1 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:23,560 July 17th, 1918. 2 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,600 The wheel had come full circle. 3 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:30,600 Once again, as in 1914, all the war, 4 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:35,840 all its potential, all its hopes and fears and deceitful promises, 5 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:38,560 were centred on the River Marne. 6 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:42,800 On the Marne, the war had reached a moment of equipoise. 7 00:01:55,400 --> 00:02:01,600 The last of the great German offensives on the Western Front had been launched three days before. 8 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:07,800 By July 17th, it had been halted by French, British and American troops combined. 9 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:12,560 General Ludendorff gave orders for the attack to cease. 10 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:18,240 "A continuation of the offensive would have cost us too much." 11 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:23,000 General Foch, commander-in-chief of the Allied armies, asked: 12 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:28,880 "What had been the results of this Friedensturm which, it had been proclaimed, 13 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:32,200 "was to bring peace by one victorious rush? 14 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:37,240 "Nothing but bitterness and deception, forerunners of defeat." 15 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:44,000 On July 17th, Ludendorff travelled north to the headquarters of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria 16 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,400 to discuss the final offensive against the British Army, 17 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,640 which had always been his main intention. 18 00:02:51,640 --> 00:02:55,560 For the few hours while the equipoise lasted, 19 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,440 the Germans remained unsuspecting. 20 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:19,120 Field Marshal von Hindenburg described their awakening: 21 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:22,840 "Suddenly, a violent hail of shells descended on the back areas. 22 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:33,200 "The enemy was undoubtedly attacking on the whole front, from the Aisne to the Marne." 23 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,280 350 French tanks rolled into the attack. 24 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,720 American divisions spearheaded the main French onset. 25 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:02,480 Really, we started out recklessly, like a holiday, it was. 26 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:06,240 We didn't know, we didn't see any dead people yet. 27 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:09,280 We started out, followed the barrage, 28 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:13,480 and the first Germans we saw dead were in the first line. 29 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:15,640 We leapfrogged that line, 30 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,920 the barrage continued, we followed it, 31 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:22,040 to the second line of German trenches. 32 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,640 There, a lot of Germans were killed by our barrage, 33 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:30,000 and there wasn't much opposition the first half-hour or so. 34 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,520 When the Germans recovered, resistance stiffened. 35 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:38,280 It was never easy to defeat the German army. 36 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:39,520 On July 29th, Mangin wrote: 37 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,600 "The struggle is very hard. We've had some success, 38 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:47,520 "but the Boche is holding on to the swing door I am trying to close." 39 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:26,000 Steadily, reluctantly, fighting stern rearguard actions, 40 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,880 the Germans were forced to withdraw. 41 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:56,000 Once again, the tide had turned 42 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:00,760 and the German army was retreating from the River Marne. 43 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:02,880 Hindenburg wrote: 44 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,360 "It was a grievous decision. 45 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:12,440 "How the enemy would rejoice if the word Marne were to mean a revolution in a military situation again. 46 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:15,080 "All France would breathe again. 47 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:19,480 "What would be the effect of this news on the whole world? 48 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:26,200 "We realised how many eyes and hearts would follow us with envy, hatred and hope." 49 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,720 The Germans bowed to the inexorable. 50 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,960 On August 2nd, they evacuated Soissons. 51 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:36,000 By August 5th, the Second Battle of the Marne was over. 52 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:56,400 The Allies had taken over 29,000 prisoners and nearly 800 guns. 53 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:02,840 The German high command understood the significance of what had been done. In Ludendorff's words: 54 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:07,480 "The attempt to make peace by means of German victories 55 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:11,920 "before the arrival of American reinforcements, had failed. 56 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:16,720 "The army's impetus had not sufficed to deal the enemy a decisive blow 57 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:21,200 "before the Americans were on the spot in considerable force. 58 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:27,680 "It was quite clear to me that our general situation had thus become very serious." 59 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:32,760 What would be the effect of this news on the world? Asked Hindenburg. 