power is that something that i might be watching today, right? looking forward to all of that action did of use the sally, we reporting from paris. thank you. and you'll have to date states you. we have more news coming up at the top of the out the can you see what old cars have to do with the production? here's a hands on the really, you know, on youtube, the video done. 1916, the, the longest battle,

the 1st world war, the, and one of the most of the, it's the end of 1915. somewhere in the region of real time, some french soldiers are to distract themselves. projecting some films on the wall . the road for a year now they've been at war with germany. this is how they were a caricature in the german emperor or wilhelm. the 2nd and the german soldiers with their pointy helmets and their super man called to

just look at this image and read the german army positions in the middle. the town of ad on the river moyes are running through it. and the hills all around the french who have built 30 or more fords here to protect themselves from invasion from the east mythical names. soon all the world will have heard of them. severe the hello. the now let's take a look at the other side of the front,

the german side. on this day, the german emperor wilhelm. the 2nd was come to meet his military staff as well as his own son, the crown prince. the one with the hustling debts had on his house the key or the greatest secrecy. the germans were getting ready to launch in major offensive by unexpectedly attacking the strongest position on the whole front. they reckoned the french won't give up the town if they have done without throwing everything they've got into the battle and taken, crushed them before turning their sites on the british and winning the war the

the emperor or has entrusted the task of leading the battle to his own son this is him addressing his officers. his majesty calls us to the attack he sang. we must see that the sons of germany's will to win as hard as steel, the at the beginning of 1916, thousands of germans broken, virgin, and veiled on the, the, just a few days after the heaviest, bombardments in military history. this massive force will throw itself at the french positions, the it's going to be a fight,

the like of which the world has never known. a rifleman called rudy rights to his parents. the, the german troops of doug, what they call stolen tunnels, under the hill for cover in one of these boroughs, 20 year old demons. booking whole frights. i've got my rifle and 3000 cartridges by the door, that you get the french on the run, the . the french are still completely unaware. they believe, therefore it's are invulnerable, especially this one. you will know the,

it's a state of the art underground city. strong enough to repel any attack the . the february 21st 1916. the german crown prints as guns alicia hurricane on the french lines, the french spider. pilots, 1200 german guns, looked like an pleasing yellow line across the landscape.

the, we don't have any pictures of those 1st hours but take a look at this read colored footage. so reconstruction filmed with the survivors at the same spot. 10 years later, the, we were destined one of themselves. i is bugging out a loan upside down the the germans fire off

a 1000000 shills that day. this is tom i for you on carpet shilling the. it's like the end of the world. one lieutenant tells how post office theirs and their men are beginning to lose hope all we are doing is trying to save face. he says, before it all goes to hell the backend paris, the politicians are in shock. the commander of the french forces, general joseph yourself is always saying that val done is too well protected for the germans to attack it. he's even started to strip the force of their guns and

send them north to the some where he's preparing an assault with the british prime minister. others deeply on the one in the bowler had worn so that he can't afford to lose any french territory. if you evacuate vietnam and selling the retreat, he says, you'll be dismissed immediately along with all of your chief of staff. within hours, an order from those chief of staff is fired off to the troops account on your to fight to the death that says while of waiting and forced months. but it comes to late in just 5 days. the german steamroller crushes all the

villages around about done all the way up to do a month right below the fort. it's here that a certain shiny to go in. 25 years old is wounded and taken prisoner. the french, the nightmare is only just begun the 25th of february for days after the beginning of the assault. now the germans are right up against the enormous fortress of to only 200 yards away from the supposedly impregnable summit. the handful of soldiers from brandenburg spurred on by the speed of the advance decides to have a go without telling the commanders the result to carry out one of the greatest feats of arms at the 1st world war one that one is on for many

years in german memory at their head and heedless of danger, captain you off him helped slips through the barbed wire and jumped into the fortresses. mote the real danger is friendly fire. the german troops haven't been told about this rate so they're firing on their phone. man. the battery doesn't stop the troops from brandenburg getting into the strongest fortress in france right through the front door. because the place is almost deserted. and on the planet, a french general has left click on manage the touch riot. as news of the fall of to reach is germany and all the church bells

start to ring out a young mother in 5 or expresses the delight of her country. what joy to read this news, she writes to her husband at the front. may god grant us peace and look the music of the canons scale, our future happiness. the but frances, badly shaken. it's a disaster. above all, it's a humiliation for the troops all are picturing the germans rolling across the country as they've done half a century earlier in 1870 yes, they had done files. france does to. that's what people are thinking.

