number over the last four year, he was at the first in 2014 as well as events as the somme, at passchendaele. greeted by florence pa rly. and he has been to a number of these events as i say, all of them marking

that one and others such as passchendaele were bloody fail yours, passchendaele were bloody fail youi, as passchendaele were bloody fail yours, as the british, french were unable to penetrate german lines. but everything changed in the new year of 1918. germany managed to defeat the russians over in the east and moved one million hardened vetera ns to and moved one million hardened veterans to the western frontal system. these veterans attacked in spring 1918. the allies retreated but just held on. by but just held on. by summer the allies were ready to counter attack and the place they chose was the strategically important city of amiens. at amiens the british would unleash a new kind of warfare, revolutionary tactics that still shape the battlefield today. the infantry would move forward with protection, it was like a curtain of fire that kept the enemy from manning machine guns, and then there were these. tanks. cutting—edge technology only beenin tanks. cutting—edge technology only been in existence on the battlefield for less than two years, these steel monsters were able to rumb

that one and others such as passchendaele were bloody failures as the british and french were unablen the east and move1 million hardened veterans to the western front. these veterans attacked in spring 1918. the allies retreated but just held on. by summer, the allies were ready to counter attack, and the place they chose was the strategically important city of amiens. at amiens, the british would unleash a new kind of warfare, revolutionary new tactics that still shape the battlefield today. the inventory would move forward with unprecedented protection. it was like a curtain of fire which kept the enemy from manning their machine guns. and then there were these — tanks. cutting—edge technology only been in existence on the battlefield for less than two years. these steel monsters were able to rumble across the shattered moonscape of the battlefield, crushing enemy barbed wire and suppressing their machine gun posts. plus, they were armour plated, so machine gun bullets bounced off them, and the infantry could advance under cover behind them. the skies above were filled with aircra

the battle of amiens is very different to the others, like passchendaele which we re others, like passchendaelethe morning. the germans were caught having their brea kfast germans were caught having their breakfast when they were overrun by allied forces. it was the culmination of several different forms of learning. many of the equipment, the technology, the tactics were already there but at amiens they were used in a perfect storm which the germans could not resist. 30,000 german soldiers were taken prisoner. resist. 30,000 german soldiers were ta ken prisoner. it resist. 30,000 german soldiers were taken prisoner. it showed that the armour was starting to crack. it was called the black day of the german army. you quoted one figure there. i was struck earlier on the numbers of ta nks was struck earlier on the numbers of ta n ks of was struck earlier on the numbers of tanks of artillery, just individuals involved in what went on. it was a huge effort and it really illustrated the fact that the allies we re illustrated the fact that the allies were starting to show their overwhelming superiorit

is a situation where millions of men have died, and horrible battles like verdunne, the somme, passchendaele, we need to return to open warfare. we need to return emphasis to the individual soldier or marine with his rifle and his bayonet. and get out of trenches. it's almost as if he wishes a away trench warfare and assumes we will simply, because we are americans, as i have friends who teach at west point tell me, the cadets who come in all seem to have the same idea, that americans are the only people in the world who know how to hide behind trees when they're fighting. that we're going to bring in specifically the american principle, we're going to get out of the trenches, we're going to return to open warfare. this has a tragic impact in a lot of ways. you can see how simplistic it is. you can see how there's a refusal to learn from the belligerents who fought already. but ironically the more i looked at it, actually there are points when his idea works. as you continue into the war. i love this particular slide, i show it in many of my talks, i found it in the national archives. these

expect from the second world war, those big french battles, attritional struggle at the sommes, or passchendaeleions coming together, and really coordinating and planning properly. it marked the moment when the germans really started to take a huge hit for their morale. they had never experienced defeat quite like this during the conflict before, so all the chaos and confusion that came with that kind of defeat really left its mark on german morale. and we can see theresa may walking out of the cathedral behind you, but looking at the international nature of the event, the canadians there are, of course, the australians, and the germans sticking up it as well. that is important? absolutely. this was a chance to reflect on the experiences of all of those who took pa rt experiences of all of those who took part and we heard very moving testimony from soldiers at the time on both sides of the line, and that british empire edvald and, of course, the canadians, australians, heavily involved in and we shouldn't forget the french and americans as well —— british empire, of course. it marked them all co

because perhaps it doesn't come as quickly to mind as the somme or something like the battle of passchendaeletory, because really the allies had moved on away from thinking that one encounter on the battlefield, in one sector, was going to win the war in a very dramatic moment. instead, 1918 is the culmination of attritional warfare, where the enemy is ground down, the germans are exhausted, and it is bringing together all of those elements of leadership, manpower, firepower and grinding the enemy down into ultimate submission, and i think thatis ultimate submission, and i think that is why it is a useful moment to reflect upon that and look at amiens was one of many battles in a really dramatic year that is 1918. thank you very much, laura. elon musk, the owner of electric car company tesla, says he's considering taking the firm private. musk made the announcement on twitter and said it was the best path forward for the company. theo leggett, why does he think it is the best way forward? because every three months he has to come out with his management team and issue financial statements and