60 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:35,240 This indeed was a key question. 61 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:42,680 In France, a surge of relief greeted the retreat of the Germans 62 00:08:42,680 --> 00:08:45,200 and the end of the threat to Paris. 63 00:08:55,360 --> 00:09:01,400 In America, there was pride in the young Army of the Republic. 64 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:07,840 These July battles were America's first awakening to the harsh truths of the war. 65 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:14,720 American losses had been heavy, as their high-spirited, inexperienced soldiers stormed into the attack. 66 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,240 General Mangin, who commanded them, said: 67 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:21,960 "You rushed into the fight as though to a fete. 68 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:28,360 "American comrades, I am grateful to you for the blood so generously spilled on the soil of my country." 69 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:38,560 In Britain, the news of victory, after months of anxious waiting, 70 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:41,520 and awareness of German strength, 71 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:43,760 was treated with care. 72 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:48,840 On August 4th, as the battle was ending, Lord Rothermere wrote: 73 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:51,680 "We are still very far from our goal. 74 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:57,000 "And we ought soberly to confront the situation as it now exists." 75 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:04,680 Germany in 1918 had displayed to the world such ruthless force 76 00:10:04,680 --> 00:10:09,800 that men might well doubt the possibility of its waning. 77 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:15,880 Yet, in Germany, as the Battle of the Marne developed, and the news of it reached the people, 78 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:19,920 uneasy voices were heard, and would not be stilled. 79 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:22,280 The Cologne Gazette reported: 80 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:25,920 "Reviewing events at home in the fourth year of the war, 81 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:30,400 "the inference is that a true offensive spirit is lacking at home. 82 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:34,080 "In this connection, there is no more instructive comparison 83 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:36,640 "than that of our arch enemy - Great Britain." 84 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:41,000 "For Britain's home front has no loopholes and no weak spots." 85 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:47,040 The British government might ruefully smile to learn that Britain had "no weak spots". 86 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:54,120 Munition workers in Coventry and Birmingham went on strike at the climax of the Battle of the Marne. 87 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:59,320 There was a strike of women operating London buses and trams, 88 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:04,800 followed by the threat of another by women workers on the Underground. 89 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:08,320 There was a strike in the Yorkshire coalfields, 90 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:13,120 coinciding with the disclosure of a serious Allied shortage of coal. 91 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:18,160 There were searching queries by an ex-minister, Lord Landsdowne, 92 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:21,000 about the object of the war itself. 93 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:26,200 There were continuing shipping losses, in excess of new building. 94 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:31,240 There were food shortages, and a frightening influenza epidemic. 95 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:35,680 There was ferocious agitation against "enemy aliens" in Britain, 96 00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:42,120 a petition with 1.25 million signatures demanded the internment of every alien forthwith. 97 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:48,800 The largest mass meeting in Trafalgar Square since the outbreak of war urged the same thing. 98 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:55,280 This rage displayed the hysterical element in Britain's will to victory. 99 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:57,400 A letter to the Times said: 100 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:01,240 "At last, the view of Germany as she really is 101 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:03,560 "is dawning on the British people. 102 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:07,840 "They are beginning to think that with a nation so polluted, 103 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:14,240 "whose ideals are so false, and whose human feeling is so dead, 104 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:18,280 "no people acknowledging the morals of Christianity, 105 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:22,880 "or even of civilisation ought, as it values its own soul, 106 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:27,280 "to have truck, or dealing or even speech." 107 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:33,400 On August 8th, the London Times reported an article in the Frankfurter Zeitung. 108 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:37,720 "There is little sense in yielding to illusions about what is before us. 109 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:44,040 "We shall have to go on fighting during the winter, and doubtless during next summer also. 110 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:48,960 "The troops which are crossing the ocean from America must feed the war, 111 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:52,120 "like fresh logs thrown upon a dying fire. 112 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:55,720 "And this will not make the fighting easy." 113 00:12:55,720 --> 00:13:01,120 On this day, August 8th, fresh logs were, indeed, thrown on the fire. 114 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:06,040 On July 17th, the eve of Foch's counterstroke on the Marne, 115 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:08,560 the British commander-in-chief, Sir Douglas Haig, 116 00:13:08,560 --> 00:13:12,400 had suggested to him a joint French-British attack 117 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:16,080 to relieve the important rail centre of Amiens. 