Advancing towards the enemy slowly in a fleet is very unnafective specially with the gasses and fully automatic weapons and constant bombardment with artillery
The first action in the war saw thousands of Germans in line formation march toward the brit position. Something like 5000 died in under a minute. The Germans eventually overrunning them as they learned to lie down when advancing. Part of the reason for such quick adaptation is thanks to their infantry doctrine, which gives junior officers and even enlisted men the agency to make tactical decisions without waiting for approval. They trusted their officers. British doctrine was largely the same as the 18th century. Walk in open fields, no running unless an order is given. They meticulously planned the entire assault, following a battle plan. In other words, they didn't trust their junior officers to make decisions. They caught on later on.
Scenes like this had already been during the American Civil War, and then during the Russo-Japanese War, the officers and chiefs of staff of the European armies, however, were too arrogant and obtuse to realize it.
As a teenager, 50 years ago, I knew a former British infantry Lieutenant by the name of Hetherington, who lived across the road from my aunt and uncle in Windsor, to whom I was sent on holidays. ...... On 1st July 1916, the opening day of the Battle of The Somme, he left the trench with nothing but a swagger stick. ...... The reason was simple - a piece of German shrapnel had bent his Webley revolver like a banana. ...... He showed me the very same revolver - a piece of history!
Amazing. My Grandfather were a rekkie in the second world war with the Oldham Tank regiment. Showed the dagger he slit German throats with. His regiment one of the first to come across the death camps. He described how he showed no mercy to Germans. His name Ronald Hughes.
@@johncheetham4607 Hello John, I have been reading British military history for over 50 years, and have never heard of the Oldham Tank Regiment. ...... So I thought you must have the name wrong. ...... But you were right - almost. "The 41st (Oldham) Royal Tank Regiment (41 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1938 until 1956. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. It was originally formed before World War II by the conversion of the 10th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, a Territorial Army infantry battalion, to a tank unit. As part of the 24th Armoured Brigade, it took part in the Second Battle of El Alamein, but then shared the fate of the rest of its brigade, being dispersed to provide replacements for other units." My uncle was a 19 YO Second Lieutenant in the Recce Troop of the 15/19th Hussars, from Antwerp to Hamburg. ...... Their armoured cars were about as armoured as a tin can, and relied on speed. ...... I only discovered yesterday that 15/19th Hussars tanks were involved in an action featured in the Band of Brothers series. We owe so much to that generation. It is good that you are proud of your grandfather. There is a question 'Who shall do the hard things?' The answer is 'He who can'. My own father was a 15 YO cadet at RNC Dartmouth in 1939, and a Midshipman transferred off HMS Hood just before her last voyage - he know Midshipman Dundas, one of the 3 survivors. ...... By 1945, he was First Lieutenant on HM Submarine Torbay, awarded the DSC, and about to command a submarine at war, when the Japanese quit. ...... He commanded T-Class submarines until 1956, including in the Sea of Japan during the Korean War.
@@zen4men Check your books Ronald Hughes did the whole nine yards. He were my mams side of Family. Gave his medals to his kids and his woodworking tools to me.
@@zen4men I didn't read the full message before replying. Apologise. My Dad who is 80 bless him still rock climbs. He is is an Ashton Lad. Thought that opening two routes at the age of 14 in South Africa were tough. Me Grandad sort of adopted me as such. Have nowt negative to say against my Grandfather. Just glad he was active at the time of his passing.
The distance between British and German trenches was so long that it was simply impossible to run the whole distance in full gear. The men were told to walk until they were close enough to start running. If they had ran from the beginning, they would have been completely exhausted by the time they were in the most effective range of German rifles. Also the grass is still green on the British side of the no-mans land, whole another story on the German end, where we cannot see (British artillery fired at the Germans, duh). Also a majority of shells used in Somme were time fuzed shrapnels that exploded on top of the trenches, shooting lead pellets in all directions. These shells left the ground mostly intact.
Look up any picture of the no mans land at the battle of the Somme and it will not look like this. Besides that the trenches were only like 100-300 yards apart. That's the distance of 1-3 football fields, you can run that in a full kit. The issue with running is the no mans land being a mass of barbed wire and artillery craters. Seriously look up a ww1 battlefield if you think it was green... better yet look at actual footage taken at the battle of the Somme, it exists, on youtube.
Lithane I think you may be wrong here. The first battle of the Somme was chosen exactly for its unspoilt land. It had previously been a relatively quiet sector of the front, the opposite of Verdun, which was devastated and unsuitable for this push. The distances were greater than 300 yards also. The whole point of walking the Somme was to advance behind a creeping barrage. They shelled the German trenches for six days prior to the attack. So perhaps you’re thinking the ground would be churned, but on the German side, yes. The lead soldier is walking bayonet in front. I think this is wrong, the rifle is held to the side, for reasons I’m not sure. Getting out of the trench was the first obstacle. Most if not all soldiers carried in excess of 100lbs of gear and found it difficult to climb over. They carried support gear that included tools to deal with barbed wire, ammo belts and many were carrying multiple grenades. Veterans said they felt like walking bombs themselves. The lead Sargent gets hit upon exiting the trench. If this is the first battle, this too may be incorrect. No contact at that stage and the initial walk was a stroll in the park. If I remember correctly, the coordination of the creeping barrage failed. The soldiers were supposed to advance as the barrage advanced, they even paused, in line, as coordinated, then advanced as the barrage advanced, keeping a close eye on their watches. Again, memory fails me, but the grass in this scene is correct, and the slight uphill incline. The grass was above knee height. Initially. The barrage was supposed to end when they were almost on top of the German trenches. The last few shells smoke screens to hide their presence from the Germans who only had lookouts stationed above, the majority mostly unharmed in deep bunkers below. The shelling was designed to smash the barbed wire emplacements allowing complete surprise and access to the trenches. That was the first failure. The shelling had no impact on the wire or served only to create even more of a twisted obstacle. The other critical failure was the barrage ceased when the Allies were still in the middle of no mans land, not further advanced. The sentries then saw the advance, had time to call their comrades from their bunkers, who had time to ready their defences. The first volley hit the line advancing through the long grass. Veterans said you didn’t hear much, but upon looking around wondered why so many soldiers seemed to be lying down and wondered if they’d missed an order to hit the dirt. Gradually it dawned on them that these soldiers had been shot. Without artillery support they now advanced quickly towards the wire which they saw was completely intact, with only designated maze pathways through the wire, which of course was trained on by machine guns and others. As they tried to advanced through in single file they were cut down. Many now could shelter in shell holes close to the German trenches, but were stuck. That’s as much as I remember. Amazing, huh?
The distance between British and German trenches was so long that it was simply impossible to run the whole distance in full gear. The men were told to walk until they were close enough to start running. If they had ran from the beginning, they would have been completely exhausted by the time they were in the most effective range of German rifles.
J.R.R Tolkien was a young second Lieutenant from C -company, 13th Special Brigade ,Lancashire fusiliers he entered combat in this battle lost 2 good friends from the Barrovian Book Club there...he actually started writing 'The book of lost Tales part 2' in Late July in the trenches of the Somme before succumbing to trench fever in October of that year
This film depicted the first assault on the some by the British in July. The battlefield is actually quite accurate, if you look at real footage of the 1st of July you see that most of the fields were still normal and not littered with shell craters. Before the battle started the British fired shells on the German lines for a week long. Maybe there would be some craters in the fields from artillery that missed the lines, but the battlefield wasn’t a moonscape yet like Verdun or Flanders for example.
"The only ones to get across the wires were a lieutenant and a sergeant...the sergeant practically had both legs sheared off by hand grenade splinters; even so, with stoical calm, he kept his pipe clenched between his teeth to the end. This incident, like all our other encounters with the Britishers, left us pleasantly impressed with their bravery and manliness." - From Ernst Jünger's "Storm of Steel", Michael Hofmann's translation, pg. 125.
