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hi everybody and welcome to this
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[Music]
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and a new kind of war
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a war of numbers ammunition
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guns ships aircraft men
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who will die in their millions a war
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fought by calculating generals for whom
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no cost
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is too high
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the first world war is fought on a scale
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never before seen in the whole of human
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history
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a billion artillery shells a million
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machine guns
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50 billion bullets 65 million men at war
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who die at a rate of 6 000 a day
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men are reduced to numbers
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of all the men in europe aged from 19 to
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22 at the start of the war
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a third will be dead by the end
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no family will be left unscathed
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the first world war changes the course
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of human history
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out of it comes communism and fascism
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out of it comes votes for every citizen
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the foundation of modern democracy
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it is a war between empires that
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destroys empires
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it is a war in which the old rulers pay
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scant regard for the lives of ordinary
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people
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and for this callous indifference the
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old ruling class will pay the price
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but how and why did it happen
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august 1914 across europe
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men have been called up to fight
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the numbers already unprecedented in
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military history
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it comes to a staggering 18 million
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[Music]
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no one really saw this coming europe had
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been at peace for over 40 years
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in the decades since the last european
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war the continent has changed
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industrialization has introduced mass
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production
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the machine age is changing society
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and now it is about to transform the
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nature of human conflict
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they had never seen industrialized
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warfare on this scale
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most previous european wars have been
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small affairs by comparison
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but in the 19th century industrial
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progress brings greater wealth and
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health
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the population expands rapidly
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especially in germany
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where it grows to rate of almost 1
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million a year to over 67 million
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the masses are seen by europe's ruling
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classes as subjects
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there to be governed and when required
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to fight
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to understand the origins of the first
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world war
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we must examine europe's old ruling
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class
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and the empires which they aspired to
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build and govern
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[Music]
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in 1914 the british possessed the
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largest empire the world has ever seen
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it covers 12.7 million square miles
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britain governs a quarter of the world's
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population
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second in size is the russian empire of
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tsar nicholas ii
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third largest and britain's rival in
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africa is france
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germany's tiny empire is just a tenth
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the size of britain's
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today the whole idea of empire seems
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very anachronistic and very
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old-fashioned
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but of course back then it was
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incredibly important especially for the
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ruling classes
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why because it gives them the ability to
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control a market in the way that you
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simply can't control a market
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today the british empire is unusual
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britain has a large and influential