118 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:22,120 "This proposal," said Foch, "was perfectly in harmony with my way of looking at the matter." 119 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:24,360 On July 20th, he wrote to Haig: 120 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:30,400 "Having reached the point we now are, it is indispensable to seize the enemy and attack him, 121 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:32,440 "wherever we can do so. 122 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:36,720 "The combined attack should be carried out at once." 123 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:41,160 Haig had been preparing this stroke for over two months. 124 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:44,200 He entrusted it to General Rawlinson's Fourth Army. 125 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:51,000 The British Army was now different from the one which emerged 126 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:54,760 from the costly defensive battles of March and April. 127 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:58,080 Haig recognised the transformation. 128 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:04,760 "Two months of comparative quiet worked a great change in the condition of the British armies. 129 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:09,520 "The draft sent out from England had been largely absorbed, 130 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:13,000 "reinforcements from other fronts had arrived, 131 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:20,640 "and the number of effective infantry divisions had risen from 45 to 52. 132 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:24,800 "In artillery, we were stronger than we had ever been. 133 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:28,400 "The British Army was ready to take the offensive." 134 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:39,000 By 1918, British war production was truly organised on the scale of these tremendous needs. 135 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:43,320 In March and April, under the German hammer blows, 136 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:48,720 the British lost over 1,000 guns and vast amounts of war material. 137 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:55,240 British production was able to replace these losses before the battles were over. 138 00:14:55,240 --> 00:15:00,240 In late April, the King addressed a message to munitions workers. 139 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:07,360 "The King has learned that almost all the losses and expenditure of munitions during the battle 140 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:12,280 "have been made good without any undue depletion of normal reserves, 141 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:15,440 "out of the resources which have been held in readiness, 142 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:18,760 and the additional effort which has been made. 143 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:25,600 "There are now more serviceable guns, machine guns and aeroplanes with the British armies in the field 144 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:29,080 "than on the eve of the German attack." 145 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:33,600 Thus fortified, Haig completed his preparations to counterattack. 146 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,400 But, as 1916 and 1917 had shown, 147 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:39,080 something more was needed than 148 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:43,000 filled ranks and vast stocks of war material - 149 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,920 secrecy. By every trick in the book, 150 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:49,520 the British 4th Army worked to achieve surprise. 151 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:55,000 Every soldier had a notice pasted into his pay book. It said: 152 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,200 "Keep your mouth shut. 153 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:02,240 "The success of any operation we carry out depends on surprise. 154 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:07,680 "Do not talk. When you know your unit is making preparations for an attack, 155 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:12,360 "don't talk about them to men in other units, or to strangers. 156 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:16,800 "And keep your mouth shut especially in public places. 157 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:20,840 "Do not be inquisitive about what other units are doing. 158 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:24,920 "If you hear or see anything, keep it to yourself. 159 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,960 "The success of the operations, and the lives of your comrades, 160 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:30,840 "depend on your silence." 161 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:42,240 On July 28th, Foch placed the 1st French Army under Haig's command for the forthcoming battle. 162 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:46,840 This was kept secret. Haig wrote to the French commander: 163 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:52,880 "...to tell him I would not call at his headquarters until operations had started, 164 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:55,120 "in order to not excite suspicion." 165 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:04,000 Behind the Australians was massed another formidable fighting unit - 166 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:08,240 the Canadian corps, nearly 100,000 strong. 167 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:11,520 This, too, was kept secret. 168 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:16,640 Behind them all, to exploit success, the cavalry corps was brought in 169 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:20,000 with over 15,000 horses to hide on the empty Somme uplands. 170 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,960 Over 2,000 guns were assembled, also in secrecy. 171 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:44,120 And since this was 1918, and a different style of war, 172 00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:50,920 Rawlinson had under his command, silently gathered, 800 aircraft 173 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,280 and 534 tanks. 