1
00:00:18,070 --> 00:00:20,270
'Governments in World War I

2
00:00:20,270 --> 00:00:23,790
'feared one thing almost
as much as military defeat -

3
00:00:23,790 --> 00:00:25,470
'revolution.'

4
00:00:26,710 --> 00:00:30,750
'By 1917, with victory on the
battlefield still elusive,

5
00:00:30,750 --> 00:00:32,630
'and morale weakening,

6
00:00:32,630 --> 00:00:35,710
'both sides hoped to bring
the enemy down from within.'

7
00:00:41,070 --> 00:00:45,390
'Strikes and unrest were sparks
to be fanned into revolution -

8
00:00:45,390 --> 00:00:47,870
'transforming the war.'

9
00:01:30,630 --> 00:01:35,630
'Film from 1917 of one of Germany's
wildest dreams coming true -

10
00:01:35,630 --> 00:01:38,550
'Russian troops stop fighting
on the Eastern Front.'

11
00:01:40,830 --> 00:01:45,310
"It was funny to see our Ivans
greeting the Germans."

12
00:01:45,310 --> 00:01:49,110
"The Germans gave our lads
wine and cigars,

13
00:01:49,110 --> 00:01:51,430
"and they gave the Germans bread."

14
00:01:57,430 --> 00:02:02,390
"It turned out that
one of the Germans had a camera."

15
00:02:02,390 --> 00:02:05,590
"He told us to stand in a line
and took a picture."

16
00:02:07,270 --> 00:02:08,270
CAMERA SNAPS

17
00:02:11,870 --> 00:02:17,190
"Later, the photographer asked our
lads to come and collect the
photos."

18
00:02:24,310 --> 00:02:28,390
'Governments worried
how to contain war weariness,

19
00:02:28,390 --> 00:02:34,270
'prevent discontent growing mutinous,
stop mutiny becoming revolution.'

20
00:02:38,830 --> 00:02:43,310
'And governments realised that
turning this problem on its head

21
00:02:43,310 --> 00:02:46,190
'offered a startling opportunity.

22
00:02:46,190 --> 00:02:48,390
'What if unrest could be harnessed?

23
00:02:48,390 --> 00:02:52,070
'Reined in hard in your own country
but spurred on in the enemy's?'

24
00:02:56,510 --> 00:02:59,670
'In Cairo and Dublin,
Petrograd and Zurich,

25
00:02:59,670 --> 00:03:02,870
'the Allies and Germans
set agents working,

26
00:03:02,870 --> 00:03:05,830
'to exploit unrest
and foment revolution.'

27
00:03:08,910 --> 00:03:13,990
'The glittering prize was to turn
a whole people against its masters -

28
00:03:13,990 --> 00:03:16,630
'taking it out of
the war completely.

29
00:03:16,630 --> 00:03:19,350
'In Russia,
the Germans pulled it off,

30
00:03:19,350 --> 00:03:23,030
'backing the Bolsheviks
to hijack a spontaneous revolution.'

31
00:03:31,150 --> 00:03:33,630
'Russia in 1917 was war-weary.'

32
00:03:34,750 --> 00:03:38,750
'Huge losses,
poor leadership and corruption,

33
00:03:38,750 --> 00:03:42,790
'plus the nightmare logistics
of a 900-mile front

34
00:03:42,790 --> 00:03:45,350
'left her army running on empty.'

35
00:03:49,830 --> 00:03:54,510
"I don't know whether Russia's
dream of destroying Germany

36
00:03:54,510 --> 00:03:56,750
"will ever come true."

37
00:03:56,750 --> 00:04:00,630
"Probably not.
We have nothing to fight with -

38
00:04:00,630 --> 00:04:03,910
"no rifles, no mortars,
no explosives,

39
00:04:03,910 --> 00:04:06,830
"no boots, no overcoats. Nothing."

40
00:04:11,550 --> 00:04:15,550
'But incredibly,
Russia's army held the line.

41
00:04:15,550 --> 00:04:18,430
'It was the home front
that cracked first.'

42
00:04:22,110 --> 00:04:24,470
'Petrograd, now St Petersburg,

43
00:04:24,470 --> 00:04:27,790
'Russia's capital
and industrial powerhouse,

44
00:04:27,790 --> 00:04:29,710
'seethed with discontent.'

45
00:04:31,990 --> 00:04:35,590
'Its factories
were swollen with workers,

46
00:04:35,590 --> 00:04:38,350
'with little to eat
and cramped housing.'

47
00:04:52,070 --> 00:04:56,710
'A demonstration on the 8th of March
1917 began peacefully.'

48
00:04:58,190 --> 00:05:01,030
"It was a glorious sunny, frosty day

49
00:05:01,030 --> 00:05:04,990
"and all the people
were in an excellent mood.

50
00:05:04,990 --> 00:05:08,350
"They were singing the Marseillaise
and asking for bread."

51
00:05:17,390 --> 00:05:20,830
'But the Tsar
ordered the protests crushed.'

52
00:05:24,670 --> 00:05:29,950
'On Znamenskoye Square, in the heart
of Petrograd, the killing began.'

53
00:05:32,510 --> 00:05:36,230
'Sergeant Sergei Kirpichnikov
was there.'

54
00:05:36,230 --> 00:05:40,830
"The ensign ordered the bugler
to play three signals."

55
00:05:40,830 --> 00:05:45,950
"Then he commanded
'Rifles, ready, aim, fire!'"

56
00:05:45,950 --> 00:05:46,910
GUNSHOTS

57
00:05:46,910 --> 00:05:49,070
"Everybody scattered."

58
00:05:49,070 --> 00:05:51,710
"One man was down. A woman fell."

59
00:05:57,390 --> 00:06:01,310
'Over 50 civilians were shot dead.

60
00:06:01,310 --> 00:06:04,830
'The massacre forced
Petrograd's soldiers to choose.

61
00:06:04,830 --> 00:06:08,550
'Whom to defend -
the people or the Tsar?'

62
00:06:10,630 --> 00:06:12,150
'Back in barracks,

63
00:06:12,150 --> 00:06:15,430
'Sergei Kirpichnikov spoke
to his comrades.'

64
00:06:17,030 --> 00:06:19,750
'It would be better to die
with honour

65
00:06:19,750 --> 00:06:23,390
'than obey further orders
to shoot into the crowds.'

66
00:06:23,390 --> 00:06:26,470
'Our fathers, mothers, sisters,
brothers and brides

67
00:06:26,470 --> 00:06:29,790
'are begging for bread.
Are we going to kill them?'

68
00:06:36,070 --> 00:06:39,990
'They shot their duty officer dead
and poured onto the streets,

69
00:06:39,990 --> 00:06:42,190
'joining other mutineers
and workers.'

70
00:06:54,590 --> 00:06:59,470
'British journalist Arthur Ransome
cabled his office in London.'

71
00:06:59,470 --> 00:07:06,590
'About 200 persons killed, stop.
Local police chief lying dead, stop.

72
00:07:06,590 --> 00:07:09,270
'Revolution definitely begun.'

73
00:07:13,630 --> 00:07:17,630
'The troops gathered support
at barracks and factories.'

74
00:07:21,870 --> 00:07:23,910
'They seized the city centre,

75
00:07:23,910 --> 00:07:28,550
'set up barricades, occupied railway
stations and the telephone exchange.'

76
00:07:30,990 --> 00:07:33,670
'Britain's military attache,
Sir Alfred Knox,

77
00:07:33,670 --> 00:07:37,470
'was in the Artillery Administration
when the building came under attack.'

