1
00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:22,880
"For all we have and are,
For all our children's fate,

2
00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:27,320
"Stand up and meet the War,
The Hun is at the gate."

3
00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:31,840
The Germans were west of Brussels.
Still they came on.

4
00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:34,880
It seemed that nothing
could stop them.

5
00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:37,920
The Schlieffen plan
was working beautifully,

6
00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:40,960
taking the Germans through Belgium,

7
00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:45,800
brushing the Channel coast,
down through France, west of Paris,

8
00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,400
to attack the French armies
from the rear.

9
00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,800
Everywhere,
the French were in confusion.

10
00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:55,200
From Verdun to Charleroi,
they were falling back.

11
00:01:55,200 --> 00:02:00,640
The German right wing
three-quarters of a million men

12
00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:04,160
was coming into position
to make its sweep.

13
00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:08,200
This was the loaded tip
of von Schlieffen's flail.

14
00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:13,640
The heaviest weight in the tip
was General von Kluck's 1st Army.

15
00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:17,480
They skirted the historic
battlefield of Waterloo,

16
00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:23,520
where, 99 years before, British
and Germans had fought the French.

17
00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:26,560
Ahead lay a dreary,
industrial region.

18
00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:31,240
Coming straight towards them,
not knowing, oblivious of danger,

19
00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,760
believing they were joining
a great Allied advance,

20
00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:39,280
marched the four divisions
of the British Expeditionary Force.

21
00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:44,320
Only the cavalrymen, under General
Allenby, cautiously scouting ahead,

22
00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,320
were aware of the German presence.

23
00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:51,520
Suddenly, amid the slag heaps
and villages of a mining area,

24
00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,400
the army was ordered to halt.

25
00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:58,440
Field Marshal Sir John French
had received new information.

26
00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:02,960
There would be no advance,
but instead a defensive battle.

27
00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,040
The British formed a broad angle.

28
00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:11,880
The left flank, where the danger
was greatest, was wide open.

29
00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:16,720
At its apex stood the little,
red-brick town of Mons.

30
00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:22,520
Sunday, August 23rd, came in
with mist and scattered showers.

31
00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:27,520
Church bells were calling
devout Belgians to early mass.

32
00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:31,560
In their Sunday best,
they stared at the foreign soldiers

33
00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:33,600
who filled their town.

34
00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,000
They found it hard to believe
that war was upon them.

35
00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,280
BELL TOLLS

36
00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:49,240
The men of General Smith-Dorrien's
2nd Army Corps were digging in

37
00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:53,920
along the Mons canal, preparing
an awkward position for defence.

38
00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:58,960
Quite suddenly, out of the blue,
we saw cavalry coming towards us.

39
00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:02,480
They came out on our right flank.

40
00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:06,000
I said, "Good gracious,
it's Germans!"

41
00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:10,040
So we immediately started to fire.
We fired fuse-nought.

42
00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:16,040
They got about 300 yards, I suppose,
from the guns and wouldn't face it.

43
00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,880
By nine o'clock,
the guns were in full cry.

44
00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:23,840
The British Army began to
learn about Jack Johnsons,

45
00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:26,200
Black Marias and Coal Boxes,

46
00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:30,760
the names the soldiers gave
to the shattering explosions

47
00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:32,800
of the German heavy shells.

48
00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:38,680
'We were waiting for them. We didn't
expect the blow that struck us.

49
00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:42,760
'All at once, the sky began to rain
down bullets and shells.

50
00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:48,720
'I saw shells to my right and left.
I saw many a good comrade go out.'

51
00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,240
Then the German infantry
began to come forward,

52
00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:57,880
surging towards the canal banks
to cross at locks and bridges.

53
00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:01,040
There was a surprise
in store for them too.

54
00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:07,200
'They were in solid square blocks,
standing out against the skyline.

55
00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:09,600
'You couldn't help pitying them.

56
00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:14,000
'We lay in our trenches
with not a sound or sign.

57
00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:20,440
'They crept nearer.
Our officers gave the word.'

58
00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:23,640
SHELLS EXPLODE

59
00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:31,480
'The Germans staggered like
a drunk man hit between the eyes.

60
00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:33,520
'They made a run for it,

61
00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:37,560
'shouting some outlandish cry
we couldn't make out.'

62
00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:40,160
'Poor devils of infantry.

63
00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:45,200
'They advanced in companies
of 150 men, in files five deep.

64
00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:51,000
'The first company were blasted away
to heaven by a volley at 700 yards.

65
00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:55,400
'In their insane formation,
every bullet would find two billets.

66
00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:58,240
'They had absolutely no chance.'

67
00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:03,080
This was the mad minute  15 rounds
of aimed rifle fire per minute

68
00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,480
that the British infantry alone
were trained to do.

69
00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:11,040
At Mons, it worked.
The Germans were shot flat.

70
00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:16,920
'Our first battle is a heavy,
an unheard-of, heavy defeat.

71
00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:21,760
'And against the English
the English we laughed at!'

72
00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:27,120
'Entrenched and completely hidden,
the enemy opened a murderous fire.

73
00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:30,640
'The casualties increased,
the rushes became shorter.

74
00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:34,680
'With bloody losses,
the attack came to an end.'

75
00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:36,720
It was all to no avail.

76
00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:41,400
On the left flank of the British
and the right of the French,

77
00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:43,760
German pressure was building.

78
00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,800
Sir Henry Wilson,
Deputy Chief of Staff,

79
00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:49,320
clung to the hope of advancing.

80
00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:51,360
And then...

81
00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:56,920
'At 11pm, news came that the French
5th Army was falling back further.