174 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:56,160 Of this, the Germans knew nothing. 175 00:17:56,160 --> 00:18:00,800 On August 4th, Ludendorff composed an order of the day. 176 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:05,520 "I am under the impression that the possibility of an enemy offensive 177 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,240 "is viewed with some apprehension. 178 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:11,880 "There is nothing to justify this apprehension, 179 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,960 "provided our troops are vigilant and do their duty." 180 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:24,000 The battle of Amiens opened at 4.20am on August 8th. 181 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:30,280 "We are the dead 182 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:33,320 "Short days ago, we lived 183 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:36,680 "Felt dawn, saw sunset glow 184 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,760 "Loved and were loved 185 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:43,800 "And now we lie in Flanders fields. 186 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:48,640 "Take up our quarrel with the foe. 187 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:52,440 "To you from failing hands we throw the torch 188 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,080 "be yours to hold it high. 189 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:58,760 "If ye break faith with us who die 190 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:01,120 "we shall not sleep. 191 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:11,720 "O guns, fall silent till the dead men hear 192 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:15,640 "above their heads the legions pressing on 193 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:23,560 "O flashing muzzles, pause, and let them see the coming dawn that streaks the sky afar 194 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:29,680 "Then let your mighty chorus witness be to them, and Caesar, that we still make war. 195 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:34,600 "Tell them, O guns, that we have heard their call, 196 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:39,120 "That we have sworn, and will not turn aside, 197 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:42,560 "That we will onward till we win or fall, 198 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:46,880 "that we will keep the faith for which they died." 199 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:51,720 "Hero hour, 8th of August. 400 tanks along the Amiens front. 200 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:55,080 "Is there a man alive of us who forgets? 201 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:57,600 "What a day. 202 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:02,640 "400 tanks in line of battle. Good going, home ground. 203 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,480 "The air grows electric. Two minutes to go. 204 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:10,440 "Watches tick, hearts beat. One minute to go. 205 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:13,320 "Then the whole world upheaves. 206 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,040 "No words can describe it. 207 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:23,280 "Just the whole world heaves, rocks, tumbles, turns upside down, ricochets. 208 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:26,680 "We can see, hear and feel nothing. 209 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:30,280 "The driver's on his seat, his hand on the clutch. 210 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:33,080 "Soon she's humming, sweet and low. 211 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:37,280 "I depress the pedal and she roars, magnificently, 212 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:40,360 "like the great man-eater she is. 213 00:20:40,360 --> 00:20:46,200 "She gives a lurch and a roll, the gunners spread their feet for balance, and we're off." 214 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:02,480 The going was marvellous. 215 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:06,920 The grass was just like Cumberland turf, springy - 216 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:09,560 you felt you were in for a joyride. 217 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:40,960 "The whole plateau seen from the air was dotted with infantry, field artillery and tanks, moving forward. 218 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:45,680 "Many staff officers were riding horses in battle for the first time. 219 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,560 "No enemy guns appeared to be firing, 220 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:52,000 "and no co-ordinated defence was apparent." 221 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:58,240 Only the RAF lacked a sense of overwhelming victory that day. 222 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:04,720 During the hours between the opening of the battle and the lifting of the morning mist, 223 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:09,160 the Germans had time to summon air reinforcements. 224 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:15,800 As the British planes took off to bomb bridges, communications and troop concentrations, 225 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:19,000 German squadrons assembled against them. 226 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,840 The Richthofen squadron appeared. 227 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:28,520 Baron von Richthofen, the most famous air ace of the war, was dead now, but his squadron, 228 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:33,280 led by Captain Hermann Goring, was still a fearsome opponent to meet. 229 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:57,200 The RAF lost 44 machines in battle, and 52 more were wrecked. 230 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:46,120 On the ground, the battle flowed towards its unmistakable meaning. 231 00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:52,280 The tanks were going forward, and taking position after position, the infantry following up behind, 232 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:56,480 and though the Germans had brought their artillery out of their pits, 233 00:23:56,480 --> 00:24:00,320 it was of no avail - the Australians were all around them. 234 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:05,240 While this took place, the horse artillery galloped into action. 