Original subtitles

Whose grand ambitions matched the ambitions of the German elite.

The Kaiser was very strung.

He was hysterical outbursts and lived in a fantasy world.

The whole country actually lived in a fantasy world in 1914.

The other was an ally emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary...

reactionary autocrat whose court fell apart by discord and intrigue.

These two emperors were at the Eastern Front against a third emperor:

Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.

The Tsar was very much aware z & apos; s own limitations.

And those restrictions were quite large.

He would not go at all, like the Kaiser.

He wanted a quiet life. He was not warlike at all.

The immediate reason for the war...

Between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia ...

was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand...

by Serb nationalists.

When war broke out in 1914, there was much movement & apos; t Eastern Front.

Austria invaded Serbia.

Russia, an ally of Serbia, fell in Germany and Austria.

The Austrians withdrew back and lost important fortified.

It was very discouraging for Austrian soldiers.

The line of march seemed endless and we did nothing but scold.

Some cursed the calf that their boots were made.

Others swore that if they had known this...

then they just stayed at home .

The Russian army had much more trouble with the Germans.

End of August fell at Tannenberg 50,000 Russian casualties.

100,000 men were captured.

An English witness wrote:

Thousands of Russians were killed by drowning .

I will cry of the dying men and horses not soon forget.

Two German strategists were fame with his victory:

generals Paul von Hindenburg and Erich von Ludendorff...

which were worshiped as the saviors of the people.

Hindenburg dropped every day portraying the war.

He was a kind and dignified old man...

the German norms and values embodied .

Ludendorff was clearly an excellent strategist...

but z & apos; s problem was that he suffered of megalomania.

The first battles on the Eastern Front convinced the German generals...

that the Russian army was none.

Ludendorff dreamed of a big German empire in the east.

But British observers saw the strength of the Russian mentality.

The Russian soldier as an individual the best soldier in the world.

He does not complain about the cold or hunger and undergoing hardship without complaint.

By Germany and Austria challenge...

asked the tsar, however, very much z & apos; s soldiers.

Fight on two major fronts...

would be a huge test for the Russian army.

By particularly logistic problems...

materially, soldiers, horses and food to get to the front.

In September 1914 the Germans were so convinced of their superior...

Them the Russian state invaded Poland.

It was very tempting to attack Poland.

If you attacked the Russians from the north and south...

you could embed a lot and capture.

That was the strategy of the Germans in the last weeks of 1914.

However, the German army was weakened by the Western Front...

and the Russians reinforced rushed the Polish capital Warsaw.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff sent rushed troops to the Vistula...

which had to be crossed on the way to the Polish capital.

Our troops had to march at this & apos; s provide tremendous effort.

The roads were muddy and the weather was bad.

Nevertheless, we had 30 kilometers per day or more off...

if we wanted to catch the enemy.

On October 9 they crossed the Vistula over and approached Warsaw.

A Russian nurse, Sophie Botcharski, witnessed & apos; t fight.

Two weeks long tried Germans Warsaw to take...

and thus the rest of Poland.

They bombed us without mercy.

Thousands of injured Russians had themselves let us deal with.

But some were completely beside himself with joy...

because we had survived.

To the surprise of the Germans succeeded the Russians to stand.

When the Germans were gone, put Russians continue the war of movement...

by attacking again.

Fresh German troops were in Poland see the Russian advance unstoppable.

This was the last major battle on the Eastern Front 1914 result:

the Battle of Lodz.

The Russians lost and 150,000 men were captured.

But the Germans suffered losses in the form of 130,000 victims.

German commanders now understood that the Russians...

did not mind to send into battle huge troops.

But how long could it go on?

Despite the huge losses which they suffered...

the Russians would undoubtedly put back in the attack.

They were reckless with their men to...

but as & apos; s tactics did not go far, even against our narrow lines.

End of 1914 there was the staggering number 1.8 million Russians...

which killed, wounded or were captured.

Beginning of 1915 there was a stalemate on the Western Front...

and so did the German High Command a quick victory in the east.

The Austrians supported German offensive...

to attack by the Russians in the mountains of the Carpathians.

It was extremely difficult for the Austrians...

which were delayed by the cold and deep snow.

Because of the terrain and harsh winter took fighting in the Carpathians...

lots of strength of our army.

Who has not experienced this, do not know which man is capable.

After 2 weeks the Russians had repulsed the Austrian attack.

Despite the success in the Carpathians, saw General Alexei Brusilov...

which would be very important...

that the huge losses in the first few months took their toll.