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merchant class
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which has pioneered the idea of open
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free trade
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british exports are worth over 500
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million pounds
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a quarter of all manufactured goods come
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from britain
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but most rulers see their empires as
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instruments of trade restriction and
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control
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a bigger empire means more prestige and
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greater wealth
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at the expense of their rivals
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for germany the small size of their
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empire is not just a matter of bruised
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pride
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it is an obstacle to economic expansion
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[Music]
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in the decades before 1914 germany was
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going through her own industrial
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revolution
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in some areas even overtaking britain
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the german industry and the german
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economy had been going through a boom
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period
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since the turn of the century electrical
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goods
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and chemical goods were the two leading
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sectors
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in fact only three german chemical
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companies
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dominated 90 percent of the world market
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by 1914 german steel production
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increases a thousand percent
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to almost 19 million tons more than
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britain france and russia combined
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german companies are the world's main
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source of industrial chemicals
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pharmaceuticals and dyes even the khaki
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dye for the british uniforms came from
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germany
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by the start of 1914 german industry is
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big
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dynamic but frustrated
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it craves even greater access to world
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markets to buy raw materials
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and to sell its finished products
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yet large areas of the world are under
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the control of foreign powers
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the german ruling elites were
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extraordinarily concerned
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that if they didn't catch up with the
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likes of britain france the united
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states indeed even russia
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they would be left behind they'd be
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deprived of the world's resources
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gradually strangled the german elites
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were convinced that they had legitimate
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right
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given the economic power that germany
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had at the time that this should also
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translate
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into a presence on the international
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stage
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but it's not just about cornering
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markets
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germany is still dominated by a noble
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officer cast
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full-time soldiers who yearn both for
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the thrill and adventure of war
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as well as the well-paid prestigious
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colonial jobs
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that come with running a large empire
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to build that empire the germans know
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they'll need a powerful navy
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the job of building it falls to admiral
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alfred von tirpitz
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[Music]
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tirpitz realized that if you could
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create a large navy it would allow you
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to project
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power and suck in commerce from around
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the world
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expel investments bring in raw materials
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and ensure germany's future
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german naval spending triples from 8
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million pounds a year to 23
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[Music]
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but britain responds to germany's naval
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ambitions by building
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even more ships it decides to double the
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size of the royal navy
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devoting to it no less than a quarter of
