1 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:21,120 The pendulum of war had come to rest. 2 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:23,600 The armies halted. 3 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:27,240 Around the campfires, men were too weary to talk much, 4 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:31,080 but they could wonder, which way would they march tomorrow? 5 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:02,720 For 15 days, the Allies had been in constant retreat. 6 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:09,200 For 15 days, the great weight of the German army had pressed down towards Paris. 7 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:11,960 ORDERS SHOUTED IN GERMAN 8 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:19,040 By September 5th, they were less than 20 miles from the capital. 9 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:23,040 Would Paris fall? 10 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:29,040 Hope waned and time was running out. 11 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:34,000 Yet one man preserved his hope and made his will prevail. 12 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:39,920 At Allied headquarters, Gen Joffre perceived that a significant change had occurred. 13 00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:42,160 The situation was impressive. 14 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:46,280 Our front formed the arc of a vast circle 15 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:48,400 enveloping the enemy. 16 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,800 Thus our 5th Army was in a position to attack 17 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,840 the enemy columns crossing the Marne, 18 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,960 while the British Army and mobile troops of the Paris garrison 19 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:01,640 were well placed to attack in flank 20 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:06,920 the German forces who'd diverged from the direction of Paris. 21 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:11,480 This was the moment of decision that Joffre had been waiting for. 22 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:15,920 Now hundreds of thousands of tired men must be halted, 23 00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:18,960 turned about and thrown against the enemy. 24 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:24,000 From Verdun to the Marne, Joffre told his right wing to hold firm. 25 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,080 The German 2nd Army was marching south 26 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:30,160 at some distance from the First. 27 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,440 The French 6th Army would strike from the west. 28 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,160 As Von Kluck turned to meet them, 29 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:40,280 the French 5th Army and the BEF could march on the gap in the line. 30 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:44,360 One thing was essential. The BEF must march. 31 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:50,080 Joffre visited Sir John French to explain his plan and plead for aid. 32 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:58,640 Finally, clasping his two hands in front of himself, he turned to Sir John French and said... 33 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:01,560 SPEAKS IN FRENCH 34 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:07,880 "Field Marshal, it is France that is begging you." 35 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:17,000 It was so moving that Sir John French, who was awfully British, 36 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,960 very unemotive himself, 37 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:26,280 he was so moved that he struggled with the French language once more. 38 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:30,360 He couldn't get anything out. 39 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,120 And turning to somebody, 40 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:41,200 he said, "Tell him that anything that men can do, our men will do. 41 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:43,800 "We will attack tomorrow." 42 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:52,120 Word began to filter down the line that we were on the move 43 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:54,680 in the reverse direction. 44 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:59,480 At first it was hard to believe, but soon we were recrossing the Marne. 45 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:02,720 We were on the advance again. 46 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,040 The feeling is impossible to describe. 47 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:20,040 From being tired, worn out, demoralised creatures, 48 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:25,240 we became trained soldiers with the enemy in view, 49 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:27,280 and off we went. 50 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:34,840 "The happiest day of my life. We marched towards the rising sun," 51 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:36,880 wrote a British officer. 52 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,960 It was September 6th, 1914. 53 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:48,960 General Joffre issued an order of the day to his armies. 54 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:52,200 "The moment has passed for looking to the rear. 55 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:58,640 "All our efforts must be directed to attacking and driving back the enemy. 56 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,160 "Troops who can advance no further 57 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:05,400 "must, at any price, hold on to the ground they have conquered 58 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:09,040 "and die on the spot, rather than give way! 59 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:12,480 "Under the circumstances that face us, 60 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:15,760 "no act of weakness can be tolerated." 61 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:18,960 Slowly, the pendulum started its counter swing. 62 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:21,800 The Germans resisted strongly. 