82
00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,520
'Between 11pm and 3am,

83
00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:04,640
'we drafted orders for retirement
to the line Maubeuge-Valenciennes.'

84
00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,160
Retreat from Mons had begun.

85
00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:12,160
We were very disappointed

86
00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:16,520
when we got the order
to break off battle and retreat.

87
00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:19,040
This was not an easy thing.

88
00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:23,080
It's quite easy to join battle,
but not to break it off.

89
00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:27,120
We put down a curtain fire
between us and the Germans,

90
00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:30,680
which enabled the infantry
and cavalry to get away.

91
00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:35,720
'After all their experience
of small wars,

92
00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:39,240
'the English veterans
brilliantly understood

93
00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:42,800
'how to slip off
at the last moment.'

94
00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:44,840
On they came again.

95
00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,640
The Schlieffen plan
was still going like clockwork.

96
00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:53,480
The whole Allied line was
going back  the end of a dream.

97
00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,960
And for thousands of frightened,
homeless people,

98
00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:00,000
the end of a way of life.

99
00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,840
On the other side of Europe,
it was different.

100
00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:21,920
Here, it seemed the Schlieffen plan
was not working well.

101
00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:27,360
The Russian steamroller
was on the move.

102
00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:34,040
Gathering slowly from the provinces
of the Tsar's empire,

103
00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:38,960
the limitless manpower of Russia
assembled and marched to war.

104
00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:56,440
Movement was slow
across the endless plains

105
00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:59,960
with bad roads
and railways few and far between.

106
00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:03,480
Army by army,
with ponderous deliberation,

107
00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:07,000
the Russians gathered
on the Galician Front,

108
00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,360
where the equally slow Austrians
were taking up positions.

109
00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:13,400
In East Prussia,

110
00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:17,840
the Schlieffen plan, counting on
the slowness of the Russians,

111
00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,600
allowed only nine divisions
to hold the enemy off.

112
00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:24,080
The Germans received a shock.

113
00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:27,840
On August 17th,
Russians invaded East Prussia.

114
00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:30,880
This the Germans had not expected.

115
00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:59,120
German people tasted the tragedies

116
00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:03,960
which Belgian and French
were learning to know too well.

117
00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:10,520
The fear of the Muscovites, the
savage reputation of the Cossacks,

118
00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:15,560
the terror of men with slant eyes
drove these people from their homes,

119
00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:19,520
away from the fields and farms
they had worked so hard.

120
00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:34,520
Orderly, submissive, sick at heart,
they made their painful parting.

121
00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:55,360
On August 20th, the day
the Germans entered Brussels,

122
00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:58,880
their eastern army was defeated
at Gumbinnen.

123
00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:03,920
Konigsberg, capital of East Prussia,
was threatened by this advance.

124
00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:06,520
On August 23rd, the day of Mons,

125
00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:10,560
the Russians won another victory
at Frankenau.

126
00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:19,120
But it was their last.

127
00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:23,720
Telegraph wires bore their messages
across Germany to Belgium

128
00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:26,080
to summon new German leaders.

129
00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:31,600
Hindenburg and Ludendorff were sent
by Moltke to stop the rot.

130
00:11:32,560 --> 00:11:37,600
Out of the confusion of retreat on
a battle front over 100 miles wide,

131
00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:39,640
they shaped a bold plan.

132
00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:46,000
The Russian 2nd Army was
dangerously ahead of the 1st Army,

133
00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:49,120
with the Masurian Lakes
between them.

134
00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:52,960
Using the well-developed railways
of East Prussia,

135
00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:56,800
the Germans would strike
at the isolated 2nd Army

136
00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:59,640
near the village of Tannenberg.

137
00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:05,040
A German general
with a French name  von Francois.

138
00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:08,880
A Russian general
with a German name  Rennenkampf.

139
00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:12,640
A German general
with a Scottish name  Mackensen.

140
00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:16,160
A Russian general
with a tragic name  Samsonov.

141
00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:19,280
These were the chief actors.

142
00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:22,720
The lesser actors
were half a million soldiers,

143
00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:25,480
who did the fighting and marching.

144
00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:28,520
It was mostly marching
for the Germans,

145
00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,760
racing to cut
Samsonov's line of retreat,

146
00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:36,160
to smash his army
before Rennenkampf could bring help.

147
00:13:29,810 --> 00:13:35,810
It took five days to do it. By then,
the Russian 2nd Army was a wreck.

148
00:13:35,810 --> 00:13:39,330
90,000 Russian soldiers
were taken prisoner,

149
00:13:39,330 --> 00:13:42,170
rounded up like stock in a corral.

150
00:13:42,170 --> 00:13:44,770
The head cowboy was Francois.

151
00:13:44,770 --> 00:13:49,610
General Samsonov walked away
into a wood and shot himself.

152
00:13:51,330 --> 00:13:56,170
East Prussia was saved. The trim
towns would not be shattered.

153
00:13:56,170 --> 00:13:59,370
Cossacks would not burn
the farmsteads.

154
00:13:59,370 --> 00:14:02,610
Instead, the War
would now flow eastwards.

155
00:14:02,610 --> 00:14:05,850
Schlieffen's plan
had stood the test,

156
00:14:05,850 --> 00:14:10,690
which was ironical, since it was
on the point of being abandoned.

157
00:14:10,690 --> 00:14:15,250
No weakening of the German purpose
was yet visible in the west.

158
00:14:15,250 --> 00:14:18,770
Each day brought new discouragement
to the Allies.

159
00:14:18,770 --> 00:14:22,810
The flail thumped against the left
of the Allied line.

160
00:14:22,810 --> 00:14:25,730
The centre continued to give way,

161
00:14:25,730 --> 00:14:29,290
and the right held on
by the skin of its teeth.