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all public spending
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over 45 million pounds
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britain has more ships and bigger ships
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in 1906 she launches the most powerful
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battleship the world has ever seen
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hms dreadnought
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the dreadnought is in a league of its
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own
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each of her 10 12-inch guns fires a
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half-ton
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shell a single broadside
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can sink any opponent
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by 1914 britain has 22 giant
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dreadnoughts in service
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13 more under construction and 574 other
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ships and submarines
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609 warships in total the strongest
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navy in the world today is the united
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states navy which has
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roughly 450 ships so that gives you a
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sense of just
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how dominant the royal navy was in 1914
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it is and will remain one of the biggest
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navies in history
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germany can only muster 15 big
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battleships and 319 other vessels
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all other navies in the world lag far
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behind
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germany's expanding navy large standing
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army
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and aggressive foreign policy fails to
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grow her empire
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it succeeds in worrying her imperial
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rivals
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britain france and russia
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the german developed political world
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policies it's called had had very little
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success
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by 1913 not only have they got domestic
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problems which are causing the ruling
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elites some kind of
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anxiety but on the international stage
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they have effectively matched to
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alienate britain
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they've certainly alienated france an
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old rival adversary
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and they've pushed together france and
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russia
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to countries with entirely different
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political systems but united only by
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common concern about germany
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it had been a complete shambles because
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it turned out that
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german military might did not translate
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into actual
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gain and that all it produced the
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pursuit of world politics was increasing
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frictions and tensions in the
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international system
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before the outbreak of war continental
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europe is fraught with tension
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its great imperial powers are jostling
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for position against one another
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while attempting to suppress the
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aspirations and rebelliousness of their
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own subjects
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many members of europe's aristocratic
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officer class
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are spoiling for a war
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unfortunately for them and everyone else
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in europe
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they are about to get one
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by the summer of 1914 germany is
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surrounded by enemies
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her only friends among the imperial
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powers lie to the south
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germany has formed an alliance with the
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austro-hungarian empire
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which for the last 60 years has been
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ruled by the habsburg emperor franz
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joseph
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the empire includes within its borders
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more than a dozen different
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nationalities
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the most privileged to the austrians who
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rule over the checks and polls in the
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western half of the empire
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and the hungarians who rule over a
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hodgepodge of nationalities in the
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eastern half
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to the south is the recently annexed
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province of bosnia-herzegovina
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home to over 800 000 serbs
