World War I: Battle Of Passchendaele 1/4

[@Jamesmartens55]

I am Canadian and I went to Beaumont -Hamel (The Somme) on a school history spring break trip. This is where the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, on the 1st of july 1916, recieved orders to move forward,out of 22 officers and 758 soldiers, 68 were at roll call the next day...A year later at the battle of Arras, the same regiment lost 458 men in a day, there were towns in Newfoundland where all the men had died.

[@sleeming88]

They just dont make documentaries like this anymore. Just a bloke talking with archive footage, eyewitness statements and the occasional tune to give it some atmosphere. Good solid informative stuff without any of that modern flashy sensationalist nonsense to distract you from the point like OTT reconstructions and computer graphics. I could watch the first minute again and again. That music is so strangly beautiful.

[@steveparker380]

@GodwinCarpenter I'm English and with all respect the Americans won the pacific and defeated the Japanese. The Russians won the Eastern Front, but never had the Naval clout to take the Japanese and neither did we.

[@Bruce-1956]

I'm Scottish and the largest RN fleet every assembled was send to the Pacific in the summer of 1945.

[@anthonyeaton5153]

The British/Indian 14th Army delivered Japan its greatest land defeat in the Burma campaign. However your premise is by and large correct.

[@whythewar1]

@GodwinCarpenter Yeah, but thats the Russians in General, he used deception well, but honestly its the average soldier that wins the battle, like I said, you can't say anyone was useless in the war, everyone who fought played their part, same in WWI.

[@Rico8458]

stalingrad was the turning point? or the first time allies dropped a bomb on german soil?

[@Coldgin94]

@mengutimur : have you seen this documentary on TV ? Is it avaliable on DVD ?

[@Hotgossipian]

There is no winners in war only outcomes

[@Rikske77]

Why does this kind of beautiful footage always has to be disgraced by such poor comments ? I was always taught that the allied forces had won the war (both WW I and WW II), Allied meaning several countries fighting for the same good cause ... shame on all those hate spilling spammers here ...

[@kdondon123]

@ledzepplinkid12321 people always forget about Canada and Australia dont they? We only went to war because we were part of 'the empire' and I'm not sure about Canada, but for our population Australia suffered unimaginable losses...

[@Arganyn]

It was a draw, nobody won anything, instead, both sides lost an entire generation of men to the war...

[@tuvavatu7041]

there were those who won. there are always someone who win at war. single individuals...

[@henrypulleine8750]

Nobody won? No- the allies won. That is why the Kaiser was forced to abdicate, Germany demilitarised, allied troops sent to occupy the Rhineland, swathes of Germany used to create Poland etc etc. A generation of men lost? Myth. Britain lost 702,000 men killed in the war- 1.5% of the total population, 8% of the total men mobilised. Therefore, 92% of the men of that generation survived the war. Britains population actually increased between 1911 and 1921. The loss of young men was lower than was being lost per annum before the war to emigration. Hardly a 'lost generation'.

[@tuvavatu7041]

@@henrypulleine8750 "survived the war" is very relative...

[@scrap222666]

@jantje019 So why did the US send an expeditionary force to Africa? Is that not a land engagement?

[@TheSmithDorian]

The German naval build up was an action and it lead to tension between Britain and Germany. However the result of the action wasn't war - it was for Britain to further increase the size of its own fleet. Tensions over a number of issues had long hung in the air between the major powers but it takes a specific action or set of actions by one or more of the parties to turn tensions into the declaration and prosecution of a war.

[@JakeBassCZ]

And at last. You did not answer my question, so I ask you again. Who or what, in your opinion, caused the Franco-prussian war of 1870-1871?

[@mattyo30]

Amazing this was only 100 years ago

[@jacobhanson52]

Does anybody know if the combat footage is real or just a re-enactment?

[@yakchirscarlson]

To say the US contribution in WWII was not vital is to forget about the deeds of the Americans in the Pacific theater.

[@Bruce-1956]

Without the US there would have been no free Europe.

[@JimmyG228]

@Rico8458 Stalingrad was in WW2. the Battle of Stalingrad is widely see as the turning point of WW2. however many see the Battle of El Alamein in North Africa as the the true turning point. The British beat the Germans at El Alamein 3 months before the Soviets won in Stalingrad. as for the first bombing of Germany, i'm sure it was the Brits but maybe the French. good question

[@TheSmithDorian]

Ok. Let's be honest. It wasn't just Britain; - France, Russia and Germany all either had empires / colonies or were trying to get them. It's just that Britain had started earlier than the others and was better at it. Britains colonial activities were a source of tension between the majors powers between 1815 and 1914 for sure - but tensions are not wars but they weren't the cause of WW1. WW1 started when Germany declared war on Russia and France on 1st and 3rd August 1914 respectively.