235 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:11,560 In the meantime, German prisoners were coming up - it was a morning of victory. 236 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:17,120 You could feel the excitement, because we knew that would be the end of the war. 237 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:42,800 By 1.30pm, the Australians were on all their objectives. 238 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:47,560 They'd captured over 7,800 prisoners, and 173 guns. 239 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:50,600 The Canadians made the deepest advance, 240 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:55,240 nearly eight miles, and took nearly 5,000 prisoners. 241 00:24:55,240 --> 00:25:02,040 Altogether, the British and French armies captured some 15,000 Germans that day. 242 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:06,680 Was this the reward at last of patient years of endeavour? 243 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:14,600 Was this what Vimy might have been, what Messine should have been, what Cambrai could have been? 244 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:16,920 Field Marshal Haig wrote: 245 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:21,720 "The situation has developed more favourably for us than I, 246 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:25,560 "optimist though I am, had dared to hope." 247 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:27,600 Ludendorff wrote: 248 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:31,760 "August 8th was the black day of the German army in this war. 249 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:35,000 "This was the worst experience that I had to go through." 250 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,360 The battle of Amiens was a new beginning, 251 00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:46,160 the glint of a new hope. 252 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:50,280 The advance slowed, but the feel of a great occasion did not diminish. 253 00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:57,600 German resistance stiffened, and each mile gained 254 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:05,320 brought the British nearer to the devastated wilderness of the Somme battlefields of 1916. 255 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:07,840 But Amiens, on August 8th, 256 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:13,520 struck such a blow at German morale as it had never sustained before. 257 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:20,080 As the German support divisions moved up, they met men who shouted: 258 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:25,120 "You want to prolong the war? If the enemy were over the Rhine, the war would be over! 259 00:26:25,120 --> 00:26:27,600 "We thought we'd set the thing going. 260 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:30,600 "Now you fools are corking up the hole again!" 261 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:34,640 Ludendorff was appalled at the reports which reached him. 262 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:39,960 "Everything I had feared had here, in one place, become a reality. 263 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:43,480 "Our war machine was no longer efficient. 264 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:49,320 "The 8th August put the decline of our fighting power beyond all doubt. 265 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:52,480 "The war must be ended." 266 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:59,240 More slowly now, but steadily, the Allies pressed forward. 267 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:05,520 On August 11th, the German Supreme Command met. Ludendorff offered his resignation, 268 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:07,280 but it was not accepted. 269 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:10,080 The truth could not be disguised. 270 00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:12,320 The Kaiser told his generals: 271 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,040 "I see that we must strike a balance. 272 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:19,360 "We have nearly reached the limit of our powers of endurance. 273 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:21,880 "The war must be ended." 274 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:26,720 "The war must be ended." At last, the realisation came home. 275 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:32,800 The leaders of the German army, the mightiest instrument of power the world had seen, 276 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:35,080 knew they could not win. 277 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:37,120 The London Times wrote: 278 00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:42,200 "The new Franco-British offensive, initiated by Sir Douglas Haig, 279 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:46,640 "is one of the most gratifying surprises of the war. 280 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:51,240 "It surprised the British public just as much as the enemy, 281 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:55,160 "for never has a secret been better-kept." 282 00:27:56,240 --> 00:28:00,080 Daunted by the collapse of so many false hopes in years past, 283 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:05,240 the British public hesitatingly comprehended what had been achieved. 284 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:09,280 In Germany, and among her weakened and wearied allies, 285 00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:12,560 realisation came more swiftly. 286 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:14,440 A Vienna paper wrote: 287 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:20,880 "The German retreat on the Marne concerns us just as much as if our own troops had been fighting there. 288 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:25,400 "And the beating hearts with which we followed the battle at Amiens 289 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:32,240 "are inspired by a comprehension of the extent to which our destiny is interwoven with these events." 290 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,440 Austria needed peace. 291 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:38,800 Bulgaria needed peace. Turkey needed peace. 