78
00:07:40,310 --> 00:07:44,030
"Outside came a great
disorderly mass of soldiery.

79
00:07:44,030 --> 00:07:47,430
"All were armed and many had
red flags on their bayonets.

80
00:07:47,430 --> 00:07:48,910
CRASH
GLASS SHATTERING

81
00:07:48,910 --> 00:07:52,190
"Soon we heard the windows and door
on the ground floor being broken in

82
00:07:52,190 --> 00:07:53,910
"and the sound of shots.

83
00:07:53,910 --> 00:07:57,430
"Most officers were leaving
the Department by a back door."

84
00:08:03,310 --> 00:08:09,030
'In a matter of days, the Tsar's
regime was spinning into free fall.'

85
00:08:09,030 --> 00:08:11,430
"The revolution has begun."

86
00:08:11,430 --> 00:08:13,470
"What happiness!"

87
00:08:13,470 --> 00:08:16,510
"The cursed autocracy is destroyed."

88
00:08:16,510 --> 00:08:20,710
"The soldiers have gone onto the
streets, the officers are hiding."

89
00:08:20,710 --> 00:08:24,230
"It's all so unexpected and
everything's going at a gallop."

90
00:08:24,230 --> 00:08:26,630
"We've all gone mad with joy."

91
00:08:30,950 --> 00:08:34,110
'Soldiers ordered into
the city to restore control

92
00:08:34,110 --> 00:08:35,910
'simply joined the mutiny.'

93
00:08:45,790 --> 00:08:48,430
'The Tsar was forced to abdicate

94
00:08:48,430 --> 00:08:51,870
'and a provisional government
formed at the Tauride Palace.'

95
00:08:55,910 --> 00:08:59,190
'Russia's new rulers had
their hands full running a war

96
00:08:59,190 --> 00:09:01,070
'while riding a revolution.'

97
00:09:07,510 --> 00:09:11,030
'Germany looked to exploit
the turmoil in Russia.

98
00:09:11,030 --> 00:09:16,150
'And Russia's allies, Britain
and France, crossed their fingers.

99
00:09:16,150 --> 00:09:19,070
'They too had experienced
worker discontent.'

100
00:09:20,270 --> 00:09:22,190
'March 1916,

101
00:09:22,190 --> 00:09:26,590
'Londoners gather at Tower Hill
to protest against conscription.'

102
00:09:30,150 --> 00:09:32,790
'There was also opposition
in Scotland,

103
00:09:32,790 --> 00:09:37,590
'inspired by the fiery speeches of
trade union leader Willie Gallacher.'

104
00:09:37,590 --> 00:09:41,870
'Thousands of our fellows
have sacrificed their lives

105
00:09:41,870 --> 00:09:46,470
'fighting against the Prussianism
they propose to foist upon us here.

106
00:09:46,470 --> 00:09:50,150
'Workers of the Clyde,
you must prepare for action.

107
00:09:50,150 --> 00:09:53,430
'When this loathsome enemy
of freedom raises its head,

108
00:09:53,430 --> 00:09:56,270
'you must strike to kill.'

109
00:10:01,590 --> 00:10:07,070
'Workers march down Whitehall
for better wages and lower prices.

110
00:10:07,070 --> 00:10:13,190
'Around 17 million working days
were lost to strikes in Britain
between 1915 and 1918.'

111
00:10:16,150 --> 00:10:19,350
'There were strikes
by miners in South Wales,

112
00:10:19,350 --> 00:10:22,790
'engineers in Coventry,
Sheffield and Manchester

113
00:10:22,790 --> 00:10:27,350
'and shipbuilders on Teesside,
Tyneside and the Clyde.'

114
00:10:30,790 --> 00:10:33,870
'The army kept 200,000 troops
in Britain

115
00:10:33,870 --> 00:10:37,510
'to guard against invasion
and civilian uprising.'

116
00:10:44,350 --> 00:10:48,910
'But David Lloyd George, as Minister
of Munitions and then Prime Minister,

117
00:10:48,910 --> 00:10:53,390
'preferred to give in to strikers,
rather than crush them.'

118
00:10:55,510 --> 00:10:59,190
'Father of the state pension
and National Insurance schemes,

119
00:10:59,190 --> 00:11:02,470
'Lloyd George commanded
working class support.'

120
00:11:08,110 --> 00:11:11,550
'He used concession,
not confrontation

121
00:11:11,550 --> 00:11:14,030
'to maintain industrial output.'

122
00:11:18,750 --> 00:11:22,510
'Negotiators with the unions
were given strict instructions.'

123
00:11:24,030 --> 00:11:26,870
'If a strike appears
to be inevitable,

124
00:11:26,870 --> 00:11:29,910
'all the concessions asked for
should be granted.'

125
00:11:32,030 --> 00:11:36,230
'But while Britain kept a lid
on unrest, France could not.'

126
00:11:51,390 --> 00:11:54,710
'Throughout the First World War,

127
00:11:54,710 --> 00:11:58,030
'Paris lived under the shadow
of German invasion.'

128
00:12:04,390 --> 00:12:06,830
'But after three winters of fighting,

129
00:12:06,830 --> 00:12:09,470
'France's stability
was being undermined

130
00:12:09,470 --> 00:12:11,590
'by a wave of stoppages
and protests.'

131
00:12:15,510 --> 00:12:18,430
'Many of the dissenters were women

132
00:12:18,430 --> 00:12:22,030
'who couldn't be intimidated
by the threat of military service.'

133
00:12:26,110 --> 00:12:29,110
"Everybody is complaining in Paris."

134
00:12:29,110 --> 00:12:32,670
"People are on strike over the
price rises and the lack of fuel.

135
00:12:32,670 --> 00:12:36,910
"Can't you just hear
the rising strains of revolution?"

136
00:12:40,030 --> 00:12:42,710
"These troubles are justified.

137
00:12:42,710 --> 00:12:47,510
"While the people work themselves
to death to scrape a living,

138
00:12:47,510 --> 00:12:51,270
"the bosses and big industrialists
grow fat in record time,

139
00:12:51,270 --> 00:12:54,950
"and all we can do
is grin and bear it."

140
00:12:57,590 --> 00:13:00,190
'These ideas did reach the front,

141
00:13:00,190 --> 00:13:04,110
'but what pushed the French army
towards mutiny in 1917

142
00:13:04,110 --> 00:13:08,990
'was a history of poorly planned
and ill-conducted battles.

143
00:13:08,990 --> 00:13:11,350
'The final straw was a doomed attack

144
00:13:11,350 --> 00:13:13,750
'devised by its own
Commander-in-chief,

145
00:13:13,750 --> 00:13:16,110
'General Robert Georges Nivelle.'

146
00:13:17,790 --> 00:13:21,190
'The offensive alone
can give victory.'

147
00:13:21,190 --> 00:13:24,550
'The defensive
gives only defeat and shame.'

148
00:13:27,150 --> 00:13:31,790
'On the 16th April 1917, Nivelle
ordered over a million Frenchmen

149
00:13:31,790 --> 00:13:35,230
'to attack a heavily defended
German-held ridge

150
00:13:35,230 --> 00:13:37,870
'known as the Chemin des Dames.'

151
00:13:42,070 --> 00:13:43,910
'After storming this ridge,

152
00:13:43,910 --> 00:13:46,430
'Nivelle expected his armies
to smash through

153
00:13:46,430 --> 00:13:48,830
'seven miles of German defences.'