[@Rico8458]

excellent feedback mate. the way i look at it, the moment allies bombed a german city or german territory from the air and the luftwaffen was unable to stop it, that was the turning point because he who controls the air will rule the land.

[@davisworth5114]

I believe you have the wrong war here.

[@silver760]

The first veteran we see discusses what he did in one of the gas attacks,that is he went to the latrines and stuck his head in a bucket of effluent.I presume he had a cloth over his head or atleast a cloth to his mouth and nose.With chlorine gas,before the introduction of gas masks,you were supposed to urinate on a cloth and put it over your nose/mouth.The ammonia neutralised the gas.If he did stick his head in the latrine he would have got some nasty diseases plus shit on his face/hair!

[@TheZombieman87]

Does anyone know who the narrator is?

[@eaglesfan226]

The spelling of the name is easy, the pronunciation has been tricky. That's what got me interested in Ypres.

[@whythewar1]

@tehredmage Also. The Americans and British both sent the SAME amount of men in D-day. The British Second Army (Monty) and the American First army (Bradley) The English DID take on three beach heads, ONE more then the Americans, though the Americans lost more men and got through first. We did it TOGETHER. Not the British doing all the work and the Americans just acting like they fought, We BOTH lost half a million.

[@CrazyBare2]

I've just found that my Great uncle, served and was injured at Hill 70, August 1917. R.I.P. Uncle David Rymer.

[@GodwinCarpenter]

@spinynorman230 The Germans had a good navy, it was checked because the British had the most powerful navy in the world, which cleared out the med and also allowed the British to beat the Germans on North Africa. "YOU" did not invade Italy, it was once again a combined operation and the commonwealth landed the most troops. The bulk of the Japanese army was in China and a large part of it was in Burma, who were taking a beating.

[@AltamontKiller]

those old interviews of ww1 veterans had to be from the 50s and 60s judging by the not so bad quality and the age of those men

[@Bruce-1956]

I was taught by WW1 veterans in the 1960s.

[@coltoncarriere9363]

this damn Kindle pisses me the fuck off more than anything right now ugh :-)... omg!!!!! as I was saying ugh war can accomplish as much as nothing but lost of God giving life. the whole damn war started between 2 primary nations, the English and German empires period.

[@tomtd]

So the Austrian Hungarian empire, the Turkish and the Russians had no part to play? This was a world war.

[@batfrend]

@GodwinCarpenter Let's also keep in mind that the German army was a spent force because of their invasion of the U.S.S.R.

[@ChelseaFCSyd]

The battle of Paschendaele was a stalemate, as the result was inconclusive, as the Allies only had low territorial gains after it. The two belligerents eventually lost the same number of troops. Your comment rather applies to this battle only. But WWI was definitely not a draw, as the victorious Allies forced the German Empire to recognize its defeat by signing the treaty of Versailles. And please stop talking about WWII, that is not the matter here.

[@GodwinCarpenter]

@spinynorman230 Of course we would have won withoit military aid from the US. Maybe the war would have gone on longer, but there was no way the axis would have been able to deal reverse the tide at that time. Don't get me wrong, the British would not have been able to cope without the raw materials from the US, but at best at best all the American military effort achived was to slightly shortern the war.

[@davisworth5114]

Actually, the Americans entry into the war was a huge psychological blow to Germany, many of it's population were starving.

[@JakeBassCZ]

Well, I believe, that tensions between major powers had determined alliances and hostilities prior to WWI. These tensions had also given the reason to go to war. The final escalation of tensions - the provocation - merely justifies the conflict. I think, that the roots of a conflict are beyond the declaration of war or ultimatum.

[@TheSmithDorian]

Well obviously they weren't Nazis but the Germans were the "bad guys" in WW1 together with Austro-Hungary and should bear most of the responsibility for it. There were many factors in play in 1914 but when you break it down to the basics - the war started because Austro-Hungary invaded Serbia and they invaded Serbia because Germany gave them an unconditional guarantee of military support. Had Germany not backed them, Austro-Hungary would never have invaded.

[@GodwinCarpenter]

@whythewar1 And I know it goes against the grain to say this but Zhukov wasn't more than an average general either, he did nothing other than pour men at the Germans, but that's another story.