292 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:42,640 Now Germany was learning that she, too, needed peace. 293 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:44,440 But what sort of peace? 294 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:47,360 The voice of the Junke insisted: 295 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:53,400 "I should like to say to our people: do not lose your nerves or become sentimental. 296 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:55,920 "Show a hard face to your enemies, 297 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:59,160 "and say plainly to them that you need this, and that. 298 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:02,520 "and therefore will keep that much of what you have taken from them, 299 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:04,720 "because YOU are the conquerors." 300 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:14,120 Germany realised there could be no negotiating of peace, or compromise. 301 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:20,960 The righteous wrath of the American people, embodied in President Wilson, 302 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:28,720 the determination of Britain, asserted by Lloyd George, would not contemplate such a thing. 303 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:31,960 And Clemenceau had spoken for France: 304 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:36,040 "I, gentlemen, I wage war. 305 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:41,160 "In domestic policies, I wage war. In foreign policies, I wage war. 306 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:44,480 "Always, everywhere, I wage war. 307 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:47,160 "And I shall continue to wage war 308 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:50,680 "until the last quarter of an hour. 309 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:57,440 "How long, oh, Lord, how long before the flood of crimson welling carnage shall abate? 310 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:02,400 "From sodden plains in west and east, 311 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:07,320 "the blood of kindly men streams up in mists of hate, 312 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:10,160 "polluting thy clean air. 313 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:16,960 "And nations great in reputation of the arts that bind the world with hopes of heaven, 314 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:20,280 "sink to the state of brute barbarians 315 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:25,560 "whose ferocious mind gloats o'er the bloody havoc of their kind, 316 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:29,000 "not knowing love, or mercy. 317 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:33,160 "Lord, how long shall Satan in high places 318 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:38,320 "lead the blind to battle for the passions of the strong?" 319 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:46,840 Peace was still a distant vision in August 1918. 320 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:49,800 In the mood of all the warring nations, 321 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:55,040 there was still a debt to be paid, in blood and destruction. 322 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:59,040 The fight went on. 323 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:02,720 Foch - who became marshal of France on August 6th - 324 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:05,520 widened the battle front southward, 325 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:08,200 drawing in new French armies. 326 00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:12,480 Now Haig widened the British front of attack also. 327 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:16,600 On August 21st, his 3rd army opened the battle of Bapaume. 328 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:30,960 Bapaume fell to the New Zealanders on August 30th. 329 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:35,840 In this battle, the British captured 34,000 men and 270 guns. 330 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:42,760 Before it ended, Haig flung in his 1st Army, attacking still further to the north, 331 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:44,240 along the River Scarpe. 332 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:54,720 Their fight produced 16,000 prisoners and 200 guns. 333 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:56,760 And so into September, 334 00:31:56,760 --> 00:31:59,920 and yet another battle by the 4th and 3rd Armies. 335 00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:02,240 12,000 prisoners and 100 guns. 336 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:09,840 It was a majestic progress, after long years of waiting and enduring. 337 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:14,280 But the cost was high for men who had fought so long. 338 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:19,960 At home, the British people began to have the sense of victory. 339 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:24,040 One by one, the headlines stilled their doubts. 340 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:27,960 "August 23rd. New British advance." 341 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:31,480 "August 24th. British front ablaze." 342 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:35,960 "August 26th. Pressing the advance." 343 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:41,240 "August 27th. Battle front spreading." 344 00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:45,320 "August 28th. Allies sweep forward." 345 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:48,840 "August 30th. The flowing tide." 346 00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:51,520 The Times commented: 347 00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:56,560 "The arrival of our forces at Bapaume set the seal on a wonderful weekend. 