63 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:26,440 North of Paris, General Maunoury's army was heavily counter attacked 64 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:28,480 and in danger of defeat. 65 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,480 Gen Gallieni, military governor of Paris, 66 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:44,320 rushed forward reinforcements in taxi cabs - the taxis of the Marne. 67 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:01,680 The men they carried just sufficed to prevent a collapse. 68 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,720 But the centre was the vital area. 69 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:09,040 Here the French 5th Army and the BEF thrust forward 70 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:13,520 into the widening gap between the armies of Von Kluck and Von Bulow. 71 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:33,120 Reluctantly at first, but each day more certainly, the Germans gave way. 72 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:40,400 On September 11th, Joffre telegraphed to the Minister of War: 73 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:46,160 "The Battle of the Marne is an incontestable victory for us." 74 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:06,600 And now, as the Allies reap the rewards of victory, 75 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:11,320 new hope surged up in them that had faced the misery of defeat. 76 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:14,720 Could the Germans be hustled back to the frontier 77 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:18,760 out of the rich provinces of France which they had overrun? 78 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:25,160 Could the Allies pursue swiftly? Back to the Rhine in three weeks, perhaps? 79 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:27,840 Optimism spread its wings. 80 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:32,800 Gen Sir Henry Wilson compared notes with an officer on Joffre's staff. 81 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:36,240 Gatineau asked me when I thought we'd enter Germany. 82 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:42,080 I said that I thought we should be in Elsenborn in four weeks. He thought three. 83 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:45,760 "Vitesse! Vitesse!" urged General Foch. 84 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:51,000 "En avant, soldat, pour La France!" cried Gen Franchet d'Esperey. 85 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:55,520 But General Haig, commanding the British First Corps, remarked: 86 00:08:55,520 --> 00:09:01,480 "I thought our movements very slow today, in view of the fact the enemy's on the run." 87 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:04,880 The movements were too slow. 88 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,640 Broken bridges... 89 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:12,800 tiredness, over caution, brave fighting by German rear guards, 90 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,280 all combined to slow the Allied advance. 91 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:23,120 On September 13th, Haig's corps reached the River Aisne 92 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:27,080 and the wooded spurs of the Chemin des Dames Ridge - 93 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:32,280 the Ladies Road, running along beside the river in Soissons. 94 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:35,320 They were just two hours too late. 95 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:40,120 A German Army corps, released by the fall of Maubert, 96 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:45,960 marched 40 miles in 24 hours, with a quarter of its infantry falling out on the way. 97 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:50,680 It arrived in the nick of time to block the British advance. 98 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:54,800 The Germans dug in hastily along the Chemin des Dames Ridge. 99 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:57,920 The British, unable to move them, dug in also. 100 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:00,960 The French did the same in their turn. 101 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:04,520 The beginnings of Trench warfare were now seen. 102 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:11,160 On September 16th, Joffre told his army commanders: 103 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:15,680 "It seems as if the enemy is once more going to accept battle 104 00:10:15,680 --> 00:10:19,480 "in prepared positions north of the Aisne. 105 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:22,160 "It is not longer a question of pursuit, 106 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:24,520 "but of methodical attack." 107 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:34,200 Every attack was halted. 108 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:38,600 The Germans counter attacked to throw the Allies into the Aisne. 109 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:46,800 They also failed. Losses mounted on both sides. 110 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,760 At the end of the month, Gen Haig said: 111 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:05,400 "In front of this corps, and for miles either side, 112 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:10,680 "affairs have reached a deadlock. No decision seems possible here." 113 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:13,720 Joffre had already reached this conclusion, 114 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:16,000 so had the German High Command. 115 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:21,320 Simultaneously, Allies and Germans moved against each other's flanks. 116 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:26,200 So, the war, which had burned southwards so swiftly, 117 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:30,920 rolled back northward like a forest fire under a changing wind. 118 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:36,400 The flames fell on new countryside - Picardy, Artois, Flanders. 119 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:39,520 This was the "race to the sea". 