154
00:13:51,670 --> 00:13:53,630
GUNFIRE

155
00:14:02,070 --> 00:14:06,910
'We were faced by a forest of wire.
Machine guns appeared everywhere.

156
00:14:06,910 --> 00:14:09,430
'There were traps
of every description.

157
00:14:09,430 --> 00:14:11,870
'The ground was impassable.

158
00:14:21,950 --> 00:14:25,390
'40,000 Frenchmen were killed
in the first days,

159
00:14:25,390 --> 00:14:28,310
'but Nivelle ordered the assault
to continue.'

160
00:14:34,390 --> 00:14:36,830
GUNFIRE

161
00:14:36,830 --> 00:14:40,990
'Casualties reached 150,000
by the 5th of May.

162
00:14:40,990 --> 00:14:43,510
'Then the men snapped.'

163
00:14:43,510 --> 00:14:48,350
"I am one of the most persistent
in spreading propaganda.

164
00:14:48,350 --> 00:14:53,670
"I know that I am risking my hide,
but by this means I might save it.

165
00:14:53,670 --> 00:14:57,910
"My darling, say with me 'Down
with the war that separates us,

166
00:14:57,910 --> 00:15:02,150
and long live the revolution that
in bringing peace will reunite us.'

167
00:15:02,150 --> 00:15:04,830
"I love you and
I don't want to die."

168
00:15:11,910 --> 00:15:16,590
'The village of Coeuvres, 20 miles
south of the Chemin des Dames.'

169
00:15:18,190 --> 00:15:20,950
'The mayor watched what happened

170
00:15:20,950 --> 00:15:24,870
'when the 370th infantry regiment
was ordered to the front.'

171
00:15:30,110 --> 00:15:34,310
'The soldiers spilled out into the
whole village screaming with rage,

172
00:15:34,310 --> 00:15:38,070
'firing rifles
and singing the Internationale.'

173
00:15:42,150 --> 00:15:46,670
'Toward morning, they formed columns
and made their way to the woods.'

174
00:15:51,950 --> 00:15:55,670
'By June 1917,
half the French army was affected.

175
00:15:55,670 --> 00:15:58,590
'Men refused
to return to the trenches.'

176
00:15:59,870 --> 00:16:02,710
"We seemed absolutely powerless.

177
00:16:02,710 --> 00:16:05,350
"From every section of the front,

178
00:16:05,350 --> 00:16:08,390
news arrived of regiments
refusing to man the trenches.

179
00:16:08,390 --> 00:16:11,790
"The slightest German attack
would have been enough

180
00:16:11,790 --> 00:16:15,870
"to tumble our house of cards
and bring the enemy to Paris."

181
00:16:21,350 --> 00:16:24,470
'But the Germans had no inkling
of the French mutiny.'

182
00:16:26,430 --> 00:16:29,150
'It was a massive
intelligence failure.'

183
00:16:34,550 --> 00:16:37,030
'Four days after their mutiny,

184
00:16:37,030 --> 00:16:40,870
'the troops from Coeuvres gave
themselves up at a nearby village.'

185
00:16:42,390 --> 00:16:47,790
"They emerged from the wood in
perfect order, in columns of four -

186
00:16:47,790 --> 00:16:50,830
"all flawlessly groomed
and polished"

187
00:16:52,830 --> 00:16:56,830
'The French soldiers' actions were
more like a strike, than a mutiny.

188
00:16:56,830 --> 00:16:59,110
'They won important concessions -

189
00:16:59,110 --> 00:17:03,030
'better leave arrangements, more
rest, improved medical conditions.'

190
00:17:08,950 --> 00:17:13,350
"All we wanted was to call
the government's attention to us,

191
00:17:13,350 --> 00:17:18,030
"make it see that we are men and
not beasts for the slaughterhouse."

192
00:17:18,030 --> 00:17:20,390
CHEERING

193
00:17:25,630 --> 00:17:27,630
'Nivelle was sacked.

194
00:17:27,630 --> 00:17:32,110
'His replacement, General Philippe
Petain reversed French strategy,

195
00:17:32,110 --> 00:17:34,590
'making defence
the order of the day.'

196
00:17:36,750 --> 00:17:39,430
'The men were given
patriotic instruction

197
00:17:39,430 --> 00:17:42,670
'and reminded why they were
fighting.

198
00:17:42,670 --> 00:17:47,750
'But Petain also knew
that discipline had to be restored.

199
00:17:47,750 --> 00:17:52,430
'The tactic was to execute a few
but force thousands to watch.'

200
00:17:56,670 --> 00:18:00,790
'Photographs taken secretly
at a French military execution.

201
00:18:00,790 --> 00:18:02,990
'A man is tied to a post.'

202
00:18:06,830 --> 00:18:09,590
'The order is given to fire.'

203
00:18:09,590 --> 00:18:11,590
GUNFIRE

204
00:18:13,710 --> 00:18:16,670
'Soldiers are paraded past the body.'

205
00:18:19,990 --> 00:18:25,070
'Louis Flourac was one of
the 49 death sentences carried out.'

206
00:18:26,910 --> 00:18:30,390
'He was shot here in Chacrise
by his comrades,

207
00:18:30,390 --> 00:18:33,430
'some of whom hated
what they were doing.'

208
00:18:35,990 --> 00:18:39,630
"I see the dead every single day
in the trenches.

209
00:18:39,630 --> 00:18:44,670
"But this is different.
I'm a man who has shot his friends."

210
00:18:53,390 --> 00:18:57,590
'Italy's soldiers
were also growing war weary.

211
00:18:57,590 --> 00:19:00,270
'Unlike its French counterpart,

212
00:19:00,270 --> 00:19:05,390
'Italian High Command saw punishment
as the way to maintain morale.

213
00:19:05,390 --> 00:19:09,390
'Chief of Staff General Cadorna
was merciless.'

214
00:19:10,430 --> 00:19:13,950
"Every soldier
must be convinced of the fact

215
00:19:13,950 --> 00:19:16,750
"that his superior has
the sacred duty

216
00:19:16,750 --> 00:19:20,750
"to shoot all cowards
and recalcitrants immediately."

217
00:19:24,830 --> 00:19:28,550
'Cadorna's iron grip
led to massive discontent.'

218
00:19:30,110 --> 00:19:33,270
'For months,
it simmered below the surface,

219
00:19:33,270 --> 00:19:36,430
'until the Battle of Caporetto
in October 1917.'

220
00:19:38,390 --> 00:19:41,910
'The Italian army was hit here,
in the Isonzo River Valley,

221
00:19:41,910 --> 00:19:44,710
'by a massive
Austro-Hungarian/German attack.'

222
00:19:46,710 --> 00:19:48,710
GUNFIRE

223
00:19:54,910 --> 00:19:58,390
'Resistance in armies
took many forms.

224
00:19:58,390 --> 00:20:01,990
'The Italians
didn't openly refuse to fight,

225
00:20:01,990 --> 00:20:05,310
'they just began surrendering
to the enemy en masse.'

226
00:20:06,470 --> 00:20:10,870
"By dawn, we were surrounded and the
Germans finally took us prisoner

227
00:20:10,870 --> 00:20:15,910
"and we were happy
because we'd saved our lives.

228
00:20:15,910 --> 00:20:18,470
"Farewell Italy. Farewell family,

229
00:20:18,470 --> 00:20:21,190
"I am now in the hands
of the Germans."