+Eric Moss Very telling that 'manliness' was taught to young boys as the willingness to die for others, to accept one's own life as expendable. It is an interesting contrast to 'womanliness' which does not inflict upon little girls the expectation to risk death and violent brutality. They instead were expected to comply with different demands. The old prey upon the young, boys and girls alike, using them for their own sins and guilt and greed. Young men during WW1 died to this predation in obscene numbers. It is just one example that I take to heart to remind myself so that when I am old, I will not ask for the young to sacrifice for me. I will not ask them to die, to surrender their money, nor any other obligation they did not voluntarily accept. I will not be like the evil people of the past, supporting the death and enslavement of children. Be it wars, debt, or any other great evil that still plagues our pre-civilized societies, I will not be a part of it.
+Eric Moss I read it in the original, it's a great book. Kudos to a non-German even knowing about it :) I complemented it with Rommel's "Infanterie greift an" (Infantry attacks) to get a very interesting view on the war from two completely different individuals, however, neither pacifist nor radical nationalist. I recommend both books greatly. Rommel is a true professional, trying to win each battle with deception, surprise. speed and decisive action. He preferred to have his men nearly die from exhaustion sprinting up a mountainside to get into the enemy rear than to grind it out grimly from the front. He often had his front rank cease fire and wave with handkerchiefs to the wavering enemy, often causing enemies 5-10x their own numbers to surrender. Sometimes he even walked up to an enemy unit alone and waving and offered a quick way out for the conscripted enemies (who even shot their own officers and carried Rommel back to the German side on their shoulders as their savior, on one occasion in the Alps). Jünger on the other hand is basically a lunatic, one I much identify with. He doesn't question the war effort out of obedience, but because you cannot change the way it is, only the way it will be. Fate has thrown boys into the cauldron, and distilled from these will be a handful of men, such as the world had never seen. When gravely wounded and all around him his comrades started to surrender, he urged them on to keep fighting to the death - not for Kaiser or fatherland or even family and friends. Just because it is the most defiant thing to do when fortune has utterly abandoned you. Sometimes he went into combat carrying two dozen grenades by himself. On another occasion, he went without pistol or gas mask, just with his walking stick. (over the top, not just towards the front!) Any Southerner will see a glimpse of the 'lost cause' and Pickett's charge in him wherever he goes. Of course, the latter you know yourself, having read "In Stahlgewittern". I just mentioned it again to portrait my two favorite authors side by side, each representing an important aspect of how possibly many Germans fought and felt. They weren't all monsters or (pre-)fascists. Most were caught somewhere between the mighty spirit of Prussian duty and a Wagner-esque mystical believe in fate or pre-ordained doom, and eternity through sheer self-sacrifice and force of will.
A remarkably lucid and well-written comment sir, I agree very much with your analysis of Jünger. A bit of a mystic caught up in the meat-grinder that was the trenches. He knew how to write about war, that I'm sure of! Quite philosophical, yet down to earth in realism. Deep in many concepts, yet simple in re-telling.
Eric Moss Thank you for the kind words, they sure brighten my day! I'm also glad that 1. someone agrees with my impresion of Jünger and that I didn't simply project much of my own consciousness onto another character (don't we all try to find ourselves throufh literature as well?); and 2. that apparently nothing has been lost in the translation if you come to a similar conclusion than me, you having read the English and me the German version (I snatched a copy from before WWII with this crazy old German fracture font, same thing with Rommel's - it took me nearly until the end of both books to realize that the two strange curved shapes side by side actually read "MG" xD) Anyway, did you know that Jünger became a full time writer after the war, even publishing novels apart from essays? I'm astonished how art immediately springs up again from the ashes. I totally need a copy of one of his last books (1970) called "Annäherungen. Drogen und Rausch" (don't know whether it has been translated, I'm myself unable to give a meaningful translation of the title as I do not understand the first word in this context). Anyhow, in it he recounts his experiments with psychedelics (mescaline and LSD mainly)...!!! :O I'd be so terribly interested how the trenches would influence his dream visions. It could be pure hell, psychedelic time dilation possibly making you fight a 100 year western front... On the other hand I've read reports about traumatized people getting healed by their visions, describing it as decades of psychotherapy compressed into 5 hours. I think I'll look on ebay later tonight whether there's a copy to be had. Crazy person this Jünger. He has my utmost respect and sympathy.
He was a vivid writer indeed, and one who knew himself well. The Nazis tried to claim him as their man, but he was not. Erich Maria Remarque wrote a great and classic novel, But Junger was in more combat than Remarque, and took war for what it was--an interesting and inevitable hurricane. In essence, he maintained a good attitude, and a sturdy constitution through the whole war.
These men are brave as all can be.. to prepare yourself to storm into almost certain death is something that not a lot of people have the mental fortitude to do. It's a shame how many good men were lost on both sides.
@@umpman04Only on ancient years of our world a name that is immortal till today was every time in front of every engage and hand to hand combat and was glorified for this from the whole army until their last and return from hell..
These guys however mostly thought it was going to be a walkover. They were told the germans in the first line would’ve been dead or fled the trenches already. I think it would would’ve been doable standing there waiting to go over the top when this was told to you. However i do think i wouldn’t survive the first few minutes after. For some reason i think i’m the type of person that would give in to the fact that i’m already going to die so it’s just a matter of time.
My grandpa was in the U.S. Army during WW1. He started out in artillery and was then sent to the trenches. According to my mom he had some horrific stories. R.I.P. Hugh Cotton, Red Arrows.
While this battle occurred, the Americans were still making money supplying both sides, undecided on which one to join, unlike the Irish, Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Rhodesians, Kenyans, and all other British Empire troops who were dragged into the pointless slaughter. America played WW1 brilliantly, by delaying entry (and again in WW2), to allow the dominant global power to weaken, before aiding them in the course of taking over the entire Empire.
The Somme was a horrible, horrible disaster, especially that first day. 60,000 casualties, 30% dead. Literally walking over a mile of open ground with machine guns and small arms fire coming at you from the front. Just awful. Bless the survivors and all they saw.
@@jimclark6256 And yet the British saved the French army from collapse, and played a major part in defeating the Germans? Great analysis there, very objective.
My great uncle was in battles like this. He used to tell me stories about it as he made me pancakes as a youngster. RIP Budd, He was gassed, shot, etc but somehow survived. Sgt. US Army
Pretty sure the US Army (or Marines) didn't do many advances across open fields against well-defended trench lines in WWi ... But fighting in forests like Bellau Wood was just as terrifying. "Come on you apes, you want to live for ever?!"
@@spaceman9599 The Marines were gunned down were advancing near Bellau Wood in a slow advance. It was “you sons of bitches do you want to live forever” this isn’t starship troopers
The exact thought process behind WW1 tactics, as dictated by General C.H. Melchett: Field Marshal Haig has formulated a brilliant new tactical plan to ensure final victory in the field. Blackadder: Ah. Would this brilliant plan involve us climbing out of our trenches and walking very slowly towards the enemy? Captain Darling: How could you possibly know that, Blackadder? It's classified information! Blackadder: It's the same plan that we used last time and the seventeen times before that. Melchett: Exactly! And that is what is so brilliant about it! It will catch the watchful Hun totally off guard! Doing precisely what we've done eighteen times before is exactly the last thing they'll expect us to do this time! There is, however, one small problem. Blackadder: That everyone always gets slaughtered in the first ten seconds. Melchett: That's right. And Field Marshal Haig is worried this may be depressing the men a tad. So he's looking for a way to cheer them up. Blackadder: Well, his resignation and suicide seems the obvious choice. Melchett: Hmm, interesting thought. Make a note of it, Darling.
Try running several hundred yards from point A to point B on full force, try not to get exhausted because you will still clear the enemy trench. There's no other way to flank the enemy and it's the only decent way there is.
people can blame the commanders all they want, but they were just operating under the constraints of the technology and geography. western front in ww1 was perfect conditions for a defense. from the channel to the swiss border was packed with men, meaning no room to maneuver. and artillery and machine guns were mass produced while armor was in its infancy. no way to attack without suffering enormous casualties.
@@SarcyseTiranin Everyone should have given their officers the option to drop the whistle or get shot. Of course mass executions and the breaking down of individuality and willpower in training help stave that off.
@@fan9775 in the US generals petition for wars after they retire to make money for their military contractors. War is how America launders money from corruption. They keep trying to start a war with Iran but thankfully neither us nor their people really want it.
***** In the week leading up to this attack, was one of the greatest artillery bombardments of the war. Over a million shells were fired and noise was indescribable.
mhswlee I like the call the part between my balls and ass "No Man's Land" because it's full of barbed wire and nazis and no one likes to go there or you'll get gassed.