120 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:45,440 All through these days of frustration on the Aisne, 121 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:47,240 by railway, 122 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:49,240 on horseback, 123 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:50,920 on foot 124 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:53,160 and thousands by bicycle, 125 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:56,280 the soldiers of both sides were on the move. 126 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:04,320 Populations which had hoped to be spared were driven before them. 127 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:09,560 And in the north, the thunder of great guns was heard again. 128 00:12:09,560 --> 00:12:14,920 On September 28th, the Germans began a violent bombardment of Antwerp. 129 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:19,560 The King of the Belgians with his army and his government 130 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:22,120 had taken refuge in this great port. 131 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:25,280 Antwerp was heavily defended by rings of forts, 132 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:28,720 with some 150,000 Belgian soldiers inside them. 133 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:33,120 On October 1st, the London Times said: 134 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:37,440 "We do not think there is any need to worry about Antwerp." 135 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:40,600 But the next day, the British government heard 136 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:44,120 that the Belgian Army proposed to abandon the city. 137 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:46,720 "The news," said Sir Winston Churchill, 138 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:50,040 "seemed not only terrible but incomprehensible." 139 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:52,760 Churchill himself sped across the sea. 140 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:57,120 He promised the Belgians Allied support and persuaded them to wait. 141 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:01,400 Naval armoured cars came up the coast from Ostend. 142 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:07,000 With them, troops of the Uniformed 7th Division by whatever means they could find. 143 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:11,960 CHEERING 144 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:31,920 At Antwerp itself, Royal Marines of the Naval Division landed. 145 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:36,280 They were soon under bombardment in the line. 146 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:40,880 Some shrapnel, a few high explosives, 147 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:45,840 and then, high in the sky, a train-like rumble and whistle. 148 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:51,440 It ended with an explosion in Antwerp with smoke and flames. 149 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:56,360 An old hand said, "Them's Howitzer shells! 150 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:59,400 "The bastards must be 12 miles away!" 151 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:05,680 At intervals all day these train-like shells came over 152 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:08,040 and burst on the city of Antwerp. 153 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:13,800 Late in the afternoon, the oil tanks by the dockside were hit. 154 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,800 We sat, watched, waited. 155 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,800 Felt hopeless and useless. 156 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,680 For three days, the unequal struggle went on. 157 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:32,440 But the Allies had nothing like the German Howitzers which had already battered Liege and Namur. 158 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:37,080 On October 7th, the inevitable end was in sight. 159 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:39,840 The Belgian Government left for Ostend 160 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:43,680 and the field army began its withdrawal down the coast. 161 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:50,840 With them, once more, went the pitiful refugees, 162 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:55,120 escaping as best they could, by any route they could, 163 00:14:55,120 --> 00:15:00,440 from the German invaders whose cruel reputation had gone before them. 164 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:04,000 The future of Belgium was all in shadows now. 165 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:16,480 On October 9th, the Germans entered Antwerp. 166 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:22,640 Now the flames of war licked down the coast to join the blaze of battle to the south. 167 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:26,720 The Belgian Army fell back to Diksmuide. 168 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:30,720 It joined a magnificent detachment of French marines. 169 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:35,840 And division by division, the BEF, transported from the Aisne, 170 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:41,560 was coming into action near the old Flemish market town of Ypres. 171 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:46,360 Their arrival filled the last remaining gap in a battle line 172 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:49,120 from the sea to Switzerland. 173 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:52,280 It was the final act of the war's movement. 174 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:56,800 The last great encounter battle of the Western Front 175 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:00,400 opened with glittering promise for both sides. 176 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:04,560 Gen Foch was now in charge of all the Allied forces in the north. 177 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:07,680 He was clear about what he had to do. 178 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:13,040 The question was, did we have the time and means to effect a breakthrough 179 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:18,920 before the enemy could complete defensive measures against which we would be impotent? 180 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:24,720 This effort was an attempt to exploit the last vestige of our victory on the Marne. 181 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:27,720 The Germans now had a new commander. 