230
00:20:24,950 --> 00:20:28,750
'A young lieutenant in
the German Alpenkorps, Erwin Rommel,

231
00:20:28,750 --> 00:20:33,510
'took over 1,000 Italians prisoner
without firing a single shot.'

232
00:20:39,270 --> 00:20:43,510
"The soldiers threw away
their weapons and hurried to me.

233
00:20:43,510 --> 00:20:48,950
"In an instant, I was surrounded
and hoisted onto Italian shoulders.

234
00:20:48,950 --> 00:20:52,470
"'Eviva Germania!'
sounded from 1,000 throats.

235
00:20:52,470 --> 00:20:55,670
"An Italian officer
who hesitated to surrender

236
00:20:55,670 --> 00:20:58,230
"was shot down by his own troops.

237
00:20:58,230 --> 00:21:01,710
"For the Italians on Mrzli Peak,
the war was over.

238
00:21:01,710 --> 00:21:03,390
"They shouted with joy."

239
00:21:06,070 --> 00:21:09,030
"I am writing
this at 11:00 at night,

240
00:21:09,030 --> 00:21:12,070
"most comfortably ensconced
in the Italian officer's mess.

241
00:21:12,070 --> 00:21:14,230
"There is a huge stock
of delicious wines

242
00:21:14,230 --> 00:21:16,590
"which we are getting through
in record time

243
00:21:16,590 --> 00:21:19,390
"so I hope there is no question
of a counter-attack.

244
00:21:19,390 --> 00:21:23,390
"We've captured machine guns, heavy
artillery and personal weapons.

245
00:21:23,390 --> 00:21:28,430
"These are of the highest order but
show little sign of actual use."

246
00:21:33,750 --> 00:21:38,230
SINGING

247
00:21:38,230 --> 00:21:44,390
'Some 300,000 Italian soldiers
surrendered in the winter of 1917.

248
00:21:44,390 --> 00:21:49,630
'As many again retreated
down these mountain tracks,
with fleeing civilians.'

249
00:21:52,070 --> 00:21:56,150
"They stroll past,
with their hands in their pockets.

250
00:21:56,150 --> 00:21:57,790
"When questioned,

251
00:21:57,790 --> 00:22:01,230
"they say they pulled out
because they were told to."

252
00:22:01,230 --> 00:22:05,110
'Who told them?
No-one knows - the next man along.'

253
00:22:06,630 --> 00:22:08,550
SINGING

254
00:22:15,510 --> 00:22:19,390
"What a terrible
and heart-wrenching sight it was -

255
00:22:19,390 --> 00:22:22,550
"the poor women
with their little ones bundled up

256
00:22:22,550 --> 00:22:26,390
"walking towards Italy
to save their lives."

257
00:22:26,390 --> 00:22:28,390
SINGING

258
00:22:32,510 --> 00:22:36,790
'Italy's high command sacked
General Cadorna and regained control

259
00:22:36,790 --> 00:22:40,670
'by easing discipline and
making concessions to the soldiers

260
00:22:40,670 --> 00:22:42,630
'as the French had done.'

261
00:22:44,750 --> 00:22:47,310
'But the price of unrest was high -

262
00:22:47,310 --> 00:22:50,950
'the fighting strength
of the Italian army had been halved.'

263
00:22:53,230 --> 00:22:56,910
'And while governments
wrestled with unrest at home,

264
00:22:56,910 --> 00:23:00,270
'they were also
stirring up trouble abroad.'

265
00:23:06,270 --> 00:23:08,430
CAMELS GRUNT

266
00:23:20,230 --> 00:23:24,910
'Britain had been plotting
to destabilise the Ottoman Empire
since the war began.'

267
00:23:36,510 --> 00:23:40,750
'Ottoman Turkey was Germany's ally
in the Middle East.

268
00:23:40,750 --> 00:23:44,070
'Her empire stretched across
Arabia into the Hejaz,

269
00:23:44,070 --> 00:23:49,390
'a vast desert area which included
the holy cities of Medina and Mecca.

270
00:23:49,390 --> 00:23:52,190
'Their loss would undermine
the Turks' standing

271
00:23:52,190 --> 00:23:54,830
'in the Muslim world and
boost Britain's.'

272
00:23:58,070 --> 00:24:03,110
'The British turned
to the Hejaz Arabs holding out
the carrot of independence

273
00:24:03,110 --> 00:24:06,230
'if they rose up
against their Turkish masters.'

274
00:24:07,550 --> 00:24:11,350
'If the Arab nation assist England

275
00:24:11,350 --> 00:24:15,430
'in this war that has been
forced upon us by Turkey,

276
00:24:15,430 --> 00:24:20,230
'England guarantees
that no internal intervention
will take place in Arabia,

277
00:24:20,230 --> 00:24:24,830
'and will give Arabs every
assistance against foreign
aggression.'

278
00:24:27,310 --> 00:24:32,470
'The idea of Britain
backing Arabian independence
worried the India Office.'

279
00:24:35,070 --> 00:24:40,470
"A strong Arab state might be
more dangerous to Christendom
than a strong Ottoman state,

280
00:24:40,470 --> 00:24:44,350
"and Lord Kitchener's policy
of destroying one Islamic state

281
00:24:44,350 --> 00:24:46,950
"merely for the purpose
of creating another,

282
00:24:46,950 --> 00:24:49,990
"has always seemed to me
disastrous."

283
00:24:53,070 --> 00:24:55,910
'The India Office
needn't have worried.

284
00:24:55,910 --> 00:24:58,550
'Kitchener was playing
a cynical game,

285
00:24:58,550 --> 00:25:02,590
'never intending to hand real power
to the Arabs of the Hejaz.'

286
00:25:05,750 --> 00:25:10,110
'But the British showered the Emir
of Mecca, Sherif Hussein, with gold,

287
00:25:10,110 --> 00:25:13,510
'and dropped hints
that if all went well,

288
00:25:13,510 --> 00:25:17,390
'he might realise his dream
of becoming leader of the Arabs.'

289
00:25:19,990 --> 00:25:23,990
'On the 5th June 1916,
the Arab Revolt began.'

290
00:25:25,790 --> 00:25:28,190
'Mecca quickly fell to the rebels

291
00:25:28,190 --> 00:25:32,830
'but the main Turkish garrison
at Medina held its ground.

292
00:25:32,830 --> 00:25:37,950
'The Turkish commander, Fahri Pasha,
refused to surrender.'

293
00:25:37,950 --> 00:25:41,390
"Until my soldiers are buried
under the rubble of Medina,

294
00:25:41,390 --> 00:25:44,470
"in a crimson shroud
of blood and fire,

295
00:25:44,470 --> 00:25:49,750
"the red flag of the Ottomans
shall never be removed from Medina."

296
00:25:52,670 --> 00:25:56,070
'The uprising
commanded no popular support.'

297
00:25:57,350 --> 00:26:00,630
'But the British
did have a man on the spot -

298
00:26:00,630 --> 00:26:04,350
'TE Lawrence,
a charismatic 28-year-old officer

299
00:26:04,350 --> 00:26:08,470
'attached to Sherif Hussein's forces
in the Hejaz.

300
00:26:08,470 --> 00:26:13,710
'Lawrence spoke Arabic. He saw
where the Arabs' strengths lay.'

301
00:26:13,710 --> 00:26:18,590
'I think one company of Turks,
properly entrenched in open country,

302
00:26:18,590 --> 00:26:20,710
'would defeat the Sherif's armies.