@BossHossGT500 it's really sad that you would believe such garbage-- obviously you really haven't much of a clue of what actually happened or the horrific slaughter and brutality of the Somme -- have some real, original footage by a British cameraman who filmed the first assault and throughout the wr th-cam.com/video/tRiX2vGYRUQ/w-d-xo.html nobody looked like a bloody choirboy and it doesn't take much shelling to make mudpie out of pastureland
That was, and is, a thoroughly good anti-war scene. The scene portrayed was one where a young man is forced, under threat of certain & immediate death, to ascend a ladder & enter an open field where death is likely, and all in order to attempt to cause the death of another man.
Yeah but most people in the comments only think OH WHAT HEROES GLORY RULE BRITANNIA MEN WERE MEN etc. reactionary sh it and don't realize the sollution would have been to shoot Churchill and Hindenberg.
If it's depicting the battle of the Somme then it's pretty realistic. British soldiers were told to walk across no-mans-land with heavy gear on and got massacred. Hundreds of thousands died as a result of the general's decision.
+TheAidiwashere because they bombed the living shit out of the germans and thought that they were all dead. So they were told to walk 20000 died first day of the battle
+TheAidiwashere um I dont know how what cody is talking about but the reason is that in ww1 they were using outdated tactics back in the fucking 19th century.
I was in this film. That's me going manfully forward at the end ;-) ( the rest was in studio) filmed on a freezing cold day in Hertfordshire , England.
They were shelling the German lines for an entire week. This is only the first major assault. There where skirmishes before this so there should be no grass in no man's land.
+ReptilianMessiah they were also ordered to walk so all companies could stay in decent order, advancing together so the Generals and Field Marshal could better order the units around. That worked didn't it.
The trenches were just about the darkest place to be back then. My great grandfather was an American army sharpshooter who fought in the trenches, until he was wounded by an explosion that completely obliterated several of his close friends. Those men were all heroes.
It’s heartbreaking to see that the officer tried to encourage his Batman to stay behind in order to protect him because of his service to him directly. And that rather than scare the rest of his men and or his eager Batman he gives him reassurance, even if he is reluctant to do so.
@@MichaelMyers66793the Lieutenant orders a man back to reserve, the man is his Batman, a soldier who’s assigned to an officer to do his orderly duties like laundry and other tasks. The Batman could have saved his own life but he stood by his Officer and went over the top with him and was likely killed in action.
It's a long way to Tipperary, It's a long way to go. It's a long way to Tipperary To the sweetest girl I know! Goodbye, Piccadilly, Farewell, Leicester Square! It's a long long way to Tipperary, But my heart's right there. Every time I see a suicidal charge from WW1, like in the video, I sing that song in my head, and I cry a little inside.
For those talking about the green field; in the battle of the Somme, Allied forces bombarded the german trench line. The allied line received little to no shelling. As for the walking, they had expected most german defenders to be dead from their six day bombardment; it was supposed to be a walk in the park . They were, of course, very wrong. th-cam.com/video/9BlbdNq1UCE/w-d-xo.html
You may be surprised, but that's not a bad depiction at all. the men were expected to keep themselves well kempt, and that included being clean shaven or a mustash only. To assume these men were dirty and covered in mud, is pretty disrespectful to them, they did everything to keep themselves clean, otherwise their sergeant will have something to say about it. Aside from that. these men would not have been in the mud and dirt for months either, they rotate up to 6 days on the front line and up to 6 day on the second, before being sent back to the rear given a total of 12 days on the front of second lines. given that fact the unit in the film was on the front line at the very most at the end of the film they would have been there for no more than 6 days, and before that they would have had access to bathing facilities hot meals ECT.
No man's land stretched FOR MILES, they would've been Massacred even more than they already were, they'd be exhausted and out of breath. They'd have to sprint for miles.
@@krainzyrumie6426 I think you're missing the sarcasm and mirth of my comment. Also, space between enemy trenches was not MILES, it may have been overall as a front but are you suggesting that soldiers run parallel to the enemies trenches? Yes you may have well walked ad dead would be dead at that point. Most trench assaults happened at the direction of the enemy...works better that way
Modern myth. The British army in 14 was the best professional army on earth, and the idea the leaders were inbred incompetent toffs only appeared after the war, mainly by class antagonists.
@Tom Taylor-Duxbury That, and not only senior Enlisted, but a huge swathe of Junior Officers, from Lieutenants to Captains, and even some Majors, were lost, as they, too, led from the front. Frequently, it waa only of two Star Rank, and their staff, whom 'led' many miles from behind ... Yes, it is true, that the vast majority on the 1st April, that were lost, were Privates, but really, anyone, or even everything, that stepped up, and over the top, on that fateful day, were likely to be shot by the sweeping machine gun fire. Reading a Greman account, it felt unreal, like crops being felled by a reaper, sything them down. I can well imagine that is something that will easily haunt a man until death ...
@@nigelft over 200 British general officers were killed, wounded or captured during the First World War. To put this into perspective, right now the British army has less than 85 generals and brigadiers combined.
Initially I had the same reaction as you but after doing some research I discovered that the film makers had done their homework and that it is accurate in this respect. Our mental images of trench warfare and no man's land tend to be based on the water-filled shell holes and churned up mud of the Passchendaele campaign but there are photographs of the earlier Somme battles, in summer, in which you can see that no man's land consists mostly of relatively untouched cornfields and grass meadows.
Five hundred miles of Germans Five hundred miles of French And English, Scotch and Irish men All fighting for a trench And when the Trench is taken And many thousands slain, The losers, with more slaughter, Retake the trench again -Edwin Dwight
Surprising how well pressed & spotless these soldiers managed to keep their uniforms. All that time living in a muddy trench, yet not a hint of dirt or scuff on a helmet for all of em
Nathan Pantony In Napoleonic Wars they needed to have over 120 guys in lines next to each other to hit something, when the enemy had the same weapons as them, but then in WW1 they allready had Automatic weps and decent mortars and crap that could take down over 20 guys marching in open ground in a few secs.
+Imperial Guardsmen They just hadn't evolved their tactics from previous wars since before ww1 the only people the great powers had fought were mainly rebellious subjects in occupied lands or colonies, meaning these tactics worked for those situations, were they massively outnumbered then enemy and had superior technology. However in ww1 the sides were pretty much even, so since the generals had been using these tactics for so long they failed to realize they needed to change them. The general mentality was whoever could throw the most bodies at the enemy trench would win.
Kristopher Hall the generals were old war horses excuse the pun But yes they relied on old tactics Even when we were in France 1940 The British were in defensive trenches
Oh, don't worry. He's one of those argies who think all the british are to blame for Falklands war. BTW I'm an argie too, but not even half as asshole as that guy
+Snax Pendragon ww2 definitely, ww1 we should have left your asses to play in the mud and walk into machine guns, you idiots could barely feed your troops lol...
I think you might be mistaken, this is probably towards the start of the war, perhaps one of the first trench attacks. I think that's what the director maybe trying to show us.
Nope, nope and nope. This film was set immediately before the Somme offensive in 1916. In any typical monthly period, soldiers would usually only occupy the immediate front line for about a week at a time before being rotated back to support lines and then to the rear, also its late June in the film, so the weather would be dry and fairly pleasant, drying the mud, owing to their clean appearance. In regards to walking, this was adopted as the best practise for frontal advance. Whilst it seems suicidal to walk, it was thought that if the soliders ran, or even sprinted they would be exhausted by the time they reached the enemy line, where they would be required to engage in heavy and frantic hand-to-hand combat.
My great grand father served in WWI US Army 27 th Infantry Div. " O'Ryans Roughnecks" said in his diary when they landed in France they were 9,000 strong in May 1918 , by wars end November 11, 1918 they suffered 60% casualty's . Tough to fathom in todays world and that was just one Division in the Ypres sector.
And while this was going on, further south, the French were still battling the German offensive at Verdun, the Italians were mastering the art of repetition on the Isonzo River, and in the east, the Russians were still steamrolling the Austrians in the Brusilov Offensive. 1916 was called the Year Of Battles, and it truly was.