182 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:33,960 Von Moltke had failed and was replaced by Erich von Falkenhayn as Chief of Staff. 183 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:37,320 He too was clear about his task. 184 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:42,880 The Allied threat to the German right wing must be eliminated. 185 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:45,240 If this at least was not done, 186 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:49,560 then the drastic action against England and her sea traffic, 187 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:52,600 submarines, aeroplanes and airships, 188 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:57,000 which was being prepared as a reply to England's war of starvation, 189 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:58,600 was impossible. 190 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:04,960 It was also questionable whether the occupied territory in France and Belgium 191 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:07,000 could be held. 192 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:10,800 The prize, felt von Falkenhayn, was worth the stake. 193 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:15,960 For both sides, the stake at Ypres was everything they had. 194 00:17:23,120 --> 00:17:27,160 The sustained intensity of this battle was something new. 195 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:30,440 Crisis after crisis flared along the line. 196 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:33,400 In the north, the Belgians were hard pressed, 197 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:37,160 defending the last patch of native soil from the invader. 198 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:48,400 They took a terrible decision, to open the sluice gates of the River Yser. 199 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:53,800 They let in the sea over land that had been reclaimed by the labour of centuries. 200 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:57,120 A French officer watched the result. 201 00:17:57,120 --> 00:17:59,840 Little by little, the soil became spongy. 202 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:02,000 The ditches began to fill. 203 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,520 On the 29th, we could see the water rise, 204 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:08,960 but it wasn't till the 31st that we saw a different landscape. 205 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:13,840 Over this new landscape, veiled by a mist, 206 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:16,240 settled a deathlike silence. 207 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:22,600 The Germans, too, were willing to mortgage their future. 208 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:26,880 They flung into battle divisions of student volunteers, 209 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:30,160 wildly enthusiastic, but only half trained. 210 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:33,320 They were mown down by the British regulars. 211 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:37,520 The Germans called their fate "the slaughter of the innocents". 212 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:41,080 Veteran units also suffered heavy losses. 213 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:46,920 GERMAN ACCENT: Within 100 yards, we came under machine gun fire, 214 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:52,600 which was so terrific and the losses were so staggering 215 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,520 that we got orders to lie down and stay still. 216 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:58,000 Nobody dared to lift his head 217 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:03,480 because they knew that if the machine gunners saw any movement, 218 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:05,960 they let fly. 219 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:09,360 And then the British artillery opened up. 220 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:14,600 The corpses and the heads and the legs and the arms flew about 221 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:18,520 and we were cut to pieces. 222 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:23,520 The British Expeditionary Force was also cut to pieces by the German guns. 223 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:29,320 These men were irreplaceable. They were Britain's only trained troops. 224 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:36,280 By the time the battle was over, the old British Army was gone past recall. 225 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:40,440 Losses in this battle totalled nearly 60,000. 226 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:46,560 Already, before it ended, the consequences were seen. 227 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:49,480 The Territorials made their appearance. 228 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:53,480 The London Scottish were the first to enter the fight. 229 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:57,880 They lost 60% of their numbers in their first battle. 230 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:03,800 Beside them, on October 29th, arrived the first units of the Indian Corps. 231 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:09,280 The citizen army and the Empire were already having to replace the regulars. 232 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:14,760 Regulars, Territorials, Indians, French, Belgians. 233 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:17,520 The French outnumbered all the rest. 234 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:21,240 Together, they beat off all the German attacks. 235 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:23,880 Their own attacks failed also. 236 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:28,800 Capt Rudolph Binding of the German Dragoons wrote in a letter: 237 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:35,120 "The war has got stuck into a gigantic siege on both sides. 238 00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:39,120 "The whole front is one endless fortified trench. 239 00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:42,760 "Neither side has the force to make a decisive push." 240 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:45,800 On November 2nd, he was even gloomier. 241 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,240 "Everyone is getting ready for a winter campaign. 