348 00:32:56,560 --> 00:33:00,760 "and brought into view possibilities not in sight a week ago. 349 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:03,280 "The Germans are retreating so fast 350 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:09,080 "people are beginning to ask whether they'll be able to stand on the Hindenburg line!" 351 00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:14,320 The sense of victory gripped the Allies. Haig told his generals: 352 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:19,080 "Risks which a month ago would have been criminal to incur 353 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:22,880 "ought now to be incurred as a duty." 354 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:29,920 Yet there remained between the Allies and the growing vision of victory a formidable obstacle - 355 00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:33,240 the Hindenburg line. 356 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:39,200 Here, the Germans, dispirited, tired, weakened in numbers, might be expected to make a stand 357 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,800 and display that courage in adversity, 358 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:46,320 which had sustained them so often before. 359 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:52,640 By the end of September, it became clear that only the whole strength of the Allies on the Western Front 360 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:55,200 could guarantee Germany's overthrow. 361 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:57,240 Marshal Foch coined a slogan: 362 00:33:57,240 --> 00:34:01,800 "Tout le monde a la bataille" - everyone go to it. 363 00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:10,320 The Americans joined in, fighting as an army in their own right. 364 00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:16,720 Already on September 12th, they'd cleared the St Mihiel salient near the fortress of Verdun, 365 00:34:16,720 --> 00:34:19,960 taking 15,000 prisoners and 450 guns. 366 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:24,080 It was a fine achievement in their first great offensive, 367 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:26,520 but now, for the whole alliance, 368 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:30,560 the direction of the American effort had to be changed. 369 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:34,800 By a tremendous feat of organisation and administration, 370 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:38,240 the American army was shifted to the Argonne 371 00:34:38,240 --> 00:34:43,560 to strike northward while the French and British marched east. 372 00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:51,840 And in the north, the Belgian army also would attack 373 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:53,920 beside the British 2nd Army, 374 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:58,080 fighting under the orders of King Albert of the Belgians. 375 00:34:58,080 --> 00:35:00,840 By September 26th, all was ready. 376 00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:22,080 The French and Americans struck hard. Then, the haste of the attack told against them. 377 00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:25,120 The Americans suffered heavy casualties, 378 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:29,960 they could have borne these due to the enthusiasm that impelled them, 379 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:33,000 but their transport broke down. 380 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:36,000 Supplies could not be got to the troops in action. 381 00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:44,080 The wounded could not be removed. 382 00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:48,640 The American onslaught slowed, and stopped. It didn't matter. 383 00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:55,920 On September 27th, the British 3rd and 1st Armies struck at the Hindenburg line itself, 384 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:59,760 and made a breach 12 miles wide and six miles deep. 385 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:20,920 When we got to the wire, it was terrific. 386 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:26,240 It was about four foot high, and I would say about 15 yards wide. 387 00:36:26,240 --> 00:36:29,800 But the tanks who'd gone in front of us 388 00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:33,840 had ploughed through it like a ship in the sea 389 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:39,360 and we had no difficulty in walking in their tracks through the wire. 390 00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:43,160 We also got over the Hindenburg front line. 391 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:50,920 On the 28th, the 2nd Army and the Belgians took up the tale at Ypres 392 00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:54,880 and crossed the entire battleground of Passchendaele, 393 00:36:54,880 --> 00:37:00,000 where the British had fought for three bloody months in 1917, in one day. 394 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:10,520 And on that day, too, the 4th Army, with Americans fighting with Australians, 395 00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:12,000 joined in to the south. 396 00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:19,360 In obstinate rearguards and heroic groups, 397 00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:25,520 parts of the German army battled on, by virtue of soldierly instinct and tradition. 398 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:29,880 But others, chalked on the railway wagons that took them to the front, 399 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:33,680 slaughter cattle for Wilhelm and Sons. 400 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:35,720 Hindenburg wrote: 401 00:37:35,720 --> 00:37:39,480 "What terrible demands were made in these few weeks 402 00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:44,560 "on the strength and resolution of the officers and men of all the staffs and formations. 403 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:51,400 "The only order issued was often: 'Hold out to the last, hold out'. 404 00:37:51,400 --> 00:37:55,880 "What a renunciation after so many glorious victories. 405 00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:59,920 "I was faced with the worst of all questions - 406 00:37:59,920 --> 00:38:02,880 "when must the end be?" 407 00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:10,720 The end of slaughter, the end of lunatic damage, the end of hate. 408 00:38:10,720 --> 00:38:14,000 The end must be now, at once. 409 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:16,520 But how could it be achieved? 410 00:38:16,520 --> 00:38:21,760 Victors and defeated alike met the problem with bewildered stares. 411 00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:24,560 War is easy to declare, 412 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:26,600 but peace - 413 00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:29,880 peace in 1918 was an elusive prize.