[@whythewar1]

@GodwinCarpenter Well, if you look in the east the Russians did ALL of the work. You could almost say that each country fought they're own separate fronts

[@myth1032]

7:45 that is one hell of an explosion

[@JakeBassCZ]

Furthermore, the war always is a clear consequence of certain course of events. A war without a causation is completely pointless since the moment of its' declaration. Why did Japan and Russia fight in 1905? For no reason? No - because they had a conflict of interest. That is a tension. Don't ignore the connections, please. Germans did not help the peace with their sloppy diplomacy, but they weren't sole agressors. Were the French to blame for the war of 1870-71? According to your logic, yes.

[@tehredmage]

Okay. 1) That made me spill my drink. You owe me a new keyboard. and 2) That explains everything and nothing. I owe you one internet.

[@JakeBassCZ]

I'm strongly against this simple sentiment, that Germans (both Imperial and Austrian) are the "bad guys" who opress and wage war, because this sentiment lead to the WWII. This inability to think in the wider context. Germany had its' share of responsibility (a lot of their actions, and their diplimatic sloppiness lead to the escalation of tensions), but so did the countries of Entente. No one was willing to back down, to talk. In fact, the system of diplomacy itself was a major cause of WWI.

[@horsensscope]

@GoodwinCarpenter You are clearly uniformed about the actual history of WWII. I'd suggest a year or so of intensive rather than mindless conjecture. However, you are very well versed in ignorance, clearly.

[@TheSmithDorian]

It was this action that ultimately caused WW1 or at least that transformed a Balkan conflict into a World War. Germany was the first major power to declare war on another and the first to invade a neutral country. Why are you defending their actions here?

[@GodwinCarpenter]

@TASHKENTGOATMAN We could not have won without raw materials from the USA that's true, but we could have won it without them joining the war. Britain had already defeated the German air force and navy and most of the troops in the D-day landing were British or commonwealth soldiers. The Germans were on full retreat in the east. Once again the military contribution by the USA in WW2 was not vital at all.

[@davisworth5114]

You don't know what you're talking about, sorry for pointing out the obvious.

[@JakeBassCZ]

Ok. On that "illiteracy" a poor choice of words on my side. I meant, that you do not appear to understand the course of history, if you discard diplomacy prior to the outbreak of hostilities. Tensions are not actions or events? German naval build-up clearly was not an action. But to the point. WWI was a threat, which hung long in the air. And every major power wanted to fight. They just waited for the provocation. Under these circumstances does not matter to me, who shot first.

[@halifaxtanning]

@assfark The Canadians took Passchendaele, which marked the furthest point of the British advance. They didn't "win" the battle, the battle lasted 4 months.......

[@TheSmithDorian]

Ignore me - listen to KevinByrne2. It's Michael Redgrave. I was part way through watching 2 documentaries at once and it was late.

[@SirMonkeyoftheBrook]

Good god not again ever.

[@JohnBody581]

that true but the british ruled Canada during this time

[@JimmyG228]

@Rico8458 that couldnt be more true. just look at the first Gulf War eh. but then again the US ruled the skies over Vietnam and they lost that war. 9 times of 10 ruling the skies means victory.

[@mengutimur]

Conspiracy of European historians: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q2XCgqyFlL-jpLM

[@Noodles37UK]

Indiana Jones was in the Belgian Army. Fiction, but there you go.

[@Autobotmatt428]

I saw that never understood why the Belgian army?

[@WarSmurfs]

@mishgun420 O really ? I believe it was the new zeelander and Austrialians that freaking hold the whole place together until America was able to mobilize it's assests to the pacific theater that safed the day (i'll the USA credit though, it was under there leadership they pulled that off seeming the Austrialians millitary was laughable in all regards). But without the aurstialians, the fight for the paciffic would have started at hawai for you guys.

[@ledzepplinkid12321]

British troops never fought at the battle of passchendaele... it was fought predominantly by the canadian corps and anzacs...

[@willbrown5860]

forgotten harbour / 41 of the 66 British Divisions went through Paschendale , total Losses 275,000 ( British and Commonwealth) side = 35 , 000 Australian , 6,000 New Zeland , 16,000 Canadian . what a sorry waste of young men .

[@SuperRip7]

This is worse than coal mining.

[@Andiish08]

nobody really won this battle;it was a operational failure from the allies.

[@mtbluzman]

my grandpa fought there

[@TheOchocincoboi]

was never taught this in school...

[@krashly71]

Said as Leonidas...( THIS ...IS....YOU-TUBE!)

[@ryanmarks1567]

Damn died of shock

[@TheSmithDorian]

Ok. I think you mean "only AN illiterate person can say that diplomatic (and economic) tensions were not a cause of WWI". Firstly, literacy is the ability to read and write. It's not directly related to a person's knowledge of the geopolitical and economic situation in Europe in the first part of the 20th Century. Secondly, tensions aren't the cause of war. Events and actions cause wars. There was constant tension between the major European powers during the last decades of 19th C ....