The men who the victims replaced, could only march.

They could not even load their guns, shoot over to say nothing.

Such people could not regarded as soldiers.

I asked constantly m & apos; s men what this war was all about.

The answer was that & apos; s archbishop and z & apos; s wife were killed...

and the Austrians then wanted to humiliate the Serbs.

Why the Germans had declared us the war, nobody knew.

Arose when the Russians a new and assertive type of officer.

An example is Dimitri Oskin...

which talks about those greedy, fat officers.

One of them is always ice cream to eat z & apos; s tent while soldiers fight.

So there is really doubted the authority.

What are we doing?

I have in m & apos; s platoon seen hundreds new faces.

At least half of them are killed or wounded during the battle .

What they have in this war?

Desperate Russians needed help.

There was a clear case of yet another threat.

In October 1914 Turkey had joined in Germany.

Achieve Old Sultan, Enver Pasha thought a quick victory.

The Pasha had been in Germany. He spoke German and was friends with them.

He was sure that they could not lose.

He thought the war would last until Christmas...

and hoped to conquer some land in the Balkans or perhaps in Russia.

Enver Pasha wanted z & apos; s Russian troops conquered Armenia.

In the icy cold were the Turks with a Russian counterattack.

Of the 95,000 Turks who participated in the campaign...

survived but the 18,000.

30,000 men froze to death.

The Turks stumble back.

The angry and tired Turkish soldiers walk back through Turkish Armenia...

and commit to the Armenian genocide.

This reaction was not spontaneous, but clearly intentional.

There were 500,000 Armenians in order.

The Turkish attack knocked Russia to Great Britain and France to...

with a request to remove the Turkish threat.

At the same scheduled Winston Churchill, head of the Admiralty...

an Allied expedition through the Dardanelles.

He hoped to win the war...

the Germans and attack their allies at their weakest spot.

On April 25, 1915, after a dangerous operation at sea...

landed Englishmen, Frenchmen, Australians and New Zealanders ...

on the beaches of Gallipoli.

The operation on the mainland ended in a brutal stalemate.

They kept saying: It will succeed if there still a brigade or division comes in.

But they nevertheless came no further.

The Turks took it because every time also a division at.

The trenches are very different expected. You have to keep a low profile.

Even our periscope mirrors one by one shot out.

If the Turks attack, they shouted Allah, Allah.

And our guys cry then: Come on, you bastards.

The Turks now want to know whether & apos; & apos bastard; the name of our God is.

Between the trenches lie rotting corpses of our men and the Turks.

The stench is unbearable.

There was always a bright sun in the sky.

We already knew how fast it was to really thirsty.

Your lips cracked and you got dizzy in the intense heat.

Infantrymen begged for water, but our bottles were empty.

The wounded lay a lot of our men are on the battlefield.

The attack was a fiasco. That all of them lately.

It was a romantic operation. With stunning views and so.

But it was horrible for Allied and Turkish soldiers.

Dysentery claimed the most victims.

People died in the latrines. It was that bad.

The operation did not help. It was a complete fiasco.

In January 1916, the Allies withdrew finally back.

They were more than a quarter of a million people lost.

The great Turkish victory at Gallipoli...

soon followed defeat in the north.

Early in 1916 Russian troops withdrew from the Caucasus...

to attack Turkish Armenia.

They took important fortresses in and Turkey was no longer a threat.

There was a positive development for the Russians and their allies.

In May 1915 Italy chose the side of the Allies.

They hoped the mountainous Tyrol to tackle the Austrians.

Italian soldiers moved north.

The Austrians Tirol reinforced with troops from the Russian front.

It was the first war in ski & apos; s.

The conditions on the Italian front were particularly heavy.

The Austrian positions were all located in the mountains.

As on the West Front had your artillery and machine guns...

and there was also an additional the difficult terrain at.

The Italian front was one of the worst throughout the First World War.

A young British officer, Hugh Dalton, fought on the Italian side.

In the trenches are more Italians by avalanches than to the enemy.

One drag cannons to ledges where you expect eagle nests.

The cold guard should be changed every ten minutes.

Alpini & apos; s attack on their ski & apos; s and shoot at 50 km / h down the hill.

We climbed up along a very narrow path.

We saw nothing else than the mountain above us.

Below us we saw the large and almost vertical mountain meadows...

which looked very inviting.

Everything froze & apos; s night. Your boots and the ink in your fountain pen.

The shaving cream froze before you could shave.