242 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:53,000 "I judge there's no possibility of an early finish." 243 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:57,240 The thought grew upon him with all its cheerless implications. 244 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:03,120 "November 8th, we are still stuck here for perfectly good reasons. 245 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:06,040 "One might as well say for perfectly bad reasons." 246 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:11,760 By the middle of November, his mind was made up. 247 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:15,840 "This business may last for a long time." 248 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,080 The impossible was now a fact - 249 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:22,120 a battle line which stretched across a continent. 250 00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:27,680 There were no flanks to turn, only the convolutions of the trenches 251 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:31,720 in which the million-strong armies crouched and waited. 252 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:35,880 Nothing like it had ever been seen before. 253 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,560 All the plans had gone awry. 254 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:48,240 All the careful preparation of Germany, all the brave improvisation of the Allies. 255 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:53,720 All the heroism of the soldiers had produced stalemate. 256 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:56,880 The stalemate was universal. 257 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:04,680 In Serbia, where the war began, the same incredible spectacle was seen. 258 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:08,760 On August 12, the Austrians entered Serbia on what they thought 259 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:11,600 would be a swift punitive campaign 260 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:16,120 which would quickly bring down this upstart Slav kingdom to the dust. 261 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:32,280 To everyone's astonishment, the Austrian invasion was repelled. 262 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:36,440 The Serbs fought with passionate fury against their neighbours. 263 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:41,080 But the weight of numbers was on Austria's side. 264 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:47,480 After an interval, the Austrians returned in strength 265 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:49,440 and with more caution. 266 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:52,240 This time, it seemed that they must win. 267 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:05,280 GUNSHOT 268 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:08,320 On December 2nd, they entered Belgrade again. 269 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,680 Easy enough, Belgrade was right on the border. 270 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:16,200 But once again, the Serbs made a remarkable rally. 271 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:19,720 By the 15th, the Austrians were out of Belgrade again. 272 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,640 Serbia was cleared of the invaders. 273 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:26,240 The campaign had been brutal and bloody. 274 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,720 The Austrians lost 227,000 men, 275 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:33,440 more than half the numbers of their invading forces. 276 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:38,880 This was a war of Austria's making, but Austria was out of luck. 277 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:44,080 The bulk of Austria's army marched with enthusiasm to meet the Russians, 278 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:47,480 believing in the strength of their German allies. 279 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:50,680 Under 50% of them were Austrians and Hungarians. 280 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:55,720 The rest, mostly Slavs, have little desire to fight for the Hapsburg empire. 281 00:23:55,720 --> 00:24:02,000 Many of them knew no more German than the 80 basic words of command. 282 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:07,680 Yet the German victory at Tannenberg in August gave them hope. 283 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:11,920 Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshall Conrad von Hotzendorf, 284 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:14,520 had visions of a Tannenberg of his own 285 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,400 against Russia's southern islands. 286 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:21,440 On September 6th, the main bodies of the Russians and Austrians 287 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:24,160 met around the town of Lemberg. 288 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:26,200 There was bitter fighting. 289 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:43,520 On September 11th, the day on which Joffre announced victory on the Marne, 290 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,120 Conrad had accepted defeat. 291 00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:48,960 His casualties were enormous, 292 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:52,600 and included over 100,000 prisoners. 293 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:58,360 The Austrians began a withdrawal which carried them back 200 miles. 294 00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:02,320 A lasting blow had been struck at Austrian morale. 295 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:06,760 German staff officers cruelly summed it up by saying: 296 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,440 "We are fettered to a corpse." 297 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:12,520 The Germans had reasons for bitterness. 298 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:17,560 This Austrian disaster had gravely affected their plans and prospects, 299 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:21,040 which had looked so bright after Tannenberg. 300 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,400 Now, as the Russians advanced into Carpathia, 301 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,320 the Germans had to leave their own offensives 302 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,360 to meet the threat. 