162
00:14:29,290 --> 00:14:34,330
Pressure intensified on the Allied
Commander-in-Chief, General Joffre.

163
00:14:34,330 --> 00:14:38,570
Each day brought him new questions,
but never an answer.

164
00:14:39,850 --> 00:14:43,890
'My first task was to seek
the cause of these failures

165
00:14:43,890 --> 00:14:45,930
'in order to find a remedy.

166
00:14:45,930 --> 00:14:48,970
'Was it the enemy's
numerical superiority?

167
00:14:48,970 --> 00:14:54,410
'It appeared that, as regards
numbers, we were superior to him.'

168
00:14:54,410 --> 00:14:58,290
Was it the French Army's leaders
who were at fault?

169
00:14:58,290 --> 00:15:03,050
If so, Joffre knew what to do.
The Minister of War told him:

170
00:15:03,050 --> 00:15:06,490
'Eliminate the old fossils
without pity.'

171
00:15:06,490 --> 00:15:12,250
This, Joffre would do. But another
question was more disturbing.

172
00:15:12,250 --> 00:15:15,570
'The French soldier
is impressionable,

173
00:15:15,570 --> 00:15:19,810
'losing confidence as readily
as he acquires enthusiasm,

174
00:15:19,810 --> 00:15:23,850
'yielding to depression
as quickly as he becomes exalted.

175
00:15:23,850 --> 00:15:27,290
'Could he hold out
under this terrible strain?'

176
00:15:27,290 --> 00:15:29,810
Joffre asked himself a question

177
00:15:29,810 --> 00:15:33,330
which went to the very roots
of everything.

178
00:15:33,330 --> 00:15:39,010
'Does the trouble lie in the
strategic disposition of our forces?'

179
00:15:39,010 --> 00:15:44,690
On August 24th, Joffre reached
a conclusion which shaped history.

180
00:15:44,690 --> 00:15:48,130
'What concerned me
was the encircling movement

181
00:15:48,130 --> 00:15:51,650
'which the Germans
were developing on our left.

182
00:15:51,650 --> 00:15:55,090
'The British alone
could offset this menace.

183
00:15:55,090 --> 00:15:58,610
'To this army
I had no right to give orders.

184
00:15:58,610 --> 00:16:01,850
'I had to content myself
with suggesting.

185
00:16:01,850 --> 00:16:05,690
'It seemed necessary,
on the left of the British Army,

186
00:16:05,690 --> 00:16:10,530
'to place French troops, to which
I had the right to give orders.'

187
00:16:10,530 --> 00:16:13,770
This proposition
contained a mighty seed.

188
00:16:13,770 --> 00:16:18,450
Everything that happened confirmed
the strength of Joffre's idea.

189
00:16:18,450 --> 00:16:23,290
On August 26th, he went to his
second meeting with Sir John French,

190
00:16:23,290 --> 00:16:27,490
witnessed by a young
liaison officer, Lieutenant Spears.

191
00:16:27,490 --> 00:16:33,930
Joffre began to explain
the purport of an order...

192
00:16:33,930 --> 00:16:37,970
extremely important,
that he'd issued.

193
00:16:37,970 --> 00:16:43,850
Whilst he was doing so,
in walked Lanrezac, bustling in.

194
00:16:43,850 --> 00:16:49,690
Then Joffre went on,
explaining this order of his.

195
00:16:49,690 --> 00:16:55,530
Sir John French said, "What order?
I haven't seen an order."

196
00:16:56,900 --> 00:17:05,900
Whereupon General Wilson, 
subchief of staff, explained over,
awkwardly I thought

197
00:17:06,250 --> 00:17:13,500
that some order had been
received during the night, but
it hadn't been dealt with yet.

198
00:17:13,751 --> 00:17:16,501
I got the impression it
hadn't been translated

199
00:17:17,060 --> 00:17:20,100
When General Joffre realised

200
00:17:20,100 --> 00:17:30,140
that his orders hadn't even been
received and read by the British...

201
00:17:32,100 --> 00:17:36,940
...he seemed overwhelmed
with discouragement.

202
00:17:36,940 --> 00:17:39,980
It was the only time
I've ever known

203
00:17:39,980 --> 00:17:43,420
that he seemed to lose heart,
to be deflated.

204
00:17:43,420 --> 00:17:47,260
This was an abject moment
for General Joffre.

205
00:17:47,260 --> 00:17:51,300
'When I left British headquarters
in the afternoon,

206
00:17:51,300 --> 00:17:56,340
'I carried away a serious impression
of the fragility of our extreme left.

207
00:17:56,340 --> 00:18:01,180
'Could it hold out long enough
to enable me to regroup our forces?

208
00:18:01,180 --> 00:18:06,220
'If this manoeuvre was to succeed,
two conditions had to be fulfilled.

209
00:18:06,220 --> 00:18:08,660
'First, our 4th and 5th Armies

210
00:18:08,660 --> 00:18:12,340
'must interrupt their retreat
with counterattacks

211
00:18:12,340 --> 00:18:16,380
'to give me time to assemble
a new army on our left.

212
00:18:16,380 --> 00:18:20,060
'Secondly, the British
must resist tenaciously

213
00:18:20,060 --> 00:18:22,900
'and yield ground only very slowly.'

214
00:18:22,900 --> 00:18:26,140
Joffre and Sir John French
didn't know it,

215
00:18:26,140 --> 00:18:29,420
but that was what the British Army
was doing.

216
00:18:29,420 --> 00:18:33,860
General Smith-Dorrien had decided
to fight at Le Cateau.

217
00:18:33,860 --> 00:18:38,620
2nd Corps was exhausted
it would have to stand and fight,

218
00:18:38,620 --> 00:18:42,660
strengthened by a new division
from England on the left.