303
00:26:20,710 --> 00:26:24,550
'Their real sphere is guerrilla
warfare. They'd dynamite a railway,

304
00:26:24,550 --> 00:26:29,110
'plunder a caravan,
steal camels better than anyone.'

305
00:26:39,870 --> 00:26:42,350
'The Turks were most vulnerable

306
00:26:42,350 --> 00:26:45,590
'along their stretched lines
of communication.

307
00:26:45,590 --> 00:26:50,070
'Lawrence and the Arabs
became experts in railway sabotage.'

308
00:26:56,590 --> 00:26:59,710
"The last stunt
was the hold-up of a train.

309
00:26:59,710 --> 00:27:03,630
"The whole job took ten minutes
and they lost 70 killed.

310
00:27:03,630 --> 00:27:07,430
"My loot was a superfine
red baluch prayer rug.

311
00:27:07,430 --> 00:27:09,990
"I hope this sounds the fun it is.

312
00:27:09,990 --> 00:27:14,710
"It's the most amateurish,
Buffalo Billy sort of performance."

313
00:27:27,670 --> 00:27:31,830
'A German on the train
saw the attack differently.'

314
00:27:31,830 --> 00:27:37,550
"The Bedouin mob came bursting into
the carriage to kill and plunder.

315
00:27:37,550 --> 00:27:41,670
"I could feel the blood pouring down
my body, but I was left alone.

316
00:27:41,670 --> 00:27:45,510
"The thieves' minds
were drawn towards looting,

317
00:27:45,510 --> 00:27:49,350
having killed 40 men, women and
children and taken the rest
captive."

318
00:27:54,910 --> 00:27:58,990
'TE Lawrence adopted
the cause of Arab nationalism.'

319
00:28:03,630 --> 00:28:07,990
"I hope that the Turkish flag may
disappear from the Arabia.

320
00:28:07,990 --> 00:28:11,110
"It is so good to have
helped in making a new nation

321
00:28:11,110 --> 00:28:13,430
"and I hate the Turks so much

322
00:28:13,430 --> 00:28:17,110
"that to see their own people
turning on them is very gratifying."

323
00:28:24,510 --> 00:28:27,950
'TE Lawrence now dressed as an Arab.'

324
00:28:27,950 --> 00:28:32,230
'He asked his mother
for help with his costume.'

325
00:28:32,230 --> 00:28:35,430
"If that silk headcloth
with the silver ducks on it,

326
00:28:35,430 --> 00:28:39,470
"last used, I believe,
as a tablecloth still exists,

327
00:28:39,470 --> 00:28:41,190
"will you send it out to me?

328
00:28:41,190 --> 00:28:43,590
"Such things
are hard to get here now."

329
00:28:46,510 --> 00:28:52,350
'Capturing Turkish-held Jerusalem
was a key British objective in 1917.

330
00:28:52,350 --> 00:28:54,550
'Seizing the port of Akaba

331
00:28:54,550 --> 00:28:59,030
'would strengthen the Arabs' case
for a role in the campaign.

332
00:28:59,030 --> 00:29:03,030
'Lawrence realised that all
Akaba's guns pointed out to sea -

333
00:29:03,030 --> 00:29:05,750
'the town was defenceless
from the rear.'

334
00:29:07,510 --> 00:29:12,230
'That meant a 600-mile ride across
the Hejaz, at the height of summer.'

335
00:29:22,790 --> 00:29:25,070
"Mud flats are purgatory.

336
00:29:25,070 --> 00:29:28,990
"Sun reflects from them like mirror,
flame yellow,

337
00:29:28,990 --> 00:29:30,990
"cutting into our eyes."

338
00:29:45,550 --> 00:29:49,590
'Seven weeks later, the Arab force
reappeared outside Akaba -

339
00:29:49,590 --> 00:29:52,750
'catching the Turks
totally off guard.'

340
00:29:52,750 --> 00:29:54,910
GUNFIRE

341
00:29:56,750 --> 00:29:59,790
'The town fell just four days later.'

342
00:30:03,350 --> 00:30:05,750
'The Middle East was stunned.'

343
00:30:08,670 --> 00:30:12,190
'General Allenby, commanding
British forces in the region,

344
00:30:12,190 --> 00:30:16,310
'now wrote the Arab Revolt
into his Jerusalem campaign -

345
00:30:16,310 --> 00:30:20,630
'reinforcing it with armoured cars,
air support, artillery

346
00:30:20,630 --> 00:30:22,790
'and colonial troops.'

347
00:30:29,230 --> 00:30:33,350
'On the 11th December 1917,
Allenby entered Jerusalem on foot

348
00:30:33,350 --> 00:30:36,830
'with his officers,
including Lawrence.'

349
00:30:39,430 --> 00:30:44,670
'The Arabs would find they had won
not self-rule, but new masters.'

350
00:30:44,670 --> 00:30:47,950
'Lawrence knew all along that
the Arabs of the Hejaz

351
00:30:47,950 --> 00:30:50,790
'were merely the tools
of British subversion,

352
00:30:50,790 --> 00:30:52,590
'as he admitted long after.'

353
00:30:54,710 --> 00:30:58,550
"The Arabs saw in me a free agent
of the British Government

354
00:30:58,550 --> 00:31:02,150
"and demanded from me an endorsement
of its written promises.

355
00:31:02,150 --> 00:31:07,550
"So, I joined the conspiracy
and assured the men of their reward.

356
00:31:07,550 --> 00:31:10,670
"I was continually
and bitterly ashamed.

357
00:31:10,670 --> 00:31:12,990
"Had I been an honest advisor
of the Arabs,

358
00:31:12,990 --> 00:31:15,430
"I would have advised them
to go home

359
00:31:15,430 --> 00:31:18,590
"and not risk their lives
fighting for such stuff."

360
00:31:26,630 --> 00:31:30,990
'While Britain was sponsoring
subversion against Germany's ally,
Turkey,

361
00:31:30,990 --> 00:31:36,110
'she had her own weak spot,
right on her doorstep - Ireland.'

362
00:31:40,750 --> 00:31:44,030
'Britain had promised Ireland
Home Rule,

363
00:31:44,030 --> 00:31:46,630
'but the First World War
shelved all that.'

364
00:31:48,230 --> 00:31:53,910
'200,000 Irishmen, Catholics and
Protestants, would fight for Britain.

365
00:31:53,910 --> 00:31:56,790
'About 30,000 of them would die.'

366
00:32:05,230 --> 00:32:09,270
'But the Irish Republican
Brotherhood, forerunners of the IRA,

367
00:32:09,270 --> 00:32:14,030
'believed England's difficulty
was Ireland's opportunity.

368
00:32:14,030 --> 00:32:15,990
'Padraic Pearse saw the war

369
00:32:15,990 --> 00:32:19,990
'as a chance for Ireland
to free herself from British rule.'

370
00:32:22,030 --> 00:32:26,790
"The European war has brought about
a crisis which may contain,

371
00:32:26,790 --> 00:32:28,670
"as yet hidden within it,

372
00:32:28,670 --> 00:32:32,950
"the moment for which
generations have been waiting.

373
00:32:32,950 --> 00:32:37,110
"We shall see whether,
if that moment reveals itself,

374
00:32:37,110 --> 00:32:40,670
"we have the sight to see
and the courage to do."

375
00:32:42,710 --> 00:32:44,950
'Germany, for many republicans,

376
00:32:44,950 --> 00:32:48,430
'had always been a good place
to plot revolution.'

377
00:32:49,710 --> 00:32:52,630
'Erskine Childers
was famous in Britain,

378
00:32:52,630 --> 00:32:55,630
'the country he now sought
to undermine.'