By late 1916, most British and Imperial troops, would either cover their helmets with sacking or canvas, or at least smear mud on the helmet to cut down on any glare off the metal. The cloth coverings would also distort the shape of the helmet, giving the wearer slightly better concealment.
This is accurate because in this battle, the British thought that walking towards the enemy instead of running would reduce the cost of injuries by artillery and they also thought that by walking, the enemy would be intimidated.
+Karl O'Neill (TheSystem08) Amazingly that happened, the german trenches had been under artillery fire for so long, the British thought there would be nothing left, jerry was in fact safe deep under ground. The British who were walking to the German trenches were moan down in their thousands.
+Karl O'Neill (TheSystem08) 19th century battle tactics met 20th century armaments. To call it a slaughter would be an understatement to the point of unspeakable horror.
I'm enjoyed seeing that 13 years ago I let a comment about the movie. 13 years later I founded a version of the DVD (in France the film hasn't been released) and I'm so glad my long wait have been rewarded because the movie is actually great ! If you enjoyed 1917 this one is in the same way with a lot of human and rare action scenes.
Respect to those who went to their death. Respect to those who saw their comrades fall and kept going. Respect for all who sacrificed so much. But seriously: No respect to their commanders' tactics. This tactic? It sucks. 'walking' across the field instead of running. They had artillery fire, didn't they? Keep firing until there's only a few left.
+Luke Esposito the worst part of it was how many attacks they did like this, how many lives were pointlessly wasted before they realised that marching troops en-mass in the open, in daylight, against machine guns wasn't working. The commanders of the time were so stuck in the past, so unable to see what was happening, so completely unable to change their way of thinking it's hard to believe...
General: "Hey I've got a great idea. We tell our men to walk slowly in a horizontal line with no effort to dodge whatsoever so the casualties will be as high as it can possibly get."
No man's land was usually miles of, rough, uneven, shelled to shit terrain. There were puddles of mud you couldn't tell how deep, barbed wire, corpses, the debris a whole assortment of other things. You couldn't walk straight for more than a second before having to move out of the way. They couldn't run through that. They could jog for a while, but not run.
An actual conversation between brass after the Somme was reported as “We’ve just lost 100’000 chaps.” “We’ll send some more.” “We don’t have any more” “We’ll send some Canadians then”
Those poor men, hmmm God bless those guys of long ago. They had to manage machine guns, flame throwers, and the worse of all deadly poison gas like chlorine gas, mustard gas, and phosgene.
It wasn't due to weight, it was due to dissipline. Soldier did run in WW1. However one of the main reasons for walking was to keep a cohesive fighting force that would arrive at the enemy trench in a group instead of pockets of people here and there.
Those brave young men honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, 100 years ago, as they prepared for their journey and marched goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God. If there is a heaven, I hope I can meet them there and shake each and every one of their hands. Rest in Peace.
If you aren't sure about heaven, you're not going there. But it does exist. As does the other place. If you're not sure, you better make sure, or you'll be damned sure.
@@attilathechump9458Actions matter not beliefs unless you are a Christian. Christian beliefs don’t extend to me as I’m not a Christian. Do Hindu beliefs apply to you?
I always wondered why they didn't run instead of walk over no mans land. If it was a decision ordered by the Generals then it was a bloody terrible one
+TotallyToonsTV because it was useles to run because it was a long walk so they walked in formation to maximize their attacks towards the enemy trenches , that way when they arrived they attacked in mass to maximize their effect.
+TotallyToonsTV At the Somme, they fired about six million shells into the German lines over the course of a week. They expected nothing to be on the German side, so they were given heavy gear and told to walk, to save their energy incase the German's counter-attacked. However, the Germans had some pretty serious concrete dug-outs a good five or six metres underground, and a lot of the shells that were fired didn't even explode, meaning that as soon as the shelling stopped, they just got out and resumed positions.
That's some mighty fine tranquil no-mans-land they have there. And they're walking across. God damn it really took us a long ass time to finally wage warfare effectively.
I always found it absurd that the soldiers were ordered to just walk out in the open like that, wide open to be picked off by rifle & machine gun fire. Between that and artillery, and whether your chain of command makes the right gamble with strategy, it's just dumb luck whether you made it or not. That's just insane.
They walked as they had a lot of kit on them. The distance was too long to run as they would be exhausted by the time they got to the German line. It wasn't until later that the initial wave fought light.
Like the other guy said, before this they shelled the German trench for a week straight, they used more shells in that week than in the entire war before it. They expected an empty trench so they carried a bunch of equipment to capture and hold the tent for at least a few days. But German trenches had lots of underground bunkers so the shelling in reality didn't do much
The moment when 19th Century infantry tactics met 20th Century weapons.
yup
Aircrafts in the ww1 has bad accuracy on throwing bombs
Advancing towards the enemy slowly in a fleet is very unnafective specially with the gasses and fully automatic weapons and constant bombardment with artillery
The first action in the war saw thousands of Germans in line formation march toward the brit position. Something like 5000 died in under a minute. The Germans eventually overrunning them as they learned to lie down when advancing. Part of the reason for such quick adaptation is thanks to their infantry doctrine, which gives junior officers and even enlisted men the agency to make tactical decisions without waiting for approval. They trusted their officers.
British doctrine was largely the same as the 18th century. Walk in open fields, no running unless an order is given. They meticulously planned the entire assault, following a battle plan. In other words, they didn't trust their junior officers to make decisions. They caught on later on.
Scenes like this had already been during the American Civil War, and then during the Russo-Japanese War, the officers and chiefs of staff of the European armies, however, were too arrogant and obtuse to realize it.
James Bond, Harry potter...who else are we going to see in the trenches?
+Fishfingers232 Where did you see Daniel Radcliff?
Dan dyer the cockey hard lad
+TheUltralizer the movie "My boy Jack"
+Fishfingers232 Don't forget Mr.Bean(Blackadder)
+Fishfingers232 Dragon Ball Z
As a teenager, 50 years ago, I knew a former British infantry Lieutenant by the name of Hetherington, who lived across the road from my aunt and uncle in Windsor, to whom I was sent on holidays. ...... On 1st July 1916, the opening day of the Battle of The Somme, he left the trench with nothing but a swagger stick. ...... The reason was simple - a piece of German shrapnel had bent his Webley revolver like a banana. ...... He showed me the very same revolver - a piece of history!
Amazing. My Grandfather were a rekkie in the second world war with the Oldham Tank regiment. Showed the dagger he slit German throats with. His regiment one of the first to come across the death camps. He described how he showed no mercy to Germans. His name Ronald Hughes.
@@johncheetham4607 Hello John, I have been reading British military history for over 50 years, and have never heard of the Oldham Tank Regiment. ...... So I thought you must have the name wrong. ...... But you were right - almost.
"The 41st (Oldham) Royal Tank Regiment (41 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1938 until 1956. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps.
It was originally formed before World War II by the conversion of the 10th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, a Territorial Army infantry battalion, to a tank unit. As part of the 24th Armoured Brigade, it took part in the Second Battle of El Alamein, but then shared the fate of the rest of its brigade, being dispersed to provide replacements for other units."
My uncle was a 19 YO Second Lieutenant in the Recce Troop of the 15/19th Hussars, from Antwerp to Hamburg. ...... Their armoured cars were about as armoured as a tin can, and relied on speed. ...... I only discovered yesterday that 15/19th Hussars tanks were involved in an action featured in the Band of Brothers series.
We owe so much to that generation.
It is good that you are proud of your grandfather.
There is a question 'Who shall do the hard things?'
The answer is 'He who can'.
My own father was a 15 YO cadet at RNC Dartmouth in 1939, and a Midshipman transferred off HMS Hood just before her last voyage - he know Midshipman Dundas, one of the 3 survivors. ...... By 1945, he was First Lieutenant on HM Submarine Torbay, awarded the DSC, and about to command a submarine at war, when the Japanese quit. ...... He commanded T-Class submarines until 1956, including in the Sea of Japan during the Korean War.
@@zen4men Royal Oldham Tank Regiment 41st division. Well they have a bench in Oldham. Name Ronald Hughes.
@@zen4men Check your books Ronald Hughes did the whole nine yards. He were my mams side of Family. Gave his medals to his kids and his woodworking tools to me.