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this multi-ethnic mix is reflected in
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the empire's armies
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the makeup of the austro-hungarian army
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is quite remarkable you have slovaks
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austrians hungarians even slavs who
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would probably rather be fighting for
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the russians so it's a really
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unwieldy machine
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to call up soldiers to the
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austro-hungarian imperial army
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posters have to be put up in 15
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languages
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many of these disparate ethnic groups
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aspire to freedom
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and independence
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serb nationalists in bosnia-herzegovina
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receive encouragement and weapons from
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neighboring
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serbia the aggressive
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nationalism of the serbs threatened to
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undermine
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the whole stability of the austrian
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hungarian monarchy
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to the rest of europe it's a sideshow
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the arrogant habsburgs are having some
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local trouble
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controlling their messy empire but the
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events that follow will lead to a
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devastating imperial war
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and it starts with just two pistol shots
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on the 28th of june 1914 the heir to the
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austro-hungarian empire archduke franz
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ferdinand is shot dead whilst visiting
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the bosnian capital sarajevo
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it makes headlines across the world
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the assassin belongs to a group backed
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by neighboring serbia
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as the archduke is laid to rest shock
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is turning to anger and that anger
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is directed at serbia
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the habsburg emperor friends joseph
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wants to take action
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but he knows that serbia is friendly
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with russia
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before he attacks he wants a guarantee
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of german support against the big
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bear on his doorstep on the 6th of july
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he gets it a telegram from wilhelm ii
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promises to back austria whatever they
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decide
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germany has given austria a blank check
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if there's a war germany is ready and
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eager to fight many members of the
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german elite indeed assumed that the
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crisis could still be contained
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and even if it could not be contained
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then they were convinced that this was
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the right moment to strike out
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there's some archival evidence to show
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that the german elite themselves the
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very highest people in government
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in collusion with the german army were
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indeed preparing for some kind of war
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sometime in the middle of 1914
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austria makes a calculation if the war
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can be confined to the balkans
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the numbers are on their side
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serbia they estimate can field an army
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of a quarter of a million men
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but austria-hungary has an imperial
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standing army of half a million men
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twice as big and what's more
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it is the promised backing of the
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kaiser's giant standing army
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of over 800 000 men
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in short the habsburgs enjoy
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overwhelming numerical superiority
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so on the 23rd of july they confidently
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deliver an ultimatum to the serbian
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government
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demanding that austrian officials be
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allowed to enter serbia
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to investigate the assassination the
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ultimatum was designed to be
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completely unacceptable to the serbs and
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indeed it was
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in response the serbian prime minister
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appeals to russia for help
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the russians are fellow slavs but more
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than that