379
00:32:57,230 --> 00:33:00,390
'His best-selling novel,
The Riddle Of The Sands,

380
00:33:00,390 --> 00:33:04,830
'had warned Britain of the dangers
she faced from the German Navy.

381
00:33:04,830 --> 00:33:08,710
'By July 1914,
his sympathies had switched.

382
00:33:08,710 --> 00:33:13,790
'He put to sea in his yacht,
the Asgard, to run guns.

383
00:33:13,790 --> 00:33:16,270
'He photographed the operation.'

384
00:33:18,590 --> 00:33:20,870
'Leaving Hamburg under tow.'

385
00:33:23,750 --> 00:33:25,990
'Sailing back to Ireland.

386
00:33:25,990 --> 00:33:32,550
'His wife and a friend
with two of the 900 rifles
they'd collected from Germany.

387
00:33:32,550 --> 00:33:36,430
'And the scene after Childers
docked outside Dublin.

388
00:33:36,430 --> 00:33:41,190
'Crowds cheer as the guns
are driven away by car.'

389
00:33:41,190 --> 00:33:43,230
GUNFIRE

390
00:33:47,430 --> 00:33:50,750
'Two years later,
the German guns were put to use

391
00:33:50,750 --> 00:33:54,590
'when 1,600 Irish revolutionaries
rose up in Dublin.'

392
00:33:59,790 --> 00:34:02,510
"Easter Monday, 1916.

393
00:34:02,510 --> 00:34:07,190
"Sinn Feiners occupy railway
stations, the GPO and other places.

394
00:34:07,190 --> 00:34:11,270
"They've blocked the streets
near Stephen's Green

395
00:34:11,270 --> 00:34:14,630
"and are shooting
at anyone they see in khaki.

396
00:34:14,630 --> 00:34:18,150
"We used to think we were
clear of the war here in Ireland,

397
00:34:18,150 --> 00:34:20,990
"but we've certainly
got it close enough now."

398
00:34:27,430 --> 00:34:31,670
'The moment for which Padraic Pearse
had been waiting had come.

399
00:34:31,670 --> 00:34:35,870
'He read out the historic
proclamation of the Irish Republic -

400
00:34:35,870 --> 00:34:40,070
'a document
which acknowledges the support
of "gallant allies in Europe."'

401
00:34:41,950 --> 00:34:45,990
'Who were these gallant allies
and what had they done?'

402
00:34:59,350 --> 00:35:02,350
'Germany had long seen
subversion in Ireland

403
00:35:02,350 --> 00:35:05,070
'as a way of destabilising Britain.'

404
00:35:10,190 --> 00:35:13,190
'In August 1914, Sir Roger Casement,

405
00:35:13,190 --> 00:35:17,110
'an Irish republican and one-time
darling of the British establishment,

406
00:35:17,110 --> 00:35:20,430
'gave the Germans the opportunity
they were looking for.

407
00:35:20,430 --> 00:35:22,990
'He wrote to the Kaiser
with an offer.'

408
00:35:24,590 --> 00:35:27,150
"We draw Your Majesty's attention

409
00:35:27,150 --> 00:35:33,590
"to the part that Ireland
necessarily, if not openly,
must play in this conflict.

410
00:35:33,590 --> 00:35:37,190
"Ireland must be freed
from British control.

411
00:35:37,190 --> 00:35:42,190
"Thousands of Irishmen will do
their part to aid the German cause,

412
00:35:42,190 --> 00:35:45,510
"for they recognise
that it is their own."

413
00:35:47,750 --> 00:35:50,430
'Casement sailed for Berlin
in disguise

414
00:35:50,430 --> 00:35:54,110
'and in the winter of 1914
he met Arthur Zimmermann -

415
00:35:54,110 --> 00:35:56,270
'a future Foreign Minister,

416
00:35:56,270 --> 00:35:59,950
'and the man in charge
of Germany's subversive operations.'

417
00:36:02,390 --> 00:36:05,110
'Zimmermann was impressed by Casement

418
00:36:05,110 --> 00:36:08,750
'and began to wonder if a
small German landing on Irish soil

419
00:36:08,750 --> 00:36:12,110
'might cause the British
massive problems.'

420
00:36:14,590 --> 00:36:17,510
'His diplomats in America
raised funds from

421
00:36:17,510 --> 00:36:20,030
'the Irish community in New York.'

422
00:36:21,710 --> 00:36:29,230
"It is proposed to undertake
an invasion with 25,000 troops
with 50,000 extra guns.

423
00:36:29,230 --> 00:36:34,750
"Then undoubtedly,
the co-operation of all Irish
in the British Army will follow.

424
00:36:34,750 --> 00:36:39,750
"There is strong friction
between Irish and English
in northern France."

425
00:36:42,270 --> 00:36:45,950
'Zimmermann's uprising
was to be four-pronged.

426
00:36:45,950 --> 00:36:49,310
'The dispatch of German weapons
to Irish rebels,

427
00:36:49,310 --> 00:36:53,390
'the landing of a German
expeditionary force on the
west coast,

428
00:36:53,390 --> 00:36:56,910
'German submarines
to seize Dublin harbour

429
00:36:56,910 --> 00:37:00,590
'and diversionary zeppelin
bombing raids on London.'

430
00:37:08,030 --> 00:37:10,790
'Germany's High Command got cold feet

431
00:37:10,790 --> 00:37:14,310
'and refused to commit
an invasion force.'

432
00:37:14,310 --> 00:37:19,150
'But in April 1916,
the zeppelin raids did take place,

433
00:37:19,150 --> 00:37:22,670
'a submarine was sent to
the west coast

434
00:37:22,670 --> 00:37:26,630
'and an arms boat carrying
20,000 rifles, ten machine guns

435
00:37:26,630 --> 00:37:29,150
'and a million rounds of ammunition

436
00:37:29,150 --> 00:37:31,350
'was dispatched for Ireland,

437
00:37:31,350 --> 00:37:33,990
'under the command of Captain
Karl Spindler.'

438
00:37:35,550 --> 00:37:39,230
"Gradually rising out of the water
was Inishtooshkert Island -

439
00:37:39,230 --> 00:37:41,710
"our rendezvous.

440
00:37:41,710 --> 00:37:43,750
"Within half an hour, at the latest,

441
00:37:43,750 --> 00:37:47,110
"the pilot boat
must make her appearance."

442
00:37:50,070 --> 00:37:53,710
'But the Irish expected him
two days later,

443
00:37:53,710 --> 00:37:57,710
'so the Germans sat in the bay
till caught by a British patrol.'

444
00:37:58,910 --> 00:38:03,430
'Captain Spindler scuttled his boat
rather than surrender the arms.'

445
00:38:05,390 --> 00:38:10,150
"The German naval ensign was run up,
bidding defiance to the British.

446
00:38:10,150 --> 00:38:11,910
"Then there was
a muffled explosion."

447
00:38:11,910 --> 00:38:13,470
EXPLOSION

448
00:38:13,470 --> 00:38:17,150
"Beams and splinters
flew up in the air.

449
00:38:17,150 --> 00:38:20,790
"The Aud sank
with a loud hissing noise."

450
00:38:23,870 --> 00:38:28,190
'The Uprising's hope of success
sank with the German arms.

451
00:38:28,190 --> 00:38:31,470
'Many rebels now abandoned
the project.