[@HastaLaVista6666]

Just respect i dont need to know who was the most important,

[@coltoncarriere9363]

it's so funny, you people think you know everything.... there shouldn't be ANY WWII talk in here at all in the first place, duh???? everyone including had nothing do to with the conflict and business that happen a entire century ago. we can only learn from what war can really accomplish. If I could tell you anything

[@GodwinCarpenter]

@whythewar1 Yeah everyone played a role, I just don't like theway hollywood influences youngsters these days. I don't mean you, but some people's knowledge about ww2 is limited to saving private ryan ect.

[@whythewar1]

@GodwinCarpenter Nah, neither do I, as much as I defend Americas role, we weren't the only country.. plus the thin red line was better....

[@GodwinCarpenter]

@crazylocoguitar I agree

[@xXThePhilosopherXx]

Great documentary, poor comment threads.

[@TheSmithDorian]

Sir Ralph Richardson

[@GodwinCarpenter]

@mishgun420 Again, read all my posts, of course USA played a big part in the war, Britian couldn't have survived without the material aid from USA I don't think. And you shouldn't talk about things you know nothing of, maybe you got your information from Pacific or something. You've never heard of General Slim? And you didn't know about the Soviet invasion of Manchuria?

[@alwaystheway]

Repatriation Parts 1 & 2 The True Story of Lieut Henry James Scott Battle of Loos 1915

[@wayneandrews9298]

dickhead , load of shit ..

[@Rico8458]

counter points accepted.

[@TheSmithDorian]

..and the last decade of the 20th C but they didn't cause a war. Tensions only provide a background to war. "Germans [..] weren't sole agressors" Indeed - Austria - Hungary was the initial aggressor. however they only attacked Serbia not another major power and they wouldn't even have attacked Serbia if Germany hadn't given them unconditional military support and protection. Germany did this despite Kaiser Wilhelm having stated that Serbia's response to AH "..removes all reason for war."

[@GodwinCarpenter]

@batfrend Very true.

[@fumblerooskie]

Typical Brit doc.; it gives all the credit to the "British Army" and none to the ANZAC, Newfoundlanders, Indians, South Africans, Southern Rhodesians, and Canadians, while scarcely even mentioning the French and Belgians. "In April, Vimy, in June, Messines: the two strongest bastions of the German front had be stormed by the British Army."

[@dereksmith8179]

Vimy was us canadians

[@krashly71]

Exact-A-Mundo...

MY SECOND COUSINS WERE THERE MY GRANDAD MAY HAVE BEEN THERE MY SECOND COUSIN WAS MURDERED THERE 22 YEARS OLD 15 12 17 HES BURIED AT TYNE COTT HE DIDNT DIE ALONE 4 OF HIS MATES WERE MURDERED WITH HIM KINGS ROYAL RIFLES WAS HIS REG HIS BROTHER HARRY WAS GASSED BY CHLORINE GAS HE LOST 1 AND 3 QUATER LUNGS BUT HE LIVED TILL 1970 MY GRAND DAD CAME HOME DEATH AS THE POST HE HAD TO HAVE THE SHAME OF HIS WIFE MY NANN BEING THE BREAD WINNER YEARS OUT OF WORK WENT TO R B L I THEY SAID THEY COULDNT HELP WHEN HE DID FIND WORK BECAUSE HE COULDNT HEAR THEY GAVE HIM A JOB OF CLEANING THE VATS OUT AT BURGER RD PAINT FACTORY HACKNEY NOISE DIDNT WORRY HIM NO THAT DIDNT KILL HIM THE LEAD IN THE PAINT DID I HOPE TO GO TO TYNE COTT THIS YEAR I MAY BE THE ONLY FAMILY TO GO AND SEE WERE HES BURIED FROM MY HIS CHURCH 250 WENT MARCHING TO WW1 NONE CAME HOME 250 PLEASE REMEMBER ALL THE COCKNEYS WHO WERE THERE AND GAVE THERE LIFE BLOOD FOR KING AND COUNTRY HOW DID THEY DO IT DAY AFTER DAY AND NOT GO MAD FOR OUR TODAYS THEY GAVE THERE TOMORROWS WE WILL REMEMBER THEM IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVOR AND EVERY ONE SAID AMEN

[@TokenTombstone]

Thanks for sharing ALL CAPS GIVES CREDIBILITY.

[@DannyFox06]

@tehredmage Its inevitable, anything world war related would set any nationalist off, and yeah, all the shit about WW2 and it's a documentary about WW1... Very bizzare.