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the tsar is eager to extend his imperial
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sphere of influence over the balkans
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at the expense of austria-hungary
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within 48 hours the russian czar
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promises to go to any lengths to defend
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serbia
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adding over a million men to the serbian
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side
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russia felt that germany and austria
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were in danger of dominating a region
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on which russian commerce would depend
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in the future
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encouraged by the tsar's support serbia
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rejects the habsburg
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ultimatum on the 25th of july
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now things escalate the russian empire
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looks for support from her ally
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imperial france france has been
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germany's enemy since 1871
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when the german empire managed to take
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control of alsace and lorraine
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this is france's chance to get them back
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so france promises to back russia with
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her 850 000 strong
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regular army
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as europe edges towards war one country
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attempts to hold back
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britain is the world's greatest trading
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nation
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and war is ruinous for trade
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the initial british cabinet response to
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any idea of intervention in this
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continental
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conflict is one of uh enactment they
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don't want to be involved in this
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continental war they've got problems in
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ireland
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they've had a spate of industrial
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disputes which although over still
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left people concerned about britain's
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domestic situation as an imperial
00:18:09
commerce to protect and war is bad for
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business as far as the british
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government are concerned
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on the 26th of july britain calls for a
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peace conference
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the problem is is that no one in europe
00:18:22
is really listening anymore
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[Applause]
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to counter the threat from russia the
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habsburgs call up vast numbers of
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reservists
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swelling their armies to over three
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million men
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but the tsar does the same russia's army
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now expands by an incredible five
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million men
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still austria refuses to back down
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on the morning of the 28th of july 1914
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emperor franz joseph declares war on
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serbia
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instead of holding back the politicians
00:19:05
and generals
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are rushing headlong towards disaster
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in 1914 europe's imperial powers are
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summoning vast armies into
00:19:24
existence but how will they move them
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and supply them
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millions of trained reservists are about
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to be called up
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ten million men are already armed
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the horrific scale of world war one the
00:19:43
vast numbers of men killed
00:19:45
none of it would have been possible but
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for that marvel and symbol of the
00:19:49
industrial age
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the railway railways were absolutely
00:19:55
essential
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it was only through railways and steam
00:19:59
power that these vast armies of hundreds
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of thousands of soldiers could be
00:20:02
brought to the frontiers
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supplied and then carried into battle if
00:20:06
necessary
00:20:07
russia's mobilization relies on her vast
00:20:10
rail network
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over 70 000 kilometers of track
00:20:16
railways are just as important for
00:20:17
germany with 63 000 kilometers
00:20:22
austria-hungary france and britain also
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have large networks
00:20:27
enabling the war to be fought on a
00:20:28
colossal scale
00:20:31
you could move a lot more men a lot
00:20:33
faster you could
00:20:34
anticipate where they would be at what
00:20:37
particular time you could also move
00:20:38
equipment
00:20:39
especially artillery for your rail
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countless russian trains are rattling
00:20:46
towards the german border carrying
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hundreds of thousands of soldiers
00:20:51
just at that moment sar nicholas
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receives a telegram from his cousin
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kaiser wilhelm
00:20:58