219
00:18:42,660 --> 00:18:47,500
Smith-Dorrien hoped that Haig's men
would show up soon on the right.

220
00:18:47,500 --> 00:18:51,540
And so, on August 26th
the anniversary of Crecy

221
00:18:51,540 --> 00:18:56,580
Le Cateau joined the company of
the many insignificant French towns

222
00:18:56,580 --> 00:19:00,100
pitchforked into history
on a summer morning.

223
00:19:00,100 --> 00:19:03,020
Things didn't start too well.

224
00:19:03,020 --> 00:19:07,220
It was not the British 1st Corps
which appeared on the right,

225
00:19:07,220 --> 00:19:09,260
but the German 3rd Corps.

226
00:19:09,260 --> 00:19:13,700
'They come up like a football crowd
leaving Hampstead Park,

227
00:19:13,700 --> 00:19:16,500
'firing rifles from their right hips.

228
00:19:16,500 --> 00:19:19,660
'They had absolutely no idea of aim.'

229
00:19:19,660 --> 00:19:23,300
British cavalry
and horse artillery were driven in.

230
00:19:23,300 --> 00:19:26,820
The infantry,
in crude trenches and rifle pits,

231
00:19:26,820 --> 00:19:30,340
were taken in enfilade...
but they held on.

232
00:19:30,340 --> 00:19:34,020
Again, their rifles
had wonderful targets.

233
00:19:34,020 --> 00:19:36,700
We'd hardly got our head covered,

234
00:19:36,700 --> 00:19:40,820
before the ridge
about three-quarters of a mile away

235
00:19:40,820 --> 00:19:45,860
was literally swarming with Germans
in their grey uniforms.

236
00:19:45,860 --> 00:19:50,700
They advanced, and we received
the order for rapid fire.

237
00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:55,740
It was probably three-quarters of
a mile, an extreme range for a rifle.

238
00:19:55,740 --> 00:20:00,660
But we fired at 15 rounds a minute
at these advancing Germans.

239
00:20:00,660 --> 00:20:04,620
They broke up into smaller groups
of six or eight,

240
00:20:04,620 --> 00:20:09,380
advancing through a cornfield,
where the corn was in stooks.

241
00:20:09,380 --> 00:20:15,020
As we rapid-fired, they took cover
behind these stooks of corn.

242
00:20:16,100 --> 00:20:20,900
The line held,
but the morning passed slowly

243
00:20:20,900 --> 00:20:25,060
as more and more German units
came into action.

244
00:20:25,060 --> 00:20:28,140
The last British reserves
were thrown in.

245
00:20:28,140 --> 00:20:32,180
We were in reserve.
The brigade was formed up.

246
00:20:32,180 --> 00:20:38,020
Orders came that we were required
on the left of the line  to go fast.

247
00:20:38,020 --> 00:20:41,540
We marched four miles
to the left of the line.

248
00:20:41,540 --> 00:20:45,060
We came to a village
whose name I don't remember.

249
00:20:45,060 --> 00:20:49,580
We found Smith-Dorrien
standing outside his headquarters.

250
00:20:49,580 --> 00:20:52,020
He waved to us as we passed.

251
00:20:52,020 --> 00:20:57,260
He said, "I think we're holding them
all right. You won't be wanted here.

252
00:20:57,260 --> 00:20:59,300
"Everything's going fine."

253
00:21:12,100 --> 00:21:17,540
The exposed artillery batteries
on the right flank lost heavily.

254
00:21:17,540 --> 00:21:22,900
Men drifted from the battle. It was
time to go, if it could be managed.

255
00:21:22,900 --> 00:21:28,140
The great problem was to extricate
the guns, many of them silent now,

256
00:21:28,140 --> 00:21:33,380
standing on the skyline amid smashed
limbers, dead horses and dead men.

257
00:21:33,380 --> 00:21:38,220
The Royal Artillery
does not willingly abandon guns.

258
00:21:38,220 --> 00:21:42,260
The teams dashed forward
through cheering infantry.

259
00:21:42,260 --> 00:21:45,100
'As they came in view of the enemy,

260
00:21:45,100 --> 00:21:49,980
'they were struck by a hurricane
of shrapnel and machine-gun bullets.

261
00:21:49,980 --> 00:21:54,260
'Still they went on.
The officer in charge was killed.

262
00:21:54,260 --> 00:21:58,300
'One team was shot down
before the position was reached.

263
00:21:58,300 --> 00:22:02,980
'Two guns of the 122nd Battery
were carried out without mishap.

264
00:22:02,980 --> 00:22:07,460
'A third was limbered up,
but the horses went down instantly.'

265
00:22:07,460 --> 00:22:12,820
The rest had to be left.
The Germans were 200 yards away.

266
00:22:13,900 --> 00:22:17,940
Incredibly, in the broad daylight
of mid-afternoon,

267
00:22:17,940 --> 00:22:21,460
Smith-Dorrien's three divisions
slipped away.

268
00:22:21,460 --> 00:22:25,300
The Germans did not know
which way they had gone.

269
00:22:25,300 --> 00:22:30,340
This was the British Army's first
real battle, and the cost was great:

270
00:22:30,340 --> 00:22:35,020
nearly 8,000 officers and men
and 38 guns.

271
00:22:35,020 --> 00:22:37,540
Now they were retreating again.

272
00:22:37,540 --> 00:22:40,780
They had done everything
expected of them

273
00:22:40,780 --> 00:22:43,500
and had no sense of being beaten.

274
00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:46,740
Tired troops
can look like beaten men

275
00:22:46,740 --> 00:22:49,580
to those who don't understand them.