@@zen4men I didn't read the full message before replying. Apologise.
My Dad who is 80 bless him still rock climbs. He is is an Ashton Lad.
Thought that opening two routes at the age of 14 in South Africa were tough. Me Grandad sort of adopted me as such.
Have nowt negative to say against my Grandfather.
Just glad he was active at the time of his passing.
The distance between British and German trenches was so long that it was simply impossible to run the whole distance in full gear. The men were told to walk until they were close enough to start running. If they had ran from the beginning, they would have been completely exhausted by the time they were in the most effective range of German rifles. Also the grass is still green on the British side of the no-mans land, whole another story on the German end, where we cannot see (British artillery fired at the Germans, duh). Also a majority of shells used in Somme were time fuzed shrapnels that exploded on top of the trenches, shooting lead pellets in all directions. These shells left the ground mostly intact.
Exactly
@stanly stud Just an analysis bruh
Look up any picture of the no mans land at the battle of the Somme and it will not look like this. Besides that the trenches were only like 100-300 yards apart. That's the distance of 1-3 football fields, you can run that in a full kit. The issue with running is the no mans land being a mass of barbed wire and artillery craters. Seriously look up a ww1 battlefield if you think it was green... better yet look at actual footage taken at the battle of the Somme, it exists, on youtube.
Lithane I think you may be wrong here. The first battle of the Somme was chosen exactly for its unspoilt land. It had previously been a relatively quiet sector of the front, the opposite of Verdun, which was devastated and unsuitable for this push. The distances were greater than 300 yards also. The whole point of walking the Somme was to advance behind a creeping barrage. They shelled the German trenches for six days prior to the attack. So perhaps you’re thinking the ground would be churned, but on the German side, yes. The lead soldier is walking bayonet in front. I think this is wrong, the rifle is held to the side, for reasons I’m not sure. Getting out of the trench was the first obstacle. Most if not all soldiers carried in excess of 100lbs of gear and found it difficult to climb over. They carried support gear that included tools to deal with barbed wire, ammo belts and many were carrying multiple grenades. Veterans said they felt like walking bombs themselves. The lead Sargent gets hit upon exiting the trench. If this is the first battle, this too may be incorrect. No contact at that stage and the initial walk was a stroll in the park. If I remember correctly, the coordination of the creeping barrage failed. The soldiers were supposed to advance as the barrage advanced, they even paused, in line, as coordinated, then advanced as the barrage advanced, keeping a close eye on their watches. Again, memory fails me, but the grass in this scene is correct, and the slight uphill incline. The grass was above knee height. Initially. The barrage was supposed to end when they were almost on top of the German trenches. The last few shells smoke screens to hide their presence from the Germans who only had lookouts stationed above, the majority mostly unharmed in deep bunkers below. The shelling was designed to smash the barbed wire emplacements allowing complete surprise and access to the trenches. That was the first failure. The shelling had no impact on the wire or served only to create even more of a twisted obstacle. The other critical failure was the barrage ceased when the Allies were still in the middle of no mans land, not further advanced. The sentries then saw the advance, had time to call their comrades from their bunkers, who had time to ready their defences. The first volley hit the line advancing through the long grass. Veterans said you didn’t hear much, but upon looking around wondered why so many soldiers seemed to be lying down and wondered if they’d missed an order to hit the dirt. Gradually it dawned on them that these soldiers had been shot. Without artillery support they now advanced quickly towards the wire which they saw was completely intact, with only designated maze pathways through the wire, which of course was trained on by machine guns and others. As they tried to advanced through in single file they were cut down. Many now could shelter in shell holes close to the German trenches, but were stuck. That’s as much as I remember. Amazing, huh?
Lmao
"If only they'd run, they would have overwhelmed us"
A German soldier near Thiepval. Can't remember his name.
Never got that, tactically speaking you never want to just walk like that
IKR
@A stranger. i dunno but it was rlly fuckin dumb
@@giantgaming600 ikr just w h y
The distance between British and German trenches was so long that it was simply impossible to run the whole distance in full gear. The men were told to walk until they were close enough to start running. If they had ran from the beginning, they would have been completely exhausted by the time they were in the most effective range of German rifles.
"Oh my God! They killed James Bond!"
"You bastards!"
Is this a british soldier
South Park
That’s a South Park pun
Spoilers
Same type of orgasm though...
J.R.R Tolkien was a young second Lieutenant from C -company, 13th Special Brigade ,Lancashire fusiliers he entered combat in this battle lost 2 good friends from the Barrovian Book Club there...he actually started writing 'The book of lost Tales part 2' in Late July in the trenches of the Somme before succumbing to trench fever in October of that year
This film depicted the first assault on the some by the British in July. The battlefield is actually quite accurate, if you look at real footage of the 1st of July you see that most of the fields were still normal and not littered with shell craters. Before the battle started the British fired shells on the German lines for a week long. Maybe there would be some craters in the fields from artillery that missed the lines, but the battlefield wasn’t a moonscape yet like Verdun or Flanders for example.
I was wondering about that. Why it showed the soldiers advancing over green fields.
@@erikswanson5753 I hope I answered your question
"Don't forget your stick lieutenant"
"No sir! I wouldn't want to face a machine gun without this"
Blackadder🤣🤣
"The only ones to get across the wires were a lieutenant and a sergeant...the sergeant practically had both legs sheared off by hand grenade splinters; even so, with stoical calm, he kept his pipe clenched between his teeth to the end. This incident, like all our other encounters with the Britishers, left us pleasantly impressed with their bravery and manliness." - From Ernst Jünger's "Storm of Steel", Michael Hofmann's translation, pg. 125.
+Eric Moss Very telling that 'manliness' was taught to young boys as the willingness to die for others, to accept one's own life as expendable. It is an interesting contrast to 'womanliness' which does not inflict upon little girls the expectation to risk death and violent brutality. They instead were expected to comply with different demands.
The old prey upon the young, boys and girls alike, using them for their own sins and guilt and greed. Young men during WW1 died to this predation in obscene numbers. It is just one example that I take to heart to remind myself so that when I am old, I will not ask for the young to sacrifice for me. I will not ask them to die, to surrender their money, nor any other obligation they did not voluntarily accept. I will not be like the evil people of the past, supporting the death and enslavement of children. Be it wars, debt, or any other great evil that still plagues our pre-civilized societies, I will not be a part of it.
+Eric Moss I read it in the original, it's a great book. Kudos to a non-German even knowing about it :)
I complemented it with Rommel's "Infanterie greift an" (Infantry attacks) to get a very interesting view on the war from two completely different individuals, however, neither pacifist nor radical nationalist. I recommend both books greatly.
Rommel is a true professional, trying to win each battle with deception, surprise. speed and decisive action. He preferred to have his men nearly die from exhaustion sprinting up a mountainside to get into the enemy rear than to grind it out grimly from the front. He often had his front rank cease fire and wave with handkerchiefs to the wavering enemy, often causing enemies 5-10x their own numbers to surrender. Sometimes he even walked up to an enemy unit alone and waving and offered a quick way out for the conscripted enemies (who even shot their own officers and carried Rommel back to the German side on their shoulders as their savior, on one occasion in the Alps).
Jünger on the other hand is basically a lunatic, one I much identify with. He doesn't question the war effort out of obedience, but because you cannot change the way it is, only the way it will be. Fate has thrown boys into the cauldron, and distilled from these will be a handful of men, such as the world had never seen. When gravely wounded and all around him his comrades started to surrender, he urged them on to keep fighting to the death - not for Kaiser or fatherland or even family and friends. Just because it is the most defiant thing to do when fortune has utterly abandoned you. Sometimes he went into combat carrying two dozen grenades by himself. On another occasion, he went without pistol or gas mask, just with his walking stick. (over the top, not just towards the front!)
Any Southerner will see a glimpse of the 'lost cause' and Pickett's charge in him wherever he goes.
Of course, the latter you know yourself, having read "In Stahlgewittern". I just mentioned it again to portrait my two favorite authors side by side, each representing an important aspect of how possibly many Germans fought and felt. They weren't all monsters or (pre-)fascists. Most were caught somewhere between the mighty spirit of Prussian duty and a Wagner-esque mystical believe in fate or pre-ordained doom, and eternity through sheer self-sacrifice and force of will.