wilhelm promises to stay neutral if
00:21:00
russia
00:21:01
will stay out of the fight the telegram
00:21:04
causes the tsar to hesitate
00:21:06
war it seems might be averted
00:21:10
the royal families of europe were
00:21:11
incredibly close
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czar nicholas of russia king george of
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britain and kaiser wilhelm were all
00:21:17
first cousins
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they called each other willie georgie
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and nicki they were that close
00:21:26
on the 29th of july the tsar refuses to
00:21:29
order full mobilization
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he wants to stop the train loads of
00:21:33
soldiers heading towards germany
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he is pulling back from the brink of war
00:21:39
but the troops are already on the move
00:21:42
millions of men are already gathered at
00:21:44
train stations
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hundreds of thousands have already set
00:21:47
off the trains cannot simply stop
00:21:50
or reverse everything was planned out
00:21:53
even to the minute
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which is why things went wrong on the
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30th of july
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the tsar accepts it's too late to recall
00:22:02
his troops
00:22:05
germany now feels compelled to respond
00:22:10
on the first of august germany calls up
00:22:13
its reservists
00:22:14
another three and a half million men
00:22:18
the german and austrian army is now
00:22:19
number seven and a half million
00:22:22
but france also calls up its three
00:22:24
million reserves
00:22:26
the allied forces number over 10 million
00:22:31
never in human history have such
00:22:33
gigantic armies been marshaled against
00:22:35
one another
00:22:37
austria-hungary and germany are
00:22:39
outnumbered
00:22:42
to make matters worse for germany she
00:22:45
faces enemies on two fronts
00:22:48
russia in the east france in the west
00:22:52
britain and italy are yet to take sides
00:23:01
but numbers will count for less if
00:23:03
germany strikes before her enemies are
00:23:05
ready
00:23:06
the prussian military elite which is
00:23:08
already ready for war
00:23:10
has a plan to win a speedy and stunning
00:23:13
victory
00:23:14
the german calculation was that they
00:23:16
could indeed beat france in a rapid war
00:23:20
they'd undertaken a similar operation
00:23:22
against the french in 1870-71
00:23:24
a surprise invasion that encircled and
00:23:26
destroyed the french army
00:23:28
they had some confidence that they could
00:23:29
do it again
00:23:31
the plan was drawn up 10 years before by
00:23:33
the prussian nobleman count schlieffen
00:23:36
head of the imperial general staff
00:23:39
don't attack the heavily defended french
00:23:41
border head on
00:23:42
but send five german armies circling
00:23:45
through belgium
00:23:47
the french army will be focused on the
00:23:48
old battlegrounds of alsace lorraine
00:23:51
while huge numbers of germans pour down
00:23:53
into france from the north
00:23:56
schlieffen plan was the most ambitious
00:23:58
offensive plan ever devised
00:24:00
it was intended to knock france out of
00:24:02
the war in just six weeks and allowed
00:24:04
germany to transfer almost the entirety
00:24:06
of its army to the eastern front
00:24:07
and deal with russia in turn after
00:24:10
quickly defeating france
00:24:11
germany's armies will be sent east to
00:24:13
help the austrians deal with the
00:24:15
russians
00:24:16
the schlieffen plan is the first
00:24:18
strategic blunder of the great war
00:24:20
many more will follow the schlieffen
00:24:23
plan
00:24:24
was a big gamble and as one historian
00:24:27
has said
00:24:28
basically made no sense
00:24:32
the plan assumes that the french are too
00:24:34
few
00:24:35
too feeble and badly led
00:24:38
ever since the turn of the century a
00:24:40
negative perception of france's
00:24:42
capabilities
00:24:43
crept into the mindset of german
00:24:46
generals and officers
00:24:48
they noticed the demographic decline
00:24:50
that france and the wind at the time and
00:24:52
they reckoned that france would not be
00:24:55
capable of mustering a strong army
00:24:58
the germans decided that the numbers
00:25:01
favored them
00:25:03
five armies of more than one million men
00:25:05
will hit a flank expected to muster
00:25:07
little more than half that number of
00:25:09
frenchmen
00:25:10
[Music]
00:25:12
and if the numbers don't prove
00:25:14
overwhelming the military superiority of
00:25:17
germany's prussian-dominated army
00:25:19
is expected to tip the balance
00:25:23
in terms of organization and equipment
00:25:24
the german army was undoubtedly the
00:25:26
greatest army in europe in 1914
00:25:29
he was heavily armed it was well
00:25:30
organized it was well trained it was
00:25:32
well prepared
00:25:34
ready to put the kaiser's orders into
00:25:35
action at the army's 73 000
00:25:38
strong officer corps
00:25:41
give an army's officer class was in some
00:25:43
ways similar to that of great britain it
00:25:44
was fiercely aristocratic
00:25:46
it was proud of its aristocratic
00:25:47
traditions and yet it incorporated an
00:25:50
enormous strand of professionalism
00:25:52
based on the most demanding officer
00:25:53
training of any army in europe
00:25:57
below them 108 000 professional
00:26:00
sergeants and corporals
00:26:02
and over 4 million enlisted men
00:26:12
[Music]
00:26:14
at the beginning of august britain has
00:26:16
yet to join the war
00:26:19
newspapers oppose going to war over
00:26:21
serbia
00:26:23
but britain might go to war to protect
00:26:26
belgium and france
00:26:30
blinded by its ambition the german high
00:26:32
command dismisses the risks of invading
00:26:34
belgium
00:26:37
it doesn't take the threat of british
00:26:38
military intervention seriously
00:26:42
britain historically has had an aversion
00:26:44
to large standing armies
00:26:46
a burden on the taxpayer and a threat to
00:26:48
freedom
00:26:50
in 1914 despite the size of its empire
00:26:53
britain can only muster 160 000 men
00:26:58
it's called the british expeditionary
00:27:00
force
00:27:01
and by comparison to the might of the
00:27:03
german army
00:27:04
it is tiny well it's alleged that the
00:27:08
germans regarded the british
00:27:10
as having a contemptible little army
00:27:12
that was so small that has one bismarck
00:27:14
once said that if it turned up on the
00:27:15
channel case they'd send a policeman to
00:27:17
arrest it
00:27:20
for the schlieffen plan to work the vast
00:27:23
german armies must move at lightning
00:27:25
speed
00:27:27
to do this the german generals will use
00:27:29
industrial methods of mass transport
00:27:34
in 20 days over 20 000 german trains
00:27:38
carry 2 million men
00:27:39
118 000 horses and 400
00:27:43
000 tons of supplies to the front
00:27:47
well that is astonishing when you bear
00:27:49
in mind they're moving them by steam
00:27:51
train
00:27:52
they're moving them hundreds of miles
00:27:54
and the number you're moving is
00:27:55
equivalent to the
00:27:56
population of berlin
00:28:00
it's an extraordinary undertaking 550
00:28:04
trains a day
00:28:05
assemble seven armies
00:28:09
it takes germany little more than one
00:28:11