276
00:22:49,580 --> 00:22:53,380
General Smith-Dorrien
understood them perfectly.

277
00:22:53,380 --> 00:22:58,420
'It was a wonderful sight
men smoking pipes, quite unconcerned,

278
00:22:58,420 --> 00:23:02,860
'walking steadily down the road,
no formation of any sort,

279
00:23:02,860 --> 00:23:05,700
'men of all units mixed up together.

280
00:23:05,700 --> 00:23:10,740
'I likened it at the time to a crowd
coming away from a race meeting.'

281
00:23:10,740 --> 00:23:14,780
Joffre's liaison officer
at General Headquarters,

282
00:23:14,780 --> 00:23:18,020
did not understand
the British Army.

283
00:23:18,020 --> 00:23:20,860
Joffre was appalled at his report.

284
00:23:20,860 --> 00:23:23,900
'The situation
is extremely critical.

285
00:23:23,900 --> 00:23:28,740
'The British Army is beaten
and incapable of any serious effort.

286
00:23:28,740 --> 00:23:32,780
'The 3rd and 5th Divisions
are now disorganised bands,

287
00:23:32,780 --> 00:23:35,300
'incapable of offering resistance.

288
00:23:35,300 --> 00:23:39,740
'Conditions are such that
the British Army no longer exists.'

289
00:23:39,740 --> 00:23:42,900
It wasn't true.
They were just tired.

290
00:23:42,900 --> 00:23:47,420
We marched and marched,
day after day, with very little food.

291
00:23:47,420 --> 00:23:51,940
I'd eaten my emergency rations.
Of course I shouldn't have done.

292
00:23:51,940 --> 00:23:55,980
We had a tin of bully beef
I'd eaten that as well.

293
00:23:55,980 --> 00:23:58,020
We were all very hungry.

294
00:23:58,020 --> 00:24:02,540
We did get a cup of tea occasionally,
or a canteen of tea.

295
00:24:02,540 --> 00:24:07,380
We marched through a forest
which was very cold and damp.

296
00:24:07,380 --> 00:24:11,980
We were marching during the day
through a very big forest.

297
00:24:11,980 --> 00:24:16,020
Sometimes cold,
more often far too hot,

298
00:24:16,020 --> 00:24:19,860
exhausted soldiers
made their tour of France.

299
00:24:19,860 --> 00:24:23,700
35 miles to the Somme
and into Picardy,

300
00:24:23,700 --> 00:24:28,540
long, white roads, dead straight
between the poplar trees,

301
00:24:28,540 --> 00:24:31,060
dust rising off the cobbles.

302
00:24:33,380 --> 00:24:36,900
I've seen infantry
with their feet bleeding,

303
00:24:36,900 --> 00:24:41,020
with their boots off
and putties wrapped round them.

304
00:24:41,020 --> 00:24:43,460
I've seen men sobbing,

305
00:24:43,460 --> 00:24:49,020
asking our officers, "Why can't we
fight? Why won't you let us fight?"

306
00:24:49,500 --> 00:24:56,521
Down in the ??? de France, the dark
 forests and the green river valleys,
with the little gay salles

307
00:24:56,700 --> 00:25:04,000
where the Parisians go to fish and
to picnic in the summer
...this was no picnic.

308
00:25:13,340 --> 00:25:16,860
There was a despondent tide
of humanity

309
00:25:16,860 --> 00:25:20,380
laden soldiers
beside burdened refugees,

310
00:25:20,380 --> 00:25:24,900
sharing the same wretchedness,
treading the same long road,

311
00:25:24,900 --> 00:25:27,740
which trudged wearily southwards.

312
00:25:30,700 --> 00:25:37,020
'We came across two young girls.
They were helping each other along.

313
00:25:37,020 --> 00:25:41,540
'They could hardly drag one foot
before the other.

314
00:25:41,540 --> 00:25:43,580
'A little bit further,

315
00:25:43,580 --> 00:25:49,420
'I saw one poor old chap with a long
white beard sat in a wheelbarrow

316
00:25:49,420 --> 00:25:53,460
'and another old chap with a beard
wheeling him along,

317
00:25:53,460 --> 00:25:56,300
'a little girl by the side, weeping.'

318
00:25:57,700 --> 00:26:05,060
Further along, there were thousands,
not hundreds, taking to the woods

319
00:26:05,060 --> 00:26:07,100
at the side of the road.

320
00:26:07,100 --> 00:26:12,620
We saw them with what they had
their scanty possessions

321
00:26:12,620 --> 00:26:18,220
taking refuge in the wood
for the night.

322
00:26:19,700 --> 00:26:26,060
These woods were just silhouetted
in the background by the flames

323
00:26:26,060 --> 00:26:30,900
of the burning villages and hamlets,
which had been destroyed.

324
00:26:30,900 --> 00:26:33,660
They were just homeless and hopeless.

325
00:26:33,660 --> 00:26:38,420
The hopelessness of it all
began to communicate to everyone,

326
00:26:38,420 --> 00:26:43,460
even the indomitable commander of
the Allied armies  General Joffre.

327
00:26:43,460 --> 00:26:50,500
It was a very strange thing to see
a single man exercising his will...

328
00:26:51,500 --> 00:26:53,860
...over a million men,

329
00:26:53,860 --> 00:26:59,700
with the fate of his country
in the balance...

330
00:27:00,700 --> 00:27:06,740
...having to satisfy the political
requirements of his own government

331
00:27:06,740 --> 00:27:09,580
and the British government,

332
00:27:09,580 --> 00:27:16,660
having to face a catastrophic
situation and never getting rattled.

333
00:27:16,660 --> 00:27:21,500
Appearances and reality
were beginning to drift apart.