Over the next two and a half years there was a stalemate in the mountains.

In the summer of 1915...

put Germany and Austria regained their sights on Warsaw...

the capital of the Russian state Poland.

14 divisions, more than 250,000 men, migrated eastward.

The Austrian offensive of May 1915 in the Carpathian...

were 100,000 Russian casualties.

In June and July would lose by German and Austrian advance...

only get bigger.

In May there were 400,000 Russians dead, wounded or captured.

Until June 1915 there were a total 3.8 million victims.

There was so much fighting which several fortified cities in ruins.

The population of Warsaw waited to see what would happen.

Warsaw is doomed, but earlier there was still hope.

Now we can only hope for a miracle.

The Germans run as in the flush of victory through the streets.

The only question is how long it lasts.

Rather than hour days.

The next day, August 5, 1915, the German army walked through Warsaw.

After exactly one year war the Germans thought they had won...

and that the Russians would soon surrender . But that was not so.

There would be fought by another two years are on the Eastern Front.

The German soldier was, however, equally relax and enjoy the victory.

Z & apos; s Russian opponent seemed defeated and discouraged.

According to British observers was moment of decisive importance.

Almost three weeks we retreated.

Every day saw your tired men sauntered eastward...

displaced farmers who begged to eat , thousands injured.

We were all exhausted and were hard to rest.

We wondered if this trek would cease.

After this defeat called Tsar Nicholas II himself out...

commander in chief of the Russian armed forces.

The Tsar had this position rather by General Brusilov let occupying...

but Brusilov had struck a devastating judgment on the czar.

The Tsar & apos; s lack of knowledge and skills, z & apos; s weak character and uncertainty...

make him totally unfit to command.

The men said they were sacrificed for nothing and had no chance.

It will not be long before morale z & apos; s reached rock bottom.

But the Russian soldiers showed an incredible resilience.

Planned beginning in 1916 the British and French a combined attack...

for next summer on the Western Front.

The Russians were the Germans and Austrians attacks in the east...

to weaken them.

Brusilov would be in charge of the offensive...

Brusilov but found himself increasingly a loyalty dilemma.

He wrote in 1914 that he did not for the czar, but for Russia moisture.

It was as if he felt he sooner or later had to make a choice.

Brusilov wanted the enemies along a front of 300 km attacks...

and surprise them with short and intense artillery barrages.

He wanted to start with the weaker Austrians.

On June 4, 1916 opened Brusilov & apos; s forces attack.

After a few days he was in jubilation.

On June 6 we had 900 officers and 40,000 man imprisoned...

and 77 cannons, 134 machine guns and 49 trench mortiers captured.

On 9 June 1240 which were officers, more than 71,000 men...

94 guns, 167 machine guns and all other military gear.

Started by the onslaught hit the Austrians in panic.

I tried to encourage company, but in vain.

The men were running around like headless chickens.

The Russian artillery saw us quickly and made short work of us.

Along the wet roads were large numbers of Austrian prisoners...

accompanied by a single Russian soldier.

They felt downright miserable. They had had enough of war.

Brusilov had the Central Powers almost to its knees.

It looked as if the Austrian rijk was about to receive the final blow.

The harnessed really for the Central Powers.

They also had the Battle of the Somme and the Italians in the south.

It was really touch and go.

Ludendorff typified Brusilov & apos; s attack as the & apos; crisis in the east & apos ;.

Again, German reinforcements were needed to help the Austrians.

The Russians had it won, but the price was high.

Our hospital was full of wounded, like all other hospitals.

We were told that it was a total of 200,000 victims.

We saw, heard and felt men who were broken.

Were in the winter of 1916, the Germans again something back to...

And they recaptured the area Brusilov had been captured in the summer.

It was & apos; s major disappointment for the Russians who had fought so hard.

British observers were astonished by their endurance.

The constitution of these men is fantastic.

They march and fight on such small and poor rations...

I doubt other European soldiers would sustain it.

The heroes of summer were distinct, but the end of 1916...

languished hundreds of thousands of Russians away in prisoner of war camps.

At the front was no longer a victory, but of retreat.

Brusilov himself became more and more disappointed.

Not z & apos; s men, but in z & apos; s leaders.

I'm just saying that m & apos; s armies in 1916 miracles had established...

In their devotion to Russia. But & apos; t end did not...

and that was what they were concerned by the stupid decisions of the high command.

A few politicians thought there same way as Brusilov.

The command ignores lose and does not look after the soldiers.