303 00:25:29,360 --> 00:25:32,280 Their attack on Warsaw came to nothing. 304 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:36,480 In East Prussia, the Russians were able to mount a new invasion. 305 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:40,480 At the root of all problems in this vast fighting area 306 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:42,360 was communication. 307 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:44,400 General Ludendorff wrote: 308 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:47,320 "We had trouble getting the railway lines, 309 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:50,360 "that we had ourselves previously destroyed, 310 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:52,720 "into working order again. 311 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,040 "We worked now with might and main to restore them, 312 00:25:56,040 --> 00:26:01,240 "but considerable time elapsed before the railway communications were really in order." 313 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:06,560 The Russian winter arrived, 314 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,400 halting all the armies in their tracks. 315 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:14,040 Germans, Austrians, Russians, they burrowed holes for shelter, 316 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:19,000 struggled to keep warm and waited for better times. 317 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:24,640 - Ludendorff said: - "The 1914 campaign had not brought a decision. 318 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:29,320 "And I could not see how one would be reached in 1915." 319 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:33,640 In the east, as in the west, it was stalemate. 320 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:37,640 This, too, was going to be a long business. 321 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:48,440 As the weeks slid into months and drew towards the ending of the year, 322 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:54,120 shocked nations recognised that this war would not be "over by Christmas"! 323 00:26:55,080 --> 00:27:00,680 In France, censorship concealed the full truth of what had happened since August 3rd. 324 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:04,080 But in hundreds of thousands of homes, 325 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:08,560 nothing could conceal the loss of a husband or brother or a son. 326 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:16,000 995,000 Frenchmen were killed, wounded or missing in 1914. 327 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:30,920 Russia's losses were even greater than the French. 328 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:35,000 Also, disturbing signs of internal rottenness had appeared. 329 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:40,640 The Russian soldiers had displayed unbelievable devotion, patience and tenacity. 330 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:44,160 Too often, their courage was brought to nothing 331 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:49,200 by blunders, corruption and heartbreaking shortages. 332 00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:54,400 Yet, at the end of the year, the Tzar's illusions lingered on. 333 00:27:54,400 --> 00:28:00,520 My dear army have given such proofs of valour that victory can't fail us now. 334 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:07,240 We must dictate the peace. I am determined to continue until the Central Powers are destroyed. 335 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:11,040 No congress or mediation for me! 336 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:16,000 Britain and Germany settled to their business with implacable wrath. 337 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:19,160 The novelist H.G. Wells voiced their ardour. 338 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:23,200 "Nobody wants to be a non-combatant in a war of this sort." 339 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:28,640 The desire to join in the fight, possessed the British people in odd ways. 340 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,640 A Times reporter wrote in his diary: 341 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:35,560 "People seem enveloped in a mysterious darkness, 342 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:40,000 "haunted by goblins in the form of German spies. 343 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:45,640 "The wildest stories circulate of outrages committed by Germans in our midst." 344 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:50,320 Fear of spies and of invasion produced hysteria 345 00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:54,240 which turned venomously against Germans and Austrians in Britain, 346 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:57,960 or against their suspected sympathisers. 347 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:00,480 The first casualty was Lord Haldane, 348 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:05,400 the man who had created the Expeditionary Force and the Territorial Army. 349 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:10,240 Haldane was accused in the papers of being secretly pro-German. 350 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:15,160 It was even said that this lifelong bachelor had a German wife. 351 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:16,800 He recalled: 352 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:20,120 "I was threatened with assault in the street. 353 00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:24,760 "And I was, on occasions, in some danger of being shot at." 354 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:27,880 This violence turned in other directions, too. 355 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:31,920 In the East End of London, German shops were attacked and looted. 356 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:51,840 Driven by popular pressure, the government unwillingly rounded up aliens in Britain. 357 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:54,520 The historian F.S. Oliver recorded: 358 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,120 "One of my friends has given away her dachshunds 359 00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:00,040 "lest they should lead her to be suspected of spying." 