334
00:27:21,500 --> 00:27:25,020
One appearance
did match the reality.

335
00:27:25,020 --> 00:27:29,660
Everyone looked tired
and everyone WAS tired.

336
00:27:29,660 --> 00:27:35,020
Order out of disorder, hope out
of darkness, reverse out of triumph.

337
00:27:35,020 --> 00:27:40,060
These were the realities that had
to be plucked out of appearances.

338
00:27:40,060 --> 00:27:44,900
South-west now, to Amiens and towns
that had never dreamt of war,

339
00:27:44,900 --> 00:27:47,420
marched von Kluck's 1st Army.

340
00:27:47,420 --> 00:27:49,460
If they were not checked,

341
00:27:49,460 --> 00:27:53,500
Joffre's new 6th Army
would be smashed before it formed.

342
00:27:53,500 --> 00:27:57,340
Could they be checked?
It seemed that they might.

343
00:27:57,340 --> 00:28:02,380
As they marched south-west, a gap
split them from their neighbours.

344
00:28:02,380 --> 00:28:05,420
The Germans exposed their flank.

345
00:28:05,420 --> 00:28:08,460
It all depended on General Lanrezac.

346
00:28:08,460 --> 00:28:11,980
What followed
was the Battle of Guise.

347
00:28:13,340 --> 00:28:18,380
August 29th  the French columns
wove westward through early mists

348
00:28:18,380 --> 00:28:20,500
and across the River Oise.

349
00:28:20,500 --> 00:28:25,620
Their objective: St Quentin and the
left flank of the German 1st Army.

350
00:28:26,700 --> 00:28:31,260
At first, everything went well
slowly but well.

351
00:28:31,260 --> 00:28:35,060
Towards noon,
the picture suddenly changed.

352
00:28:35,060 --> 00:28:37,860
Von Bulow's 2nd Army
took the French in flank

353
00:28:37,860 --> 00:28:42,940
as it came south, crossing the Oise
at the ancient town of Guise.

354
00:28:42,940 --> 00:28:47,420
It was an ugly crisis,
but Lanrezac rose to the occasion.

355
00:28:47,420 --> 00:28:50,940
He switched his reserves,
still marching west,

356
00:28:50,940 --> 00:28:52,980
into the northern fight.

357
00:28:52,980 --> 00:28:57,020
"Throw the Germans back
across the Oise," he ordered.

358
00:29:01,140 --> 00:29:04,980
The reserve commander,
General Franchet d'Esperey,

359
00:29:04,980 --> 00:29:10,020
one of the most dynamic French
officers, was just the man to do it.

360
00:29:10,020 --> 00:29:15,100
On horseback, Franchet d'Esperey
led his red-trousered infantry

361
00:29:15,100 --> 00:29:19,420
with colours flying,
bands playing, into the attack.

362
00:29:21,180 --> 00:29:24,900
It was the last
of the old-time pageants of war.

363
00:29:24,900 --> 00:29:30,740
And it succeeded. They did throw
the Germans back across the Oise.

364
00:29:30,740 --> 00:29:33,940
The Battle of St Quentin
came to nothing.

365
00:29:33,940 --> 00:29:37,780
But the Battle of Guise
was a valuable success.

366
00:29:37,780 --> 00:29:41,820
The straining Schlieffen plan
broke down at last.

367
00:29:44,700 --> 00:29:49,300
General von Bulow, in alarm,
called to von Kluck for help.

368
00:29:49,300 --> 00:29:54,340
Von Kluck, halting his march
to the south-west, turned inwards...

369
00:29:54,340 --> 00:30:00,220
towards Paris,
whose streets were sad and empty.

370
00:30:00,220 --> 00:30:04,060
The city of pleasure
silent now and scared.

371
00:30:04,060 --> 00:30:09,100
The government had gone
to the distant safety of Bordeaux.

372
00:30:09,100 --> 00:30:11,900
Many citizens had also fled.

373
00:30:11,900 --> 00:30:15,420
General Joseph Gallieni
was in sole command.

374
00:30:15,420 --> 00:30:19,620
Before he left, the Minister of War
had told Gallieni

375
00:30:19,620 --> 00:30:22,340
to defend Paris "a outrance".

376
00:30:22,340 --> 00:30:24,700
"Do you understand, Minister,

377
00:30:24,700 --> 00:30:29,220
"the significance of the words
'a outrance'?" asked Gallieni.

378
00:30:29,220 --> 00:30:34,260
"They mean destruction, ruins,
dynamiting bridges in the city."

379
00:30:34,260 --> 00:30:37,500
"A outrance," the Minister repeated.

380
00:30:37,500 --> 00:30:40,700
Gallieni issued a proclamation.

381
00:30:40,700 --> 00:30:44,460
'Army of Paris, Citizens of Paris,

382
00:30:44,460 --> 00:30:47,540
'The Government of the Republic

383
00:30:47,540 --> 00:30:52,060
'has left Paris to give
new impulse to the national defence.

384
00:30:52,060 --> 00:30:56,460
'I have received a mandate to defend
Paris against the invader.

385
00:30:56,460 --> 00:31:00,980
'This mandate I shall carry out
to the end.'

386
00:31:00,980 --> 00:31:05,220
The French people
were learning fast what war meant.

387
00:31:05,220 --> 00:31:07,260
Everyone was learning.

388
00:31:07,260 --> 00:31:11,300
A special Sunday-afternoon edition
of the London Times

389
00:31:11,300 --> 00:31:13,500
with a dispatch from Amiens

390
00:31:13,500 --> 00:31:18,860
confirmed what the observant had
guessed from hints and suggestions.