The army no longer believes in z & apos; s leaders.

The desperation of the soldiers hit on the civilian population.

From all sides people complained that they were tired of the war.

They were disappointed due to an accumulation of errors.

Food was scarce. The rows at the bakery were very long.

It was said that merchants and shopkeepers prices kept artificially high.

It was rumored that the tsarina negotiated with the Germans.

Even the awe and respect for the czar had disappeared.

The great Russia that used the world fed, coming food shortage.

And that's not all. There is a lack of anything and everything.

Food, clothing, boots, oil and paraffin.

Soon a famine breaks out. Turn bread in advance as possible.

In the suburbs of Petrograd running begging well-dressed women.

It's freezing. People have no fuel for their stoves.

Damn, what is life become heavy.

Anywhere in Russia grew discontent. Was to cease at every turn.

In all walks of life one doubted the usefulness of this war.

In the autumn of 1916 there were up to twice sailors uprisings:

In the fleets of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea .

The tsar and z & apos; s family were isolated.

In all walks of life was rumored...

that the people and the country sold by the czarina.

They would plan to replace the tsar...

whose weaknesses indiscretion and drunkenness were common knowledge.

It choked the gossip. Czarina would interfere with state affairs...

under the influence of her lover, the unsavory guru Rasputin.

Throughout the slander was taken.

The most vicious gossip doing the rounds.

Dark forces behind the throne, German influence at court...

a false peace, Rasputin & apos; s power scandals over the czarina.

End of 1916 they tried to paint a positive picture of the czarina...

by showing her as a nurse in the Winter Palace.

They did not know that the image of nurses had changed...

Because the whores of Petrograd wore nurse uniforms.

They did not know that the picture & apos; s of the Tsarina as a nurse...

exact opposite effect would achieve.

She looked like a nurse and that reinforced the rumors...

about her sex games with Rasputin.

The czar tried to suppress the threat of the revolution.

A few advisers began secret negotiations with Germany...

hoping that the Tsar will z & apos; s position was maintained.

In February 1917...

troops were in Petrograd commissioned to shoot at protesters.

Some refused this, like Fedor Linde.

The Cossacks fired on a defenseless and unarmed crowd .

They beat people with their whip and were trampled by their horses.

I jumped on a table and shouted: Friends, long live the revolution.

Tensions rose and the Tsar was asked to step down.

Uwe imperial highness, I know how much you love your country.

To the country and also save your dynasty , you determine willing...

to make this sacrifice.

After visiting the front turned Tsar by train to Petrograd.

When he was diverted by revolutionaries , he knew what time it was.

The czar did on 15 March abdicated.

Instead of soldiers of the tsar we were now soldiers of the republic.

No one was there to disagree.

The soldiers accepted the change...

as they had followed a random order .

Was set up an interim government. Soldiers and civilians celebrated.

We heard the bell of the cathedral , and then other churches.

The chime went faster and finally came from all sides.

Everyone was in the streets and everywhere were doors.

People who do not know each other, fell weeping into each other's arms.

Alexander Kerensky, who short time later would become prime minister...

was appointed Minister of War Affairs.

He proposed to General Brusilov as commander of the army.

They hoped to restore national confidence with a new offensive...

against their weaker enemy Austria.

The attack was launched on July 1, 1917...

but it soon became clear that the troops did not want to fight.

After a week the generals realized that there was a mutiny on his hands.

When I asked what they wanted, they said, they did not want to fight anymore.

They wanted to go home...

so they could get a piece of land and could continue living in freedom.

When I asked how it further with Russia had...

she replied that it was not their responsibility .

After three years of suffering, the Russian soldier finally had enough.

In this war where the preponderance increasingly shifted...

end it was not a military, but a political crisis decisive.

In September 1917...

conquered the Germans with their last attack Riga...

Russia's second largest port on the Baltic sea.

They could now simply watch while Russia fell apart.

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Lenin , waited & apos; t right moment.

If we make one mistake, everything goes haywire.

We should not anticipate events , but be patient.

Lenin wanted a Bolshevik revolution...

but z & apos; s slogan & apos; Peace at any Price & apos; Earned him more and more support.

End of 1917 a second interim government had to restore order in Russia.

While Lenin preached revolution, took the chaos increasing.

Our capital is turned into a cesspool.

Nobody works, the streets are filthy. Everywhere are stinking heaps of waste.

It hurts me to tell how bad this is.

The people are becoming lazier and more cowardly.