360 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,600 In October, the agitation reached its climax 361 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:09,320 with a campaign against Prince Louis of Battenburg, 362 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:16,240 who, with Winston Churchill, had been responsible for creating the Grand Fleet before war broke out. 363 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:20,120 The journal "John Bull" wrote: 364 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:22,720 "Blood is said to be thicker than water. 365 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,720 "We doubt whether all the water in the North Sea 366 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:31,080 "could obliterate the blood-ties between the Battenburgs and Hohenzollerns 367 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:36,240 "when it comes to a life or death struggle between Germany and ourselves." 368 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:39,880 On October 30th, Prince Louis resigned. 369 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:45,040 But these preoccupations were remote from the needs of the BEF. 370 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:52,400 On August 7th, the Prime Minister requested parliament to sanction an army increase of 500,000 men. 371 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:54,840 CHEERING 372 00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:58,640 The response was immediate and impressive. 373 00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:01,440 BAND PLAYS "THE BRITISH GRENADIERS" 374 00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:15,800 War had been declared and the following Sunday I went to the Shepherd's Bush Empire to a show. 375 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:19,360 At the end, they showed the Fleet sailing the high seas, 376 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:22,520 and played "Britons never shall be slaves". 377 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:28,080 And one feels the shiver run up the back and you know you've got to do something. 378 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:30,760 I was just turned 17 at the time. 379 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:37,160 On the Monday, I went up to Whitehall, Old Scotland Yard, and enlisted. 380 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:44,320 By September 5th, the Prime Minister announced 381 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:48,840 that between 250,000 and 300,000 men had joined Kitchener's Army. 382 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:54,840 Two days later, the figure was corrected. It was 439,000. 383 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:07,480 The patriotic fires burned high. 384 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:10,600 A letter to the Times cried out: 385 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:13,720 "Reform Club, Pall Mall, Sir... 386 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:20,000 "Yesterday, while Lord Kitchener was telling us the bravery of our wounded and dead, 387 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:23,640 "while he was asking for men to replace them, 388 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:29,280 "every lawn tennis court near me was filled with strapping young men and gells! 389 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:32,880 "Is there no way of shaming these laggards? 390 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:37,720 "The English gell who will not know the man - lover, brother, friend - 391 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:41,320 "that has no overwhelming reason for not taking up arms, 392 00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:46,680 "that gell will do her duty and give good help to her country." 393 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:49,080 54 million posters were issued, 394 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:52,440 eight million personal letters were sent, 395 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:54,520 12,000 meetings were held, 396 00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:59,000 20,000 speeches were delivered by servicemen or ex-servicemen. 397 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:07,320 By the end of 1914, one million one hundred and eighty-six thousand three hundred and thirty-seven men 398 00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:09,360 had enlisted. 399 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:18,800 And this was not all. 400 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:23,120 Canada's position had been made clear long before the war. 401 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:26,000 In 1910, her prime minister said: 402 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:29,920 "When Britain is at war, Canada is at war. 403 00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:32,560 "There is no distinction." 404 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:36,240 The Canadian government offered a contingent of 25,000, 405 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:39,840 but 40,000 men came forward in less than a month. 406 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:41,880 Lord Beaverbrook wrote: 407 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:45,280 "No mere jack-booted militarism inspired them. 408 00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:50,640 "They sought neither the glory of conquest, the rape of freedom, 409 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:52,720 "nor the loot of sacked cities. 410 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:55,920 "They came forward free men and unconstrained, 411 00:33:55,920 --> 00:34:02,080 "with the simple resolve to lay down their lives if need be in defence of the Empire - 412 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:04,960 "their Empire, too." 413 00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:10,720 As with Canada, so with Australia. On August 3rd, their treasurer said: 414 00:34:10,720 --> 00:34:14,920 "If Britain goes to her Armageddon, we will go with her. 415 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:21,200 "Our fate and hers, for good or ill, are as woven threads." 416 00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:25,280 Australia offered her navy and a contingent of 20,000. 417 00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:27,760 FOG HORN BOOMS 418 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:31,000 New Zealand also offered her navy and 8,000 men - 419 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:34,400 a higher proportion than any other dominion. 