week to mobilize
00:28:13
it takes france two weeks to gather its
00:28:15
armies
00:28:16
austria-hungary four weeks russia is
00:28:19
expected to take
00:28:20
six weeks
00:28:25
on the 4th of august 1914 germany
00:28:28
invades belgium
00:28:29
a neutral country
00:28:46
britain now feels compelled to declare
00:28:49
war
00:28:49
on germany
00:28:53
now britain's transport system swings
00:28:55
behind the war effort
00:28:59
in the first few days 334 trains will
00:29:02
move 69
00:29:03
000 men 21 000 horses along with guns
00:29:07
and supplies
00:29:09
to southampton to embark for france
00:29:19
at the same time a thousand lorries and
00:29:22
300 buses are requisitioned
00:29:24
to carry the british soldiers from the
00:29:25
french ports to the front
00:29:29
many more will march on foot with their
00:29:31
kit on their backs
00:29:33
[Music]
00:29:37
when he went to france the soldier of
00:29:39
the british expeditionary force was
00:29:41
wearing this
00:29:42
a set of 1908 pattern equipments
00:29:45
what we've got is a small pack mess tins
00:29:48
on the outside here
00:29:50
personal kit in the ground sheet in here
00:29:53
two pints of water in the water bottle
00:29:55
and on this side
00:29:56
we've actually got the bayonet and the
00:29:58
handle to the entrenching tool
00:30:01
the head to the entrenching tool is here
00:30:03
and around the front
00:30:05
we've got pouches on each side what
00:30:08
we've got there
00:30:09
five rounds from that pouch each one of
00:30:11
those pouches 10 of them all together
00:30:13
takes 15. it means there's 150 bullets
00:30:16
easily available for any soldier in the
00:30:18
bef
00:30:20
this equipment's here weighs something
00:30:23
like 57 pounds minimum
00:30:27
and in 1914 the minimum weight
00:30:30
of a soldier was 112 pounds
00:30:34
with this on a 57 pounds it's actually
00:30:36
more than half his body weight
00:30:39
going into battle in 1916 with gas masks
00:30:42
steel helmet
00:30:43
grenades it's probably about 66 pounds
00:30:49
by late august just 84 000 men of the
00:30:52
british expeditionary force
00:30:54
the bef have landed in france
00:31:00
the british army was a very small body
00:31:01
it was essentially a colonial police
00:31:03
force that would be sent to police the
00:31:05
empire protected from external threats
00:31:07
and put down internal rebellions it was
00:31:09
not intended for a major war
00:31:11
incredibly the british army in europe is
00:31:14
smaller even than the 117
00:31:16
000 strong belgian army when thrown into
00:31:19
a maelstrom of a massive european
00:31:21
conflict it was undergunned
00:31:23
and under supplied and it's about to
00:31:26
face the might of the best equipped and
00:31:28
best prepared army
00:31:29
in the world the six hundred thousand
00:31:33
german soldiers
00:31:35
marching into belgium
00:31:45
august 1914 europe's old imperial elite
00:31:49
is at war a new kind of war which they
00:31:52
do not understand
00:31:53
and which will lead to their ruin six
00:31:56
hundred thousand german troops under
00:31:58
general helmut von multke
00:32:00
are tearing through neutral belgium
00:32:04
the germans need to get to france before
00:32:06
the french forces have a chance to
00:32:07
organise themselves
00:32:10
the trouble is belgium is defended by a
00:32:12
ring of defensive forts
00:32:14
and it's holding them up belgium's forts
00:32:18
put up an unexpectedly strong resistance
00:32:20
and massively slow the german advance
00:32:23
von mulker now has
00:32:24
no choice but to bring up the heavy guns
00:32:27
the germans now unveil the first
00:32:29
industrial super weapon
00:32:30
of world war one nicknamed big
00:32:33
bertha this 42 centimeter caliber
00:32:36
howitzer gun
00:32:38
fires an 800 kilogram shell almost 10
00:32:41
kilometers
00:32:43
well beyond the range of the belgian
00:32:54
artillery
00:32:57
in a matter of hours the germans have
00:32:59
destroyed belgium's great forts
00:33:02
in just one single day the german
00:33:05
artillery
00:33:06
overturned three centuries of military
00:33:08
doctrine that relies on defensive
00:33:10
thoughts this is a totally new type of
00:33:13
war
00:33:16
but the defiance of ordinary belgians
00:33:18
leads to brutal
00:33:19
german reprisals six and a half thousand
00:33:23
civilians
00:33:24
are killed thousands more are taken
00:33:28
hostage
00:33:29
almost one and a half million flee their
00:33:31
homes
00:33:34
the historic university town of louvain
00:33:37
is looted
00:33:38
and set on fire portrayed in the press
00:33:41
as the rape of belgium
00:33:43
it provokes outrage in britain and
00:33:45
america
00:33:47
there was a massive propaganda campaign
00:33:50
that ran
00:33:50
in the newspapers following what was
00:33:52
referred to as the the rape of belgium
00:33:56
anything that the germans did was
00:33:57
magnified tremendously
00:33:59
so you started out with a report that
00:34:02
the germans had rung the antwerp church
00:34:05
bells
00:34:05
after capturing the city and by the time
00:34:08
the press had done with it
00:34:09
they had hung priests upside down from
00:34:11
the church bells and used them as human
00:34:13
clappers
00:34:15
prussian military brutality is not new
00:34:18
what is new are the means of mass
00:34:19
communication
00:34:20
by which news of it quickly spreads it
00:34:22
was an enormous propaganda own goal for
00:34:24
germany and one that britain would never
00:34:26
allow it to forget
00:34:28
thousands of outraged british people
00:34:30
answer the call for volunteers
00:34:34
33 000 enlist on just one day in
00:34:37
september
00:34:39
by the end of that month the number of
00:34:41
volunteers has reached a colossal
00:34:44
760 thousand
00:34:48
it will be months before britain's new
00:34:50
volunteer army is trained and ready
00:34:56
but they like the germans and french
00:34:59
will be trained and equipped for a form
00:35:01
of war which no longer exists
00:35:04
though they don't yet know it
00:35:11
on the outbreak of war british soldiers
00:35:13
were wearing something like this
00:35:14
it's basically a cap stiffened with a
00:35:17
piece of wire
00:35:18
has absolutely no ballistic quality
00:35:20
whatsoever
00:35:22
bullet shrapnel goes straight through it
00:35:24
german army
00:35:25
slightly better off they've got this the
00:35:28
pickle help with a
00:35:30
cover over it when it was in use it
00:35:32
might stop
00:35:33
a shrapnel ball at long range might
00:35:35
actually turn a blow with a
00:35:38
musket butt or something but that was
00:35:40
all something better was needed
00:35:42
particularly because the men were in
00:35:44
trenches and it was their heads that was
00:35:46
the most vulnerable in a trench
00:35:48
so by september 1915 british army
00:35:52
start to get this called the brody after
00:35:54
its adventure
00:35:55
basically manganese steel designed
00:35:58
to deflect bits of shrapnel
00:36:02
fragments of shell debris falling out
00:36:04
the sky
00:36:05
sadly by the way a bullet will go
00:36:07
straight through it
00:36:11
having overtaken belgium a tide of
00:36:14
german soldiers move into northern
00:36:15
france
00:36:18
slaughtering the british and french in
00:36:20
terrifying numbers
00:36:23
the french suffer 140 000 casualties in
00:36:26
just
00:36:26
four days caused in part by outdated
00:36:30
french methods of fighting
00:36:32
the french were wedded to a tactical
00:36:34
doctrine known as the offensive at all
00:36:36
costs
00:36:37