391
00:31:18,860 --> 00:31:22,380
'The nation should know
certain things.

392
00:31:22,380 --> 00:31:24,420
'Since Monday morning last,

393
00:31:24,420 --> 00:31:28,460
'the German advance
has been one of incredible rapidity.

394
00:31:28,460 --> 00:31:32,980
'British forces fought a terrible
fight  the Action of Mons.

395
00:31:32,980 --> 00:31:37,020
'The broken army fought desperately
with many stands,

396
00:31:37,020 --> 00:31:40,060
'forced backward
by the sheer numbers

397
00:31:40,060 --> 00:31:45,100
'of an enemy prepared to lose three
or four men for each British soldier.

398
00:31:45,100 --> 00:31:50,140
'Our losses are great. I have seen
the broken bits of many regiments.

399
00:31:50,140 --> 00:31:53,580
'Some have lost
nearly all their officers.

400
00:31:53,580 --> 00:31:58,100
'The British Expeditionary Force
has suffered terrible losses

401
00:31:58,100 --> 00:32:01,940
'and requires immediate
and immense reinforcement.'

402
00:32:01,940 --> 00:32:05,300
Lord Kitchener,
Secretary of State for War,

403
00:32:05,300 --> 00:32:10,140
circulated an official correction
to the Times' alarming dispatch.

404
00:32:10,140 --> 00:32:13,660
'There has in effect been
a four-day battle

405
00:32:13,660 --> 00:32:17,180
'on the 23rd, 24th,
25th and 26th August.

406
00:32:17,180 --> 00:32:19,220
'During this period,

407
00:32:19,220 --> 00:32:24,260
'British troops, in conformity with
the movement of the French armies,

408
00:32:24,260 --> 00:32:29,620
'were checking the German advance and
withdrawing to new lines of defence.'

409
00:32:29,620 --> 00:32:34,660
In the Commons, the Prime Minister,
Mr Asquith, also made a statement.

410
00:32:34,660 --> 00:32:39,180
'It is impossible too highly
to commend the patriotic reticence

411
00:32:39,180 --> 00:32:42,860
'of the press as a whole
up to the present moment.

412
00:32:42,860 --> 00:32:47,900
'The publication in the Times would
appear to be a regrettable exception.

413
00:32:47,900 --> 00:32:50,420
'I trust it will not recur.'

414
00:32:50,420 --> 00:32:54,860
The British public
was not ready for too much truth.

415
00:32:54,860 --> 00:32:59,900
In victorious Germany, some signs
contradicted the boasting press.

416
00:32:59,900 --> 00:33:03,940
A British-born German princess
wrote on September 2nd:

417
00:33:03,940 --> 00:33:08,980
'Today I went to the Grunewald to
see the arrival of trains of wounded,

418
00:33:08,980 --> 00:33:14,020
'hoping to see some English and help
them, but it was a false report.

419
00:33:14,020 --> 00:33:16,060
'They were transport trains

420
00:33:16,060 --> 00:33:19,220
'carrying troops
from the Western Front to Russia.

421
00:33:19,220 --> 00:33:21,780
'There was a tremendous reception,

422
00:33:21,780 --> 00:33:25,620
'but the troops
looked too weary to respond

423
00:33:25,620 --> 00:33:29,340
'very different to those
of a short time ago.'

424
00:33:29,340 --> 00:33:34,660
In St Petersburg also, bad news
was making its first impact.

425
00:33:34,660 --> 00:33:38,700
'I passed groups of people
engrossed in discussion.

426
00:33:38,700 --> 00:33:43,740
'A large group was gathered by the
bulletin board of the Novoya Vremya.

427
00:33:43,740 --> 00:33:46,780
'I'd never seen so many people there.

428
00:33:46,780 --> 00:33:51,140
'An event of great importance
must have occurred at the Front.

429
00:33:51,140 --> 00:33:55,180
'A voice said, "Disaster!
Even generals are being killed.

430
00:33:55,180 --> 00:33:59,700
'"Why is the government deceiving us
with news of victories?"

431
00:33:59,700 --> 00:34:04,740
'Another voice added, "It's the same
mess as during the war with Japan."'

432
00:34:04,740 --> 00:34:08,780
A chill struck at the hearts
of the Allied nations.

433
00:34:08,780 --> 00:34:12,620
A great weight
seemed to press down on them all.

434
00:34:12,620 --> 00:34:16,660
Whatever might be happening
in the German war machine,

435
00:34:16,660 --> 00:34:20,700
whatever mistakes
the Supreme Command might be making,

436
00:34:20,700 --> 00:34:24,740
the German advance
seemed inexorable, invincible.

437
00:34:24,740 --> 00:34:29,300
Yet all was not well with the mood
of the German soldiers.

438
00:34:29,300 --> 00:34:34,620
They were becoming weary beyond
words. Weariness breeds bitterness.

439
00:34:34,620 --> 00:34:38,220
We marched on and on and on.

440
00:34:38,220 --> 00:34:41,260
We never dared to take off our boots,

441
00:34:41,260 --> 00:34:44,780
because our feet were so swollen

442
00:34:44,780 --> 00:34:49,820
that we didn't think it would be
possible to put them on again.

443
00:34:51,500 --> 00:34:55,020
And...in a small village...

444
00:34:55,020 --> 00:35:01,060
the Mayor came and asked
our company commanders

445
00:35:01,060 --> 00:35:06,100
not to allow us to cut off the hands
of the children.

446
00:35:06,100 --> 00:35:12,140
These were atrocity stories which
we heard about the German Army.

447
00:35:12,140 --> 00:35:15,180
At first, we laughed about it.

448
00:35:15,180 --> 00:35:22,500
But when we heard other propaganda
against the German Army,

449
00:35:22,500 --> 00:35:24,540
we became angry.