Exactly the things I already m & apos; s lifetime struggle against...

and bring Russia to the brink of the abyss .

The Socialists have sown the wind, and Russia now harvesting the storm.

The economic situation in Russia can hardly worse.

Foreign revolutionaries as John Reed saw it coming.

Hand early monarchist press to heavy-handed measures.

On the other hand there was the voice of Lenin: Come revolt, our patience has run out.

The government seemed helpless by the day.

Armed workers were & apos; s evening guard and fought with looters.

In November 1917 was later so glorious revolution at hand.

The Interim Government gave the battleship Aurora leaving the Petrograd command.

They were afraid that the revolutionaries took government building under fire.

An armored vehicle drove slowly back and forth with sirens blaring.

On every street corner were large groups of people.

Everywhere people were running around.

On November 7 gave the guns of the Aurora sign...

and the revolutionaries stormed the Winter Palace.

The next morning the whole city in an uproar.

The whole country rocked on this storm.

After several days spread the revolution to Moscow.

Committees Russian soldiers sought rapprochement with Germany.

In December 1917 there was a truce on the Eastern Front.

In more than three brutal years were 2.3 million Russians were killed.

There were 5 million injuries.

Despite all the errors and problems...

Russian army had stopped 160 German and Austrian divisions...

and who could now go elsewhere.

The result was devastating for the Allies.

Italy experienced the first consequences of the Russian crisis.

End of October beat the Austrian and German armies to the mountains.

There were rumors from the north which were denied later.

On the 27th proved the rumors true.

The German advance in northern is substantial and very fast.

The Italian attempt to conquer a part of Austria had failed.

The Germans and Austrians captured 275,000 Italians.

The other soldiers did not see it anymore.

Our men were stubbornly. Some were confused...

others tired but cheerful. Weather others ran through expressionless.

A few understood the enormous tragedy where we were a small part of it.

The Italians kept the German advance 25 kilometers from Venice.

They were supported by British and French troops.

At the end of 1917 there everywhere looked bad for the Allies.

The German General Ludendorff saw it brighter than ever before.

The crisis in Russia our military situation in early 1918...

much better than expected.

Numerically, we had not yet been stronger.

The Allies seemed only to have one hope: America.

On April 6, 1917...

declared US President Woodrow Wilson Germany the war.

The English welcomed their new allies as saviors.

It was always m & apos; s dream that our two countries would work together.

Today that dream out. The angel- Saxon race to save the world.

In the summer of 1917, the first American troops.

They seemed larger than normal. Those great men looked very different...

than the small and pale recruits where we had become so accustomed.

It seemed like they came from the sky.

I wondered where they'd conjured from this regiment .

Then I heard someone shout: Look, you did the Americans.

We were first & apos; doughboys & apos; Called after & apos; & apos ;. dog heads

Where & apos; doughboy & apos; came from, was a mystery.

& Apos; Hondenkop & apos; was somewhat understandable.

That was because our identity picture appeared on a dog tag.

growled as we ate and tried to seduce all women.

For many Americans were training on the Western Front a culture shock.

One had a list of all he found annoying.

Our officers are at the top of the list.

They are cranky, arrogant and unreasonable.

It comes back to two. On three are the postmen.

Our bad clothes standing on four. Our feet are always wet.

Lice are five. The army dirty food stands at six.

Homesickness is on seven. Most of us have never been away.

We crave a bit female attention.

The Germans are on the last place. They are the reason we are here.

The US commander, General John J. Pershing...

these recruits was ready for the fight.

In this world had to deal with crowds.

One or two million people call were so happened...

but then you had to make a organized army of them...

that standing could stop the best-trained army in Europe. ..

Which had been more than three years experience of war.

When the Americans started they seemed very much like the English 1916

They were enthusiastic, but they had much to learn.

And they learned very quickly in a few particularly gruesome fights.

The Americans withdrew in June 1917 for the first time to battle.

I remember that I saw in the morning light the first dead Americans.

The sight of our own deaths left me indifferent...

but here I was touched by. They looked so fresh and neat.

They symbolized the hope which had allies for the future.

The German commanders knew that the Americans would make a difference.

The abundance of fresh energy... and piled

the Americans brought with them...

Made the weakness of their exhausted allies more than good.

Now the Americans getting involved...

Ludendorff wanted Germany the war ended as quickly as possible.

While he made plans for a decisive victory in 1918...

was thought to allied side that the war on the Western Front...

still years continue.

Few people could foresee how quickly everything would change.