the put down one new character arrives on the scene to the put down a complete unknown defense strategist. the keys handed the job of defending their dog the ear. he's arriving at his beach too. for now, he's just another bit player urging on the troops. soon he'll be the nation's biggest star, the what matters now for francis to get them into the front to block the german advance . it already seems like a lost cause. the friendship been taken by surprise. they just weren't

ready. there's only one boat that links that down to the rear alongside that single small train line. it's a farce contrast to the german front with its network of 14 railway systems. the once the new general arrives, this country road becomes we have tons of biblical cord. the sacred way as they begin to call the sunsets a relentless pace. 6000 troops changes a day. the ladies roll day and night. the and the road has to be maintains, day or nights by thousands of laborers. or if it's cuts, the battle is lost. a sacred way, straight into

a battle that's become a secret cause the and one of those trucks is a young lawyer, lieutenant japan. the very blood of frances here. he writes in his diary, the over the next 10 months, 2 thirds of the french army will pass through here. $2500000.00 men, many of whose names will be inscribed on the monuments to the dead. there defending their wives and their children, their homes, the end among these mat in march and to their fate. a rolling and cries shall not pass the

tug in within the walls of 2 on the to the germans. have any idea what's coming? because these german reconstructions filmed after the war attempts to leave simon rollin sky high. in reality, though, they've suffered enormous losses. their advance has become much more difficult than it was to start with. and they're exhausted. especially these fragile young 18 year olds, the and the 1st to die is funds mock,

one of the greatest german painters of the 20th century. he was hit by a shell. he's realized right from the start, that this is a totally futile battle. all i see, he writes to his wife shortly before his death is the most frightful spectacle the human brain could ever imagine the crown prince and his father, the kaiser, are well aware of all the misgivings. the germans have only advanced 10 kilometers in 2 weeks. and there is no breakthrough in sight, but they just keep going. the camp loose face the,

here's how the battlefield looks to ban the to the rights to more held by the germans. the, the artillery turn has placed on the west bank of the moines. and then the force of mob and special view is pending, the germans down on the east bank the if the germans want to take their dogs, they'll have to destroy those guns. but to do that, they'll have to take the 2 hills that stand in their way, coats, 3 or 4, and most of them dead man's hill. the deadman sail

acquired its name after a body was found there in the 19th century. every square foot at, at the scene sliding too violent to even contemplate the today edit summit. there's a terrible monument, a skeletal figure trying victory. the on the 6th of march, the crown prince launch is the troops at dead man's hill the for the rise. the hill explodes the, the assault will go down in history as the hell of they have done the

year. and april 1916 is where the battle grinds to a standstill. the 2 armies are dug in face to face. they'll spend months trying to destroy each other but this is already a victory for the french. as pit time promised, the germans cannot pass the it's time for him to speak the words that will make him famous throughout the world. courage. we'll get his words at home. the new general will become a symbol of all france. the man who stood up to the germans and the french will

remember this 25 years later, when the country falls to nazi germany in 1940 on deadman. until now, however, the boot is on the other foot. as the french put out more flags, the germans grow increasingly on easy, especially the ones who have been captured by the french. we've been gravely deceived by our officers rides, young, cause god, not to his mother, and other demands. we would like all those gentlemen responsible for the war to come and fight at our side. if they'd done so. we would have had peace, long ago, the insect, although the french don't suspected germany is in crisis the

. what's the war, seemingly endless? some politicians are starting to question the sense of it. peace demonstrations are spreading. this is one in berlin. on the 1st of may, in the middle of the battle of the far left politician comes the next as her ringing the crowd down with the government. he says, down with the war right after he speaks, he's jailed. and meanwhile, the move in the french capital was completely different. the one of the troops have been holding out on the dead man's hill license almost returning to normal here,

almost as if the battle was actually being won. the civilians seen getting on with their lives and even having fun. have no idea that $60000.00 men have already died if they have done and more are dying there at the rate of one every 2 minutes. by the spring of 1916, the germans are desperate for a rep that ends in the battle. the french drain of glorious revenge that they had on the tale get their wish after 3 months of shilling had done has been virtually destroyed. but the germans still haven't

broken through. and the town itself empty now with all its inhabitants, is still in the hands of the french. it's clearly a success for the french. and any war of attrition, a stalemate represents a victory. the dissenting side and while soldiers are still being blown to smithereens, delegations arriving from all over the world to celebrate the resistance of a nation. and this is the future king of serbia, an ally of france. thing welcome to by the president of the republic. the journalists have been invited to an english correspondent writes, as we have done, one feels an intense satisfaction. it would seem, a masterpiece, has been achieved. the

friendship stood alone against german. everyone knows that the germans shall never pass the the battlements ground to a halt. does of no further strategic importance. it will still carry on for another 8 months. this statue by openness to done that stands on the banks of the boys. there is an idea as a mood at the time the it speaks of frances need to wipe away the insult and punish german. the

french counter attack comes on the 22nd of may. of the troops throw themselves into them on the 4th day to band and only 3 months earlier. but their objective is a dubious one. their generals, no getting the 4th back won't help them break through the german lines. the whole area is locked down by artillery. but they still points of victory. and for a few hours it seems within reach. the french rushed the front line and get a foothold on the 4th before being designated by the german artillery. the it's a disaster. 5000 dead wounded were taken prisoner and all

for nothing the the survivors live back to their positions. among them, the least mother shy who writes the dual mode has been taken last retake and the wounded to the ghastly. one of them is crime. mommy and my little girl it's madness. we're wrong that the truth. it's the battle itself that's gone.

it's about fried ego and prestige. the industrial more. we're technology accounts for more than all the lives lost in slaughter. starting to run a mock. the odds on either side of the front on roughly equal 200000 french against 200000 germans. all are dug in. well to hide from the observation balloons that make them sitting targets. utah has his troops on a rotation system. 10 days on the front line, 10 days on the 2nd line, then arrest back at the rear and then back to the front line again. and that's where captain death view is when he writes. we feel like an animal being herded into the twine.