A remarkably lucid and well-written comment sir, I agree very much with your analysis of Jünger. A bit of a mystic caught up in the meat-grinder that was the trenches. He knew how to write about war, that I'm sure of! Quite philosophical, yet down to earth in realism. Deep in many concepts, yet simple in re-telling.
Eric Moss
Thank you for the kind words, they sure brighten my day! I'm also glad that 1. someone agrees with my impresion of Jünger and that I didn't simply project much of my own consciousness onto another character (don't we all try to find ourselves throufh literature as well?); and 2. that apparently nothing has been lost in the translation if you come to a similar conclusion than me, you having read the English and me the German version (I snatched a copy from before WWII with this crazy old German fracture font, same thing with Rommel's - it took me nearly until the end of both books to realize that the two strange curved shapes side by side actually read "MG" xD)
Anyway, did you know that Jünger became a full time writer after the war, even publishing novels apart from essays? I'm astonished how art immediately springs up again from the ashes. I totally need a copy of one of his last books (1970) called "Annäherungen. Drogen und Rausch" (don't know whether it has been translated, I'm myself unable to give a meaningful translation of the title as I do not understand the first word in this context). Anyhow, in it he recounts his experiments with psychedelics (mescaline and LSD mainly)...!!! :O
I'd be so terribly interested how the trenches would influence his dream visions. It could be pure hell, psychedelic time dilation possibly making you fight a 100 year western front... On the other hand I've read reports about traumatized people getting healed by their visions, describing it as decades of psychotherapy compressed into 5 hours. I think I'll look on ebay later tonight whether there's a copy to be had. Crazy person this Jünger. He has my utmost respect and sympathy.
He was a vivid writer indeed, and one who knew himself well. The Nazis tried to claim him as their man, but he was not. Erich Maria Remarque wrote a great and classic novel, But Junger was in more combat than Remarque, and took war for what it was--an interesting and inevitable hurricane. In essence, he maintained a good attitude, and a sturdy constitution through the whole war.
These men are brave as all can be.. to prepare yourself to storm into almost certain death is something that not a lot of people have the mental fortitude to do. It's a shame how many good men were lost on both sides.
Yea too bad the politicians and industrialists' son's and daughters and wives weren't there to join in the FUN ! ! ! Makes me Sick...............
@@umpman04Only on ancient years of our world a name that is immortal till today was every time in front of every engage and hand to hand combat and was glorified for this from the whole army until their last and return from hell..
These guys however mostly thought it was going to be a walkover. They were told the germans in the first line would’ve been dead or fled the trenches already. I think it would would’ve been doable standing there waiting to go over the top when this was told to you. However i do think i wouldn’t survive the first few minutes after. For some reason i think i’m the type of person that would give in to the fact that i’m already going to die so it’s just a matter of time.
My grandpa was in the U.S. Army during WW1. He started out in artillery and was then sent to the trenches. According to my mom he had some horrific stories. R.I.P. Hugh Cotton, Red Arrows.
While this battle occurred, the Americans were still making money supplying both sides, undecided on which one to join, unlike the Irish, Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Rhodesians, Kenyans, and all other British Empire troops who were dragged into the pointless slaughter. America played WW1 brilliantly, by delaying entry (and again in WW2), to allow the dominant global power to weaken, before aiding them in the course of taking over the entire Empire.
The Somme was a horrible, horrible disaster, especially that first day. 60,000 casualties, 30% dead. Literally walking over a mile of open ground with machine guns and small arms fire coming at you from the front. Just awful. Bless the survivors and all they saw.
Entire units decimated. For what achievement? None.
The British could only defeat their enemy if all they had were spears. That's why they always had to have other countries fight their battles.
@@jimclark6256 And yet the British saved the French army from collapse, and played a major part in defeating the Germans? Great analysis there, very objective.
Imagine trying to run a mile in full kit, whilst keeping unit cohesion, and then having to clear trenches as soon as you reached your destination.
The French repaid that debt at Dunkirk when they kept the Germans from completely obliterating the Brits on the beaches.
My great uncle was in battles like this. He used to tell me stories about it as he made me pancakes as a youngster. RIP Budd, He was gassed, shot, etc but somehow survived. Sgt. US Army
wow that is some stuff right there
Pretty sure the US Army (or Marines) didn't do many advances across open fields against well-defended trench lines in WWi ... But fighting in forests like Bellau Wood was just as terrifying. "Come on you apes, you want to live for ever?!"
@@spaceman9599 The Marines were gunned down were advancing near Bellau Wood in a slow advance. It was “you sons of bitches do you want to live forever” this isn’t starship troopers
and the diaper army came and soiled us all
my god, this whole time ive been lied to, NO MANS LAND IS THE WINDOWS XP SCREENSAVER OH GOD
Lukee that would be dark as fuck
This should be top comment
If you look off in the distance there in No-Mans-Land you can see Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music.
The exact thought process behind WW1 tactics, as dictated by General C.H. Melchett:
Field Marshal Haig has formulated a brilliant new tactical plan to ensure final victory in the field.
Blackadder: Ah. Would this brilliant plan involve us climbing out of our trenches and walking very slowly towards the enemy?
Captain Darling: How could you possibly know that, Blackadder? It's classified information!
Blackadder: It's the same plan that we used last time and the seventeen times before that.
Melchett: Exactly! And that is what is so brilliant about it! It will catch the watchful Hun totally off guard! Doing precisely what we've done eighteen times before is exactly the last thing they'll expect us to do this time! There is, however, one small problem.
Blackadder: That everyone always gets slaughtered in the first ten seconds.
Melchett: That's right. And Field Marshal Haig is worried this may be depressing the men a tad. So he's looking for a way to cheer them up.
Blackadder: Well, his resignation and suicide seems the obvious choice.
Melchett: Hmm, interesting thought. Make a note of it, Darling.
Try running several hundred yards from point A to point B on full force, try not to get exhausted because you will still clear the enemy trench. There's no other way to flank the enemy and it's the only decent way there is.
people can blame the commanders all they want, but they were just operating under the constraints of the technology and geography. western front in ww1 was perfect conditions for a defense. from the channel to the swiss border was packed with men, meaning no room to maneuver. and artillery and machine guns were mass produced while armor was in its infancy. no way to attack without suffering enormous casualties.
@@neiabaraja8040 I've done that before. I'm a Marine.
Never knew James Bond was a ww1 soldier.
this movie came out before Daniel Craig was even involved in the bond series.
Did you know that actors can play many different parts?
Come on, it's still funny.
Thor Jørgensen very true
Tac Son he got promoted to a agent
British battle strategy: WALK in a wall formation, so even if the Germans miss you, they'll most likely hit someone else
*british generals strategy. I'm more than sure the troops on the ground would have preferred to do it differently.
yes, the strategy is made by the general, so i was GENERALizing it
+zigzagham OOOOOHHH
Eh, it was the style of the time
+Freshbreeze no, it wasn't. They didn't just walk to the enemy trench. And no mansland wasn't a beautiful greens grass land.
if the generals had to do the fighting, there would be no wars.
Replace Generals with Rich cunts who's sons go to Harvard and it'll be more accurate.
Achilleus told it to Agamemnon before his fight... in the open Szene of „Troya“ ...
@@SarcyseTiranin Everyone should have given their officers the option to drop the whistle or get shot. Of course mass executions and the breaking down of individuality and willpower in training help stave that off.
Generals don’t start wars, they end them.
@@fan9775 in the US generals petition for wars after they retire to make money for their military contractors. War is how America launders money from corruption.
They keep trying to start a war with Iran but thankfully neither us nor their people really want it.
They died but all of them were brave, courageous men both young and old. God bless em all! RIP. You will never be forgotten
That's got to be the lamest No man's land I've ever seen
the battle of somme was 1916 2 and a half years in to WW1 mate lol
*****
In the week leading up to this attack, was one of the greatest artillery bombardments of the war. Over a million shells were fired and noise was indescribable.
Kauwhaka That being said, not every No Man's Land was made of only mud, barbed wire, and corpses.
mhswlee Well, for the first few minutes.
mhswlee I like the call the part between my balls and ass "No Man's Land" because it's full of barbed wire and nazis and no one likes to go there or you'll get gassed.