420 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:38,480 South Africa joined in. Men came from all the colonies. 421 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:43,440 The martial races of India gathered at the summons of the drum. 422 00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:45,800 The Empire was at war. 423 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:52,560 This was something that Germany had not catered for. 424 00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:57,840 The Swedish explorer, Sven Hedin, visiting Germany in October, 425 00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:00,800 spoke for her outraged feelings: 426 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:04,920 "The two western powers of the entente bear the responsibility 427 00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:09,040 "for having caused the dance of death to involve the whole globe! 428 00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:14,440 "Canadians come from America, Senegalese Negroes from Africa, 429 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:18,360 'and poor Hindus and Gurkhas, bronzed by the sun of India, 430 00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:21,000 "lie freezing in the trenches. 431 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:25,720 "Lastly, Australia and New Zealand are sending contingents. 432 00:35:25,720 --> 00:35:30,680 "What is the purpose of such a world-wide levy of warriors? 433 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:35,720 "Why, Germanic culture is to be uprooted from the earth!" 434 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:47,600 Victorious, yet thwarted of final victory, Germany set her teeth and hardened her will. 435 00:35:57,520 --> 00:36:01,000 At the end of October, the president of the national bank in Berlin 436 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:03,960 told the correspondent of the New York Sun: 437 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:07,560 "It is a fight between England and Germany 438 00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:11,720 "to the bitter end, to the last German, if need be. 439 00:36:11,720 --> 00:36:15,520 "England has wanted it, so let it be. 440 00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:20,880 "We want no quarter from England, we shall give none. 441 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:24,560 "Now it is death, destruction and annihilation 442 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:27,320 "for one or other of the two nations. 443 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:30,120 "Tell your American people that, 444 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:37,400 "and say the words don't come from a fanatic, but from a quiet businessman who knows his people. 445 00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:41,800 "Tell America not to be misled by peace talk. 446 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:44,760 "There is not going to be any peace. 447 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:47,480 "This will be a long war." 448 00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:52,200 In an ugly mood, the nations settled down to fight it out. 449 00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:58,000 In the crude trenches, men dug for shelter as deep as they dared. 450 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:01,120 They learned to suffer the companionship of mud. 451 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:11,880 The manhood of Europe discovered a new way of life, 452 00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:14,440 with death never far away. 453 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:19,880 They were surprised to find that Christmas had overtaken them. 454 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:33,160 British soldiers listened with wonder as the carol "Heilige Nacht" arose from the German trenches. 455 00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:38,360 Here and there, they saw Christmas trees go up. 456 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:44,600 The next day, it was just the sort of day for peace to be declared said one British officer. 457 00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:49,560 Without a word, British and German soldiers got out of their trenches 458 00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:52,440 and walked towards each other. 459 00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:56,600 The whole of No Man's Land was grey and khaki. 460 00:37:56,600 --> 00:38:00,360 We were smoking, talking, shaking hands, 461 00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:05,600 exchanging names and addresses for after the war, to write to each other. 462 00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:08,360 The British soldiers showed the Germans 463 00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:11,520 the gift boxes they'd had from Princess Mary, 464 00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:14,720 each containing tobacco and cigarettes. 465 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:18,520 The Germans had pipes embossed with the head of the Crown Prince, 466 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:21,720 Little Willie of the English cartoons. 467 00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:25,960 When the Germans started to bury some of their frozen dead, 468 00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:32,240 the British had another shock, the inscriptions on the crosses. 469 00:38:32,240 --> 00:38:38,280 They would put, "Fur Vaterland und Freiheit" - 470 00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:40,520 "For Fatherland and Freedom". 471 00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:42,640 And I said to a German, 472 00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:48,800 "Excuse me, but how can you be fighting for freedom? 473 00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:53,560 "You started the war and WE are fighting for freedom." 474 00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:58,880 And he said, "Excuse me, English comrade, 475 00:38:58,880 --> 00:39:03,760 "but WE are fighting for freedom for our country." 476 00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:13,760 "And I see you also put 'Here rests in God... here rests in God an unknown hero.' In God?" 477 00:39:13,760 --> 00:39:17,440 "Oh, yes, God is on our side." I said, "But he's on OUR side." 478 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:21,240 "Well, English comrade, do not let us quarrel on Christmas day." 479 00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:26,800 MALE CHOIR SINGS "SILENT NIGHT"