452
00:38:31,470 --> 00:38:33,750
'But a hard core minority,

453
00:38:33,750 --> 00:38:37,710
'armed with the rifles Childers
brought from Hamburg two years
before,

454
00:38:37,710 --> 00:38:42,230
'decided to make
a symbolic gesture of defiance.'

455
00:38:42,230 --> 00:38:45,150
GUNFIRE

456
00:38:45,150 --> 00:38:49,350
'On Easter Monday 1916,
they seized key points in Dublin.'

457
00:38:50,830 --> 00:38:53,990
'The British responded
with machine guns and artillery fire

458
00:38:53,990 --> 00:38:56,630
'and shipped in 10,000 men
from the mainland.'

459
00:38:58,190 --> 00:39:01,750
'Few Dubliners mourned
the crushing of the rebellion.'

460
00:39:03,150 --> 00:39:05,910
'Guinness brewer Edward Phillips

461
00:39:05,910 --> 00:39:11,750
'had his disused boilers converted
into armoured cars for the British.'

462
00:39:11,750 --> 00:39:17,030
"Rang up military and offered
motor lorries, gladly accepted.

463
00:39:17,030 --> 00:39:21,350
"Sent out for drivers who
lived close - they all consented."

464
00:39:24,110 --> 00:39:27,710
'Over 1,000 civilians
were caught in the crossfire,

465
00:39:27,710 --> 00:39:30,910
and as the British
took the rebels into custody,

466
00:39:30,910 --> 00:39:33,990
'the people of Dublin
pelted them with vegetables

467
00:39:33,990 --> 00:39:36,470
'and emptied chamberpots
over their heads.'

468
00:39:39,030 --> 00:39:42,790
'Many had sons and fathers
fighting on the Western Front

469
00:39:42,790 --> 00:39:48,230
'and were outraged by
the Uprising's German connections.

470
00:39:48,230 --> 00:39:51,110
'But now the British made
a terrible blunder -

471
00:39:51,110 --> 00:39:53,630
'throwing away their moral authority

472
00:39:53,630 --> 00:39:55,590
'and transforming the Easter Rising

473
00:39:55,590 --> 00:39:58,110
'into the seminal event
of Irish statehood.'

474
00:40:00,310 --> 00:40:02,390
SINGING IN GAELIC

475
00:40:07,510 --> 00:40:10,950
'They sentenced the leaders
of the Uprising to death,

476
00:40:10,950 --> 00:40:12,870
'starting with Pearse.'

477
00:40:12,870 --> 00:40:15,630
'He admitted to the court...'

478
00:40:15,630 --> 00:40:19,510
"I asked for and accepted
German aid

479
00:40:19,510 --> 00:40:23,190
"in the shape of arms
and an expeditionary force.

480
00:40:23,190 --> 00:40:25,870
"My aim was to win Irish freedom."

481
00:40:25,870 --> 00:40:27,670
SINGING IN GAELIC

482
00:40:29,630 --> 00:40:33,670
'Over ten days, the men
were brought into the execution yard

483
00:40:33,670 --> 00:40:36,030
'at Kilmainham Jail and shot.'

484
00:40:36,030 --> 00:40:37,630
GUNFIRE

485
00:40:40,630 --> 00:40:43,510
'James Connolly
was so wounded in the uprising

486
00:40:43,510 --> 00:40:46,150
'that he had to be shot
sitting down.'

487
00:40:46,150 --> 00:40:48,150
GUNFIRE

488
00:40:48,150 --> 00:40:50,670
SINGING IN GAELIC

489
00:40:50,670 --> 00:40:54,910
'Dublin fell silent as
Britain turned 16 men into martyrs.'

490
00:40:54,910 --> 00:40:57,590
GUNFIRE

491
00:40:57,870 --> 00:41:02,590
'People who had thrown rotten fruit
at them now saw them as heroes.'

492
00:41:02,590 --> 00:41:05,190
GUNFIRE

493
00:41:05,190 --> 00:41:09,510
'Britain turned the failed uprising
into a national cause.'

494
00:41:09,510 --> 00:41:11,590
GUNFIRE

495
00:41:11,590 --> 00:41:16,110
'Zimmermann's next challenge
was in a different league.'

496
00:41:23,070 --> 00:41:27,630
'Could Germany exploit
Russia's revolution of March 1917

497
00:41:27,630 --> 00:41:31,110
'to lever Russia
out of the First World War?'

498
00:41:33,070 --> 00:41:36,670
'Almost all the ingredients
were in place -

499
00:41:36,670 --> 00:41:38,910
'a major civilian uprising,

500
00:41:38,910 --> 00:41:41,190
'restless troops at the front

501
00:41:41,190 --> 00:41:43,630
'and a toothless leadership
in the rear.'

502
00:41:45,590 --> 00:41:50,950
'The Germans lacked just one piece of
the jigsaw - a charismatic leader.

503
00:41:50,950 --> 00:41:53,390
'But they had someone in mind.'

504
00:41:55,790 --> 00:41:59,670
'Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
was leader of the Bolsheviks -

505
00:41:59,670 --> 00:42:03,870
'a small group
of extreme Russian radicals.

506
00:42:03,870 --> 00:42:07,190
'They'd spent many hours
over the past 14 years

507
00:42:07,190 --> 00:42:11,390
'plotting revolution
in coffeehouses and prison cells.

508
00:42:11,390 --> 00:42:14,910
'When at last it came,
they were caught on the hop.

509
00:42:14,910 --> 00:42:20,110
'Stalin was in Siberia, Bukharin was
in New York and Lenin was in Zurich.'

510
00:42:22,430 --> 00:42:24,790
'"What torture it is for us,"
Lenin wrote,

511
00:42:24,790 --> 00:42:27,230
"to be sitting here
at such a time."

512
00:42:27,230 --> 00:42:30,870
'He knew the Allies
would never allow him passage.

513
00:42:30,870 --> 00:42:33,830
'The obvious route
lay through Germany and Sweden,

514
00:42:33,830 --> 00:42:36,190
'but would Germany let him through?'

515
00:42:37,310 --> 00:42:40,870
'German agents
had long watched Lenin.

516
00:42:40,870 --> 00:42:45,230
'They knew he wanted their enemy,
Russia, out of the war.'

517
00:42:45,230 --> 00:42:49,430
"Lenin's strong side
is his organisational talent.

518
00:42:49,430 --> 00:42:54,110
"He possesses the most brutal
and relentless energy.

519
00:42:54,110 --> 00:42:58,710
"Lenin's view is 'It doesn't
matter who wins the war.

520
00:42:58,710 --> 00:43:03,190
"'The defeat of Russia is
preferable, victory worse.'"

521
00:43:03,190 --> 00:43:08,150
'Zimmermann counselled the Kaiser
to approve Lenin's passage.'

522
00:43:08,150 --> 00:43:12,430
"Since it is in our interests that
the influence of the radical wing

523
00:43:12,430 --> 00:43:15,030
"of the Russian revolutionaries
should prevail,

524
00:43:15,030 --> 00:43:18,630
"it seems advisable
to allow transit."

525
00:43:20,550 --> 00:43:24,910
'The Kaiser exploited Lenin as
cynically as Lenin used the Kaiser,

526
00:43:24,910 --> 00:43:28,830
'each thinking
he had the better of the bargain.'

527
00:43:34,110 --> 00:43:36,350
'On 10th April 1917, Lenin,

528
00:43:36,350 --> 00:43:39,590
'his wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya

529
00:43:39,590 --> 00:43:42,230
'and his former mistress,
Inessa Armand,

530
00:43:42,230 --> 00:43:45,670
'boarded the train for Germany
with other Bolsheviks.'