Awfully nice field, considering it's been shelled for the last two years!
Some parts of the Somme offensive were quite untouched for the first part of the war
thats the first battle of the somme dude, thats the very first attack so the fact that its green is very true
and absolutely everybody clean-shaven and bathed for the Sunday morning church service
@BossHossGT500 don't make me laugh too hard. Film looks and sounds horribly artificial with incredibly bad dialogue.
@BossHossGT500 it's really sad that you would believe such garbage-- obviously you really haven't much of a clue of what actually happened or the horrific slaughter and brutality of the Somme -- have some real, original footage by a British cameraman who filmed the first assault and throughout the wr th-cam.com/video/tRiX2vGYRUQ/w-d-xo.html nobody looked like a bloody choirboy and it doesn't take much shelling to make mudpie out of pastureland
That was, and is, a thoroughly good anti-war scene.
The scene portrayed was one where a young man is forced, under threat of certain & immediate death, to ascend a ladder & enter an open field where death is likely, and all in order to attempt to cause the death of another man.
Yes, it’s bad when evil rears it’s ugly head and good young men have to fight and die to bring it to an end.
Unfortunate reality as life as a human being, since the birth of civilization and will continue on into the future.
Nicely said
Yeah but most people in the comments only think OH WHAT HEROES GLORY RULE BRITANNIA MEN WERE MEN etc. reactionary sh it and don't realize the sollution would have been to shoot Churchill and Hindenberg.
@@shionkreth7536 Doesn't have to be at all.
Impossible to even comprehend what going over the top must have been like.
If it's depicting the battle of the Somme then it's pretty realistic. British soldiers were told to walk across no-mans-land with heavy gear on and got massacred. Hundreds of thousands died as a result of the general's decision.
+Jarl Pimphand Why were they told to walk and not run or crawl?
+Jarl Pimphand Why were they told to walk and not run or crawl?
+TheAidiwashere because they bombed the living shit out of the germans and thought that they were all dead. So they were told to walk 20000 died first day of the battle
+TheAidiwashere um I dont know how what cody is talking about but the reason is that in ww1 they were using outdated tactics back in the fucking 19th century.
+Tales i heard about it in a ww1 doc. but i also new about the tactics
The mentality of the nineteenth century With the technology of the twentieth century
+Random Channel Vids that was the problem of many casualties if they just bombard it with bombs or artillery
You know this wasn't what it looked like right?
We didn't have accurate shit back then.....
Some guns were but the British enfields weren't that great
***** Yeah, I think they learned from their mistakes, but it's still fucking hysterically stupid to walk straight at an active machine gun.
I was in this film. That's me going manfully forward at the end ;-) ( the rest was in studio) filmed on a freezing cold day in Hertfordshire , England.
Great stuff thanks for sharing
British major: Don't worry boys, we have an MI6 spy with us. Follow him and you boys will live another day!
And in the first 10 seconds, he gets shot in the leg, and then 5 times in the back.
green grass in no mans land. so accurate
+Brandon Joseph This were the first battles, not much artillery has been shot yet. I think atleast
+Brandon Joseph I was thinking the same thing.
+Madonna MI But, we don't see any Blacks. Why?
They were shelling the German lines for an entire week. This is only the first major assault. There where skirmishes before this so there should be no grass in no man's land.
+ReptilianMessiah they were also ordered to walk so all companies could stay in decent order, advancing together so the Generals and Field Marshal could better order the units around. That worked didn't it.
The trenches were just about the darkest place to be back then. My great grandfather was an American army sharpshooter who fought in the trenches, until he was wounded by an explosion that completely obliterated several of his close friends. Those men were all heroes.
It’s heartbreaking to see that the officer tried to encourage his Batman to stay behind in order to protect him because of his service to him directly. And that rather than scare the rest of his men and or his eager Batman he gives him reassurance, even if he is reluctant to do so.
Wait who are you talking about
@@MichaelMyers66793the Lieutenant orders a man back to reserve, the man is his Batman, a soldier who’s assigned to an officer to do his orderly duties like laundry and other tasks. The Batman could have saved his own life but he stood by his Officer and went over the top with him and was likely killed in action.
@@MrDeathMachine alright cheered bro
One of the saddest and harrowing ends to any film I have ever seen. It takes you straight there.
It's a long way to Tipperary,
It's a long way to go.
It's a long way to Tipperary
To the sweetest girl I know!
Goodbye, Piccadilly,
Farewell, Leicester Square!
It's a long long way to Tipperary,
But my heart's right there.
Every time I see a suicidal charge from WW1, like in the video, I sing that song in my head, and I cry a little inside.
Thomas Bouric love that song thanks for reminding me
I'm guessing only for the brits.
Wo alle Straßen enden
This was what happen to men 100 years ago.
For those talking about the green field; in the battle of the Somme, Allied forces bombarded the german trench line. The allied line received little to no shelling. As for the walking, they had expected most german defenders to be dead from their six day bombardment; it was supposed to be a walk in the park . They were, of course, very wrong. th-cam.com/video/9BlbdNq1UCE/w-d-xo.html
Daniel craig is one of the few actors that can smile convincingly with just his eyes
I love how clean everyone looks especially since they been in the mud and dirt for months lol
You may be surprised, but that's not a bad depiction at all. the men were expected to keep themselves well kempt, and that included being clean shaven or a mustash only. To assume these men were dirty and covered in mud, is pretty disrespectful to them, they did everything to keep themselves clean, otherwise their sergeant will have something to say about it. Aside from that. these men would not have been in the mud and dirt for months either, they rotate up to 6 days on the front line and up to 6 day on the second, before being sent back to the rear given a total of 12 days on the front of second lines. given that fact the unit in the film was on the front line at the very most at the end of the film they would have been there for no more than 6 days, and before that they would have had access to bathing facilities hot meals ECT.
And his last words were "Common Billy for fuck sake"...
You can almost feel the extreme anxiety of knowing any second the whistle will blow
"I know, let's walk into German machine guns very slowly in an orderly fashion, sixtieth times the charm"
General Haig
How could you possibly know that Schneider that's classified information?!"
@@Trazyn_the_Infinite_40K I was at a staff meeting with a sign on me that said "not a German" and thet let me right in
@@danschneider9921 OF COURSE!
No man's land stretched FOR MILES, they would've been Massacred even more than they already were, they'd be exhausted and out of breath. They'd have to sprint for miles.
@@krainzyrumie6426 I think you're missing the sarcasm and mirth of my comment. Also, space between enemy trenches was not MILES, it may have been overall as a front but are you suggesting that soldiers run parallel to the enemies trenches? Yes you may have well walked ad dead would be dead at that point. Most trench assaults happened at the direction of the enemy...works better that way
Lions led by Donkeys, may the dead on all side rest in peace.
Modern myth. The British army in 14 was the best professional army on earth, and the idea the leaders were inbred incompetent toffs only appeared after the war, mainly by class antagonists.
That's the Italians your talking about because the rommel said that
@Tom Taylor-Duxbury
That, and not only senior Enlisted, but a huge swathe of Junior Officers, from Lieutenants to Captains, and even some Majors, were lost, as they, too, led from the front. Frequently, it waa only of two Star Rank, and their staff, whom 'led' many miles from behind ...
Yes, it is true, that the vast majority on the 1st April, that were lost, were Privates, but really, anyone, or even everything, that stepped up, and over the top, on that fateful day, were likely to be shot by the sweeping machine gun fire. Reading a Greman account, it felt unreal, like crops being felled by a reaper, sything them down. I can well imagine that is something that will easily haunt a man until death ...
@@nigelft over 200 British general officers were killed, wounded or captured during the First World War. To put this into perspective, right now the British army has less than 85 generals and brigadiers combined.
I hate that lazy teachers only focus on these lies.
Initially I had the same reaction as you but after doing some research I discovered that the film makers had done their homework and that it is accurate in this respect. Our mental images of trench warfare and no man's land tend to be based on the water-filled shell holes and churned up mud of the Passchendaele campaign but there are photographs of the earlier Somme battles, in summer, in which you can see that no man's land consists mostly of relatively untouched cornfields and grass meadows.