$60000000.00 shells almost a ton of explosives per square meter. the dawn upon bard meant never stops. the enemy mustn't be allowed to breed man or dying all the time. often with nobody even noticing, there's no glory, the slaughter it may with nature starting to bloom again. other places the troops advance are still waiting to a landscape of mud lod excrement. and schumann slush

some men even drown in the shell craters of the what keeps them holding on are their loved ones. they are come a lot of and i'll call the any sense of patriotism is long gone. the soldiers continue to find out of routine and a sense of duty and because they have no choice, the beginning of june general, at least from fucking time, head of the german army orders his men to have another go. with that done, the he wants to can down the french and stopped

him from supporting the british. further north on this, on the no one is really committed to the attack, though not even the crown prince. for him, the battle no longer makes sense. in my heart the kaiser sun will ride. i was totally opposed to this offensive, but i have to obey orders. so i forced myself to appear completely confident the between the 4 to do a still in german hands and the 4th at the full, still held by the french. once more, the landscape burns. this

reconstruction, based on an aerial scan of the battlefield, shows the network of trenches the thousands of show craters dawning, the landscape. the germans descend into the ravines, climb back up the hills, and eventually circled the fort as though the inside are 400 french. they've had no water or munitions for several days now. and every day, 8 cells and shells rained down on them. they are completely cut off, but they know the france is watching the. it's here on the 4th of june that one of the most famous episodes of the battlefield dawn takes place. when

the germans managed to breach the ford to a ton of the trench, waiters attacked with grenades. flame throwers in hand to hand with knives, the on both sides, fighting for glory and survival. the eventually the exhausted french surrender of the germans. they've just been trying to kill quote, them full military honors. the

did put all just end here, but that's not what happens. the floor having to convey to the germans have cleared the way to the next town. and the next fort over there on the horizon, severed the from this rocky promissory which they scale a month later on the 11th of july. they again begin to feel that victory is within reach. and the distance they can see they're done, and it's cathedral. their ultimate goal, the they'll never get their their final offense that will fail in

a village now wiped off the map flu. he was taken. and then we taken a dozen times in just 2 weeks. the, it's the very image of the whole battle to real quick and pointless. the 2 sides have been fighting for 6 months over a 100000 men are dead, the by committee of his comrades. on what side a young writer feels he's been sacrificed by his emperor and his generals the, the war has been going on too long. you writes to his wife, just one more push. they keep telling us. in march, they set it in april in may. in june, the reinforcements arrived even younger man,

the, the infantry struck at the very heart of the french. they told them they were defending their country and they believed it. then they saw it wasn't working. whose fault is all this? the many people blamed fucking hind, chief of the german army, the man who was sent an entire generation of the country's young men to die and the at the end of august, the kaiser has spoken hind replaced. the

general's plan has been a total failure. the allies have been advancing on the sum since early july, the minutes that are needed elsewhere. and now romania has declared war on germany . so fucking china is packed off and there is a punishment. he's replaced by 2 generals from the eastern front, including door and poly fun hindenburg. the hindenburg on the left will become president of germany after the war. he's the figure who in 1933 for the point at all fiddler chancellor of germany. for the time being no easier to put an end to a battle that was supposed to be decisive for germany. but instead a work french patriotism like no other action and the war, the

but this is fair don't. so it never ends for the french, it's no longer a battle. it's already become a legend. an x, a central struggle for their country survival. things are different on the sun where a murderous british and french offensive. it's been going on since the 1st of july . but that's just a joint operation with the british. so it's having a little impact on public opinion in france or the countries collective memory. you

know, it's here in the market fair french, once they are revenge, they say they want to secure the region. but what they really want is glory. between september and december of 1916 will cost the lives of 47000 more frenchman. general kitchen has brought in the big guns. they fire one ton shells the size of an 8 year old child, as they like to say the on the 24th of october. the french make one last assault on to the

latest icon of their national missed the ends. 9 months after the ford's capture by the germans, the french finally managed to retake this time for the crown prince's troops surrendered in droves. 140000 germans have died at don and another 190000 have been wounded. all in a battle that did nothing to effect the course of the war,

the, the french losses were even heavier. 160000 dead, and 210000. but the french got their victory in the end. the tactical errors, the humiliations, all behind them now. and when the snow is con, december of 1916, the battle is officially over $300.00 days of fighting. it would take another 8 months to win back the forest of cool and dead man's hill. and another 2 years for the war to end the soldiers,

these husbands, his father's had taken bravery to the very limits they left behind thousands of orleans. and they would ask, was a glorious this battle or was it just absurd? oh, that was a century ago. the trauma of the great wars longest battle the the

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