulsters I think ?

[@Kettch23]

Just grab it from the mirror posted in the video info. I don't think it can be bought on DVD in any country!