this was a doctrine that argued that the
00:36:38
best way to defeat the germans was to
00:36:40
attack them in
00:36:41
large numbers with the spirit of france
00:36:43
the fury francaise
00:36:45
unfortunately this resulted in them
00:36:47
advancing into artillery rifle and
00:36:49
machine gun fire
00:36:50
and dying in catastrophic numbers
00:36:54
losses in august of 1914 were absolutely
00:36:56
horrendous
00:36:57
they lost 27 000 men for example in one
00:37:00
single day
00:37:01
and if the losses were to continue at
00:37:03
that rate then
00:37:05
every man in france would be dead by
00:37:07
1917.
00:37:09
for the next two weeks the british and
00:37:12
french are forced on the run
00:37:13
to avoid being encircled by the rapidly
00:37:16
advancing german armies
00:37:19
the retreat was harrowing for all
00:37:21
involved they traveled
00:37:22
huge distances on foot men had to be
00:37:25
dragged along picked up on supply wagons
00:37:28
units became mixed they were out running
00:37:30
their lines of communication
00:37:31
so they were struggling to feed people
00:37:36
it looks like the germans will succeed
00:37:39
france will fall and the war will be
00:37:41
over by christmas
00:37:46
but just as railways allowed the germans
00:37:48
to strike france with industrial speed
00:37:50
and efficiency
00:37:51
they now do the same in the east as
00:37:53
russia attacks germany
00:37:56
on the 15th of august 1914 two russian
00:38:00
armies of 485
00:38:02
000 men invade eastern germany
00:38:10
the initial german response to a russian
00:38:12
invasion of east prussia was actually to
00:38:14
fall back away from it to try and delay
00:38:16
the russian invasion for as long as
00:38:18
possible
00:38:19
without fighting a major battle russian
00:38:22
trains bring their armies to the german
00:38:24
border at great speed
00:38:26
but now they hit a glitch russian
00:38:29
railways use a different gauge
00:38:30
track to germany so the invading troops
00:38:33
have to disembark at the border
00:38:35
and advance on foot
00:38:39
without trains to bring up supplies the
00:38:41
advancing russian armies
00:38:43
pillaged the countryside rounding up and
00:38:45
killing over a thousand
00:38:46
german civilians
00:38:50
the trauma of the russian invasion will
00:38:53
haunt germany for decades
00:38:56
[Music]
00:38:57
a massive displacement of people caused
00:39:00
by the russian invasion
00:39:02
then really leads to absolute terror
00:39:05
i mean it's possible at one point that
00:39:07
berlin might fall
00:39:08
and it's very arguable actually hitler's
00:39:11
view towards russia has shaped very much
00:39:14
by those events of early 1914 and the
00:39:17
beginning of the war
00:39:19
in the east germany is massively
00:39:21
outnumbered
00:39:23
173 000 german soldiers
00:39:26
face 485 000 russians
00:39:29
advancing in two columns
00:39:31
[Music]
00:39:33
but the russian army is greatly inferior
00:39:37
it was a large slow-moving army reliant
00:39:40
on an antiquated supply network
00:39:42
and above all else it was being
00:39:44
commanded by two quarreling generals
00:39:47
samsonov and ren and camp hated one
00:39:49
another and were not on speaking terms
00:39:50
and russian communications were
00:39:52
antiquated reliant almost entirely on
00:39:55
horseboard messenger
00:39:56
or radio traffic broadcast without any
00:39:58
encryption whatsoever
00:40:01
the germans learn from intercepted radio
00:40:04
transmissions
00:40:05
that the two russian armies have become
00:40:07
separated
00:40:08
[Music]
00:40:09
they're transmitting radio broadcasts
00:40:11
enclave in
00:40:12
uncoded messaging which the germans can
00:40:15
anticipate
00:40:16
the germans managed to corner 230 000
00:40:19
russian troops in the south
00:40:21
and move in for the kill
00:40:35
the russians are in danger being cut off
00:40:37
they try to withdraw at the last minute
00:40:39
but it's too late
00:40:41
an entire russian offensive at that
00:40:44
point is broken
00:40:45
germany has managed to save itself the
00:40:48
numbers again
00:40:49
are shocking 78 thousand russians are
00:40:52
killed or wounded
00:40:53
ninety-two thousand captured the german
00:40:56
casualties
00:40:58
are less than one-tenth of that
00:41:01
never again in the first world war would
00:41:03
an army be encircled and destroyed quite
00:41:05
as comprehensively
00:41:06
as the russians were at tannenberg
00:41:10
the russians humiliated in the east
00:41:13
british and french forces decimated in
00:41:15
the west
00:41:16
the germans moving on paris the war it
00:41:19
seems will soon be over
00:41:22
but now it's the turn of the french to
00:41:24
deploy their railway network
00:41:26
as a weapon of war commander joseph
00:41:29
joffra
00:41:29
orders trains to bring men from all over
00:41:32
france
00:41:34
deliver 150 000 frenchmen a new army
00:41:37
assembled by the river man just outside
00:41:39
paris
00:41:40
and the germans don't even know it's
00:41:42
there the so-called
00:41:44
miracle of the man begins on the 5th of
00:41:46
september
00:41:48
1914 this was the moment when joffrey
00:41:51
threw
00:41:52
his great counter-attack at the battle
00:41:53
of man into action
00:41:55
it was the moment when the war began to
00:41:57
turn against the germans
00:42:01
when the french need even more troops
00:42:03
they hire 630 parisian taxis
00:42:06
to carry 5000 reinforcements from paris
00:42:08
to the front
00:42:14
the taxi drivers are even allowed to
00:42:15
keep their meters running
00:42:17
and the french government pays the 70
00:42:19
000 frank fair
00:42:26
the french determination to drive the
00:42:28
germans back from paris
00:42:30
is captured in one general's message in
00:42:32
the heat of battle
00:42:35
my center is giving way my right is in
00:42:38
retreat
00:42:39
situation excellent i attack
00:42:49
it's known as the miracle on the man
00:42:51
because it seems so unlikely that
00:42:52
british and french forces were able to
00:42:54
stop this german juggernaut
00:42:55
or indeed compel it to withdraw
00:42:59
but the french attack supported by the
00:43:01
british
00:43:02
stuns the germans the french character
00:43:05
attack was especially effective because
00:43:07
of timing
00:43:08
the germans had overreached themselves
00:43:10
the army had been fighting and marching
00:43:11
for weeks
00:43:12
and it was exhausted and it was struck
00:43:14
at a time when he was at its very lowest
00:43:16
ebb
00:43:19
the casualties on both sides are
00:43:21
horrific
00:43:23
the germans lose 105 000 men
00:43:27
the french and british 85 000
00:43:32
more men are killed and injured in this
00:43:33
one single battle
00:43:35
than were fielded at waterloo
00:43:39
neither side can afford such heavy
00:43:41
losses
00:43:43
the germans withdraw to the north
00:43:46
the allies are forced to follow
00:43:50
[Applause]
00:43:51
[Music]
00:43:53
the battered remnants of the british
00:43:55
expeditionary force
00:43:56
finds itself taking up defensive
00:43:58
positions around the belgian town of eep
00:44:03
soon they will find themselves facing an
00:44:05
overwhelming force of german soldiers
00:44:10
but this time they are ready this time
00:44:13
they are dug in
00:44:18
what happens at even will go down in
00:44:20
history a tragedy the like of which has
00:44:23
never been seen
00:44:25
and it will set the pattern for this
00:44:27
senseless bloody
00:44:29
industrial war
00:44:38
[Music]
00:44:46
you
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