531
00:43:47,430 --> 00:43:51,830
'"The Kaiser's paying for the
journey" jeered rival Russian
socialists.'

532
00:43:51,830 --> 00:43:54,230
'"You'll be hanged as German spies."'

533
00:43:56,750 --> 00:44:00,190
"Lenin stood listening
and smiled."

534
00:44:00,190 --> 00:44:03,270
"'Hiss as much as you like'
he said,

535
00:44:03,270 --> 00:44:07,270
'we Bolsheviks will shuffle
your cards and spoil your game.'"

536
00:44:14,150 --> 00:44:17,150
'To counter charges
of working with the enemy,

537
00:44:17,150 --> 00:44:19,630
'Lenin devised the fiction
of a sealed train,

538
00:44:19,630 --> 00:44:22,870
'claiming total isolation
from the outside world.'

539
00:44:24,870 --> 00:44:28,150
'In fact, the group travelled
in a regular carriage

540
00:44:28,150 --> 00:44:32,790
'on a train that stopped frequently,
taking four days to cross Germany.'

541
00:44:35,910 --> 00:44:38,510
'Though the train halted in Berlin,

542
00:44:38,510 --> 00:44:43,230
'there's no evidence that Lenin
met any German representatives.

543
00:44:43,230 --> 00:44:48,190
'He knew the Germans gave money
to his party but avoided direct
contact.'

544
00:44:50,470 --> 00:44:54,630
'Germany's greatest help to Lenin's
cause was getting him back to
Russia.'

545
00:45:04,230 --> 00:45:09,150
'The night he arrived in Petrograd,
Lenin addressed the crowd.

546
00:45:09,150 --> 00:45:11,590
'Some were hostile.'

547
00:45:11,590 --> 00:45:15,270
"Ought to stick our bayonets
into a fellow like that,

548
00:45:15,270 --> 00:45:17,350
"must be a German."

549
00:45:20,670 --> 00:45:25,430
'But Lenin was soon winning converts,
as Countess Irina Skariatina saw.'

550
00:45:27,230 --> 00:45:31,550
"Lenin is bald, terribly ugly,
wears a crumpled old brown suit,

551
00:45:31,550 --> 00:45:34,990
"speaks without
any oratorical power,

552
00:45:34,990 --> 00:45:38,470
"more like a college professor
giving a lecture,

553
00:45:38,470 --> 00:45:42,070
"yet what he says
drives the people crazy."

554
00:45:42,070 --> 00:45:45,670
'And what he said was end the war,

555
00:45:45,670 --> 00:45:48,470
'and by doing so
give the people what they want

556
00:45:48,470 --> 00:45:51,670
'and what the provisional government
had failed to deliver -

557
00:45:51,670 --> 00:45:54,430
'peace, land and bread.'

558
00:45:58,550 --> 00:46:03,030
'Zimmermann had agents in Petrograd
monitoring Lenin's progress.'

559
00:46:06,150 --> 00:46:09,390
'Lenin's entry into Russia
successful.'

560
00:46:09,390 --> 00:46:12,510
'He's working
exactly as we would wish.'

561
00:46:14,910 --> 00:46:20,150
'Just as the Germans hoped,
Lenin's ideas spread to the front.'

562
00:46:22,110 --> 00:46:25,150
"The regiments have turned
into hordes of bastards,

563
00:46:25,150 --> 00:46:28,030
"holding meetings
led by the Bolsheviks.

564
00:46:28,030 --> 00:46:31,110
"Military life has
come to a standstill.

565
00:46:31,110 --> 00:46:35,750
"The soldiers want peace,
no matter what the conditions are.

566
00:46:35,750 --> 00:46:39,790
"They want to go home and enjoy
the results of the revolution."

567
00:46:44,070 --> 00:46:46,070
'On the 18th June 1917,

568
00:46:46,070 --> 00:46:50,710
'news of secret German funding
of the Bolsheviks leaked.

569
00:46:50,710 --> 00:46:54,430
'Lenin fled the city,
heavily disguised.'

570
00:46:56,990 --> 00:47:00,870
'But the Bolsheviks countered
claims that Lenin was a spy,

571
00:47:00,870 --> 00:47:04,070
'using printing presses
bought with German money.

572
00:47:04,070 --> 00:47:07,430
'And they set about
building worker support -

573
00:47:07,430 --> 00:47:10,870
'helping arm the most militant
to create the Red Guard.'

574
00:47:17,590 --> 00:47:22,150
'Lenin reappeared on the night
of the 6th November 1917,

575
00:47:22,150 --> 00:47:25,470
'leaving this safe house
for the Bolshevik HQ.'

576
00:47:27,270 --> 00:47:29,950
'He knew power had to be seized now.'

577
00:47:33,350 --> 00:47:37,150
"We must not wait.
We may lose everything.

578
00:47:37,150 --> 00:47:41,350
"The government is tottering.
We must deal it the deathblow.

579
00:47:41,350 --> 00:47:44,390
"To delay action
is the same as death."

580
00:47:45,870 --> 00:47:48,670
'Journalist John Reed was at the HQ.'

581
00:47:49,870 --> 00:47:53,190
"In the hall, I ran into
some of the Bolshevik leaders.

582
00:47:53,190 --> 00:47:55,550
"One showed me a revolver.

583
00:47:55,550 --> 00:47:59,310
"'The game is on', he said.
His face was pale."

584
00:48:01,710 --> 00:48:06,790
'Throughout that night the Bolsheviks
secured key points across Petrograd

585
00:48:06,790 --> 00:48:08,950
with hardly a shot fired.'

586
00:48:16,270 --> 00:48:19,430
'The city awoke
to a new world order.'

587
00:48:19,430 --> 00:48:21,750
"I've just heard stunning news -

588
00:48:21,750 --> 00:48:24,590
"the provisional government
is overthrown."

589
00:48:24,590 --> 00:48:26,790
"The telegraph wires are buzzing

590
00:48:26,790 --> 00:48:29,430
"with decrees of
the new Bolshevik government -

591
00:48:29,430 --> 00:48:32,510
"all land is to be
transferred to the people."

592
00:48:37,830 --> 00:48:41,950
'The first thing the Bolsheviks did
was to take Russia out of the war,

593
00:48:41,950 --> 00:48:45,630
'freeing the Germans from
a crippling fight on two fronts.'

594
00:48:47,670 --> 00:48:51,070
'Germany's gamble on Lenin
had paid off.'

595
00:48:52,310 --> 00:48:57,830
"The Bolsheviks have brought about
the crucial event of the century.

596
00:48:57,830 --> 00:49:00,630
"They've discharged millions
of Russian soldiers

597
00:49:00,630 --> 00:49:02,630
"and freed the Germans' hands.

598
00:49:02,630 --> 00:49:05,230
"A hot steam bath
awaits the Allies."

599
00:49:10,310 --> 00:49:16,070
'Revolution and subversion
had released 44 German divisions
for the Western Front.

600
00:49:16,070 --> 00:49:19,910
'Germany now had a chance
to win the First World War.'

601
00:49:28,070 --> 00:49:30,630
In the next episode of
The First World War,

602
00:49:30,630 --> 00:49:34,070
Germany launches a huge
offensive on the Western Front

603
00:49:34,070 --> 00:49:36,910
but her alliances start to crumble.

604
00:49:36,910 --> 00:49:40,390
It will be a race between victory
and collapse.