450
00:35:24,540 --> 00:35:26,980
'Our men are done up.

451
00:35:26,980 --> 00:35:31,820
'The men stagger forward,
their faces coated with dust,

452
00:35:31,820 --> 00:35:34,860
'their uniforms in rags.

453
00:35:34,860 --> 00:35:37,900
'They look like living scarecrows.

454
00:35:39,060 --> 00:35:41,420
'They march with eyes closed,

455
00:35:41,420 --> 00:35:46,260
'singing in chorus so they shall
not fall asleep on the march.

456
00:35:46,260 --> 00:35:48,300
'The certainty of victory

457
00:35:48,300 --> 00:35:51,820
'and triumphal entry into Paris
keeps them going.

458
00:35:51,820 --> 00:35:55,340
'The delirium of victory
sustains our men.

459
00:35:55,340 --> 00:36:00,180
'In order that their bodies may be
as intoxicated as their souls,

460
00:36:00,180 --> 00:36:05,660
'they drink to excess, but this
drunkenness keeps them going.'

461
00:36:05,660 --> 00:36:10,580
The British Expeditionary Force
crossed the forest of Compiegne,

462
00:36:10,580 --> 00:36:14,500
pausing to fight a rearguard action
at Villers-Cotterets.

463
00:36:14,500 --> 00:36:19,540
It was shortly after we passed
a place called Villers-Cotterets

464
00:36:19,540 --> 00:36:26,900
that the nearness of Paris
began to penetrate our tiredness.

465
00:36:26,900 --> 00:36:32,940
And we noticed the kilometre stones
at the side of the road.

466
00:36:34,020 --> 00:36:41,060
Gradually, we were getting nearer
and nearer to Paris  25, 24, 23.

467
00:36:41,060 --> 00:36:44,580
We couldn't believe
it was happening to us.

468
00:36:44,580 --> 00:36:50,100
Every step nearer to Paris, as
witnessed by these kilometre stones,

469
00:36:50,100 --> 00:36:55,140
was another blow on the head
which increased our depression.

470
00:36:55,140 --> 00:37:01,580
And we mentally felt that should
we reach zero  Paris itself

471
00:37:01,580 --> 00:37:06,300
as far as we were concerned,
we'd have lost the War.

472
00:37:06,300 --> 00:37:11,980
Day by day, the switch of divisions
from right to left was going on.

473
00:37:11,980 --> 00:37:16,340
Day by day, the picture changed
imperceptibly but decisively.

474
00:37:20,700 --> 00:37:25,740
As the troop trains rumbled across
France to the decisive point,

475
00:37:25,740 --> 00:37:30,340
as the last pitiful batches
of refugees made their escapes,

476
00:37:30,340 --> 00:37:35,660
and as the kilometre posts dragged
slowly past the exhausted soldiers,

477
00:37:35,660 --> 00:37:39,500
General Joffre
awaited his opportunity.

478
00:37:39,500 --> 00:37:43,300
Hour by hour,
news came in from airmen, cavalry,

479
00:37:43,300 --> 00:37:45,740
from secret agents, commanders.

480
00:37:45,740 --> 00:37:50,260
Much of it was bad enough
to frighten a lesser man to death.

481
00:37:50,260 --> 00:37:52,700
But one thing was certain.

482
00:37:52,700 --> 00:37:57,380
The German right wing,
General von Kluck's mighty 1st Army,

483
00:37:57,380 --> 00:38:01,420
was not after all
going to encircle the Allied left.

484
00:38:01,420 --> 00:38:06,940
If it held its direction, it would
march across the defences of Paris,

485
00:38:06,940 --> 00:38:09,980
where Gallieni waited like an eagle.

486
00:38:09,980 --> 00:38:13,660
As it did so,
its own flank would be exposed

487
00:38:13,660 --> 00:38:16,700
the most dangerous mistake in war.

488
00:38:16,700 --> 00:38:19,740
Joffre did not fail
to perceive this.

489
00:38:19,740 --> 00:38:23,780
I actually saw him...

490
00:38:23,780 --> 00:38:29,100
on the afternoon that he decided
on the Battle of the Marne.

491
00:38:29,100 --> 00:38:31,140
I'd never seen...

492
00:38:31,140 --> 00:38:35,980
Very few people have ever seen
anybody with such a burden

493
00:38:35,980 --> 00:38:38,020
placed on his shoulders.

494
00:38:38,020 --> 00:38:44,540
With nobody to help,
just weighing the pros and cons

495
00:38:44,540 --> 00:38:47,580
of this movement and that movement,

496
00:38:47,580 --> 00:38:49,620
what orders to issue.

497
00:38:49,620 --> 00:38:54,660
It lasted quite a long time,
perhaps a couple of hours.

498
00:38:54,660 --> 00:38:58,340
And then he got up.
His decision was taken.

499
00:38:58,340 --> 00:39:00,820
The orders went out that night.

500
00:39:03,340 --> 00:39:06,860
The pendulum was coming briefly
to rest.

501
00:39:06,860 --> 00:39:09,620
For an indefinable moment of time,

502
00:39:09,620 --> 00:39:14,140
the soldiers paused under
the gilding leaves of early autumn

503
00:39:14,140 --> 00:39:16,180
around their campfires.

504
00:39:16,180 --> 00:39:20,220
The men of the warring nations
drew a little breath.

505
00:39:20,220 --> 00:39:23,660
The moment of decision was at hand.

506
00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:42,000
subtitled by unknown
sync and small fixes by eladir

507
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Version: The.Great.War.ep4.avi @KG
Runtime: 40:16.560
File Size: 504,478,132 bytes