Five hundred miles of Germans
Five hundred miles of French
And English, Scotch and Irish men
All fighting for a trench
And when the Trench is taken
And many thousands slain,
The losers, with more slaughter,
Retake the trench again
-Edwin Dwight
Surprising how well pressed & spotless these soldiers managed to keep their uniforms. All that time living in a muddy trench, yet not a hint of dirt or scuff on a helmet for all of em
OH HEY LET'S JUST CALMLY WALK TOWARDS THE MG POSITIONS AND ALL THE GERMANS IN THEIR TRENCHS SHOOTING AT US I'M SURE WE'LL MAKE IT!
Nathan Pantony Who the hell comes up whit the strategy of walking calmy to the enemys entreched position filled whit MG's and crap?
Nathan Pantony In Napoleonic Wars they needed to have over 120 guys in lines next to each other to hit something, when the enemy had the same weapons as them, but then in WW1 they allready had Automatic weps and decent mortars and crap that could take down over 20 guys marching in open ground in a few secs.
Nathan Pantony Stupid history, but yes.
+Imperial Guardsmen They just hadn't evolved their tactics from previous wars since before ww1 the only people the great powers had fought were mainly rebellious subjects in occupied lands or colonies, meaning these tactics worked for those situations, were they massively outnumbered then enemy and had superior technology. However in ww1 the sides were pretty much even, so since the generals had been using these tactics for so long they failed to realize they needed to change them. The general mentality was whoever could throw the most bodies at the enemy trench would win.
Kristopher Hall the generals were old war horses excuse the pun
But yes they relied on old tactics
Even when we were in France 1940
The British were in defensive trenches
Well, that went about as well as could be expected.
+TheSteelEcho typical butthurt brit. go drink your tea before you rage
Oh, don't worry. He's one of those argies who think all the british are to blame for Falklands war. BTW I'm an argie too, but not even half as asshole as that guy
+Snax Pendragon ww2 definitely, ww1 we should have left your asses to play in the mud and walk into machine guns, you idiots could barely feed your troops lol...
I`m going to ruin your day, Hollywood is just make believe.
TinnedTommy this comment is spam...
Am I funny yet?
Thanks for the high quality upload. I could almost see what's going on...
This feels like the same as the ending to Gallipoli.
These guys are way to clean for this to be WW1
that was the first thing that popped into my head when this started playing
I think you might be mistaken, this is probably towards the start of the war, perhaps one of the first trench attacks. I think that's what the director maybe trying to show us.
That explains the grass. and the fact they were walking across
Nope, nope and nope. This film was set immediately before the Somme offensive in 1916. In any typical monthly period, soldiers would usually only occupy the immediate front line for about a week at a time before being rotated back to support lines and then to the rear, also its late June in the film, so the weather would be dry and fairly pleasant, drying the mud, owing to their clean appearance. In regards to walking, this was adopted as the best practise for frontal advance. Whilst it seems suicidal to walk, it was thought that if the soliders ran, or even sprinted they would be exhausted by the time they reached the enemy line, where they would be required to engage in heavy and frantic hand-to-hand combat.
The Somme was a quiet sector before the offensive. The fields were not yet churned into mud as often thought.
OVER THE WALLS LADS, TIME FOR YOUR SUNDAY STROLL!!!
except this time heaven awaits
"Will this brilliant plan involve us climbing out of our trenches and walking very slowly towards the enemy?" Capt. Blackadder
Such a powerful video. Thank you.
My great grand father served in WWI US Army 27 th Infantry Div. " O'Ryans Roughnecks" said in his diary when they landed in France they were 9,000 strong in May 1918 , by wars end November 11, 1918 they suffered 60% casualty's . Tough to fathom in todays world and that was just one Division in the Ypres sector.
And while this was going on, further south, the French were still battling the German offensive at Verdun, the Italians were mastering the art of repetition on the Isonzo River, and in the east, the Russians were still steamrolling the Austrians in the Brusilov Offensive. 1916 was called the Year Of Battles, and it truly was.
I can’t imagine the fear these guys had
James Bond was pretty smug ngl
By late 1916, most British and Imperial troops, would either cover their helmets with sacking or canvas, or at least smear mud on the helmet to cut down on any glare off the metal. The cloth coverings would also distort the shape of the helmet, giving the wearer slightly better concealment.
Bond , sgt. Bond .
i guess i found the most underrated yt comet
comment with double m ..i..
upsi pupsi
Damn war must of been hard when running and shooting back was against the rules
lolollol
the somme was the only occasion thats tactic was used i think.
While this scene is a really shitty depiction of traversing a no-mans-land, running and shooting with a bolt action rifle is incredibly stupid.
You may as well fight against your own country. At least u understand the layout of your trench.
_A P_ it's true it wasn't they did it to make the combat fair men had honour back then
Incredible acting from Craig!!
Walking when you have to run... Dankeschön, Tommy!
This is accurate because in this battle, the British thought that walking towards the enemy instead of running would reduce the cost of injuries by artillery and they also thought that by walking, the enemy would be intimidated.
hmmmm the enemy have high velocity rifles and machine guns
lets walk slowly towards them, thats sure to work
lol
+Karl O'Neill (TheSystem08) that's what I thought
Read up on the battle of the somme then you'll understand
+Karl O'Neill (TheSystem08) Amazingly that happened, the german trenches had been under artillery fire for so long, the British thought there would be nothing left, jerry was in fact safe deep under ground. The British who were walking to the German trenches were moan down in their thousands.
+Karl O'Neill (TheSystem08) 19th century battle tactics met 20th century armaments. To call it a slaughter would be an understatement to the point of unspeakable horror.
I'm enjoyed seeing that 13 years ago I let a comment about the movie.
13 years later I founded a version of the DVD (in France the film hasn't been released) and I'm so glad my long wait have been rewarded because the movie is actually great ! If you enjoyed 1917 this one is in the same way with a lot of human and rare action scenes.
THE Slaughter of the innocent , may we never forget
Respect to those who went to their death.
Respect to those who saw their comrades fall and kept going.
Respect for all who sacrificed so much.
But seriously: No respect to their commanders' tactics. This tactic? It sucks. 'walking' across the field instead of running. They had artillery fire, didn't they? Keep firing until there's only a few left.
+Warren Lloyd The arty was basically inefective, it only moved dirt around.
everyone had dug in well, the bunkers and such were in good shape.
.
Chuck.Raney Raney
That's why the Air-force became so important, wasn't it?
+Warren Lloyd The advanced weapon's of this time was not met with advanced tactics which is what lead to the millions of deaths during world war 1
Luke Esposito
True :/
+Luke Esposito the worst part of it was how many attacks they did like this, how many lives were pointlessly wasted before they realised that marching troops en-mass in the open, in daylight, against machine guns wasn't working. The commanders of the time were so stuck in the past, so unable to see what was happening, so completely unable to change their way of thinking it's hard to believe...
Why is James Bond fighting in a trench?
Cause he wants to fight just for the girls, that's how stupid he is
They asked if he wanted to be deep in a hole... he misunderstood.
It's from a movie it's Daniel Craig
Thank you Captain Obvious
GeckoNovice Idiot
General: "Hey I've got a great idea. We tell our men to walk slowly in a horizontal line with no effort to dodge whatsoever so the casualties will be as high as it can possibly get."
No man's land was usually miles of, rough, uneven, shelled to shit terrain. There were puddles of mud you couldn't tell how deep, barbed wire, corpses, the debris a whole assortment of other things. You couldn't walk straight for more than a second before having to move out of the way. They couldn't run through that. They could jog for a while, but not run.
didn't know they had that many pixels in those days... Another high quality youtube video
"Remember guys, you need to go over the top, and just walk, and hope you dont get shot, good luck"
Sick quality brah
not bad for WW1
“Ok men, we’re going to casually walk over”
An actual conversation between brass after the Somme was reported as
“We’ve just lost 100’000 chaps.”
“We’ll send some more.”
“We don’t have any more”
“We’ll send some Canadians then”
Like any trench fighter would be that clean.
Pretty damn clean considering they've been living in a hole in the ground for a while, clean shaven too! WoW!
Well they ARE British, and if the British are known for anything, it is to the duties of a gentleman.
great quality, that's amazing
who got reccomended this 12 years later
The young people of today myself somewhat included have no idea what a war, especially a world war does to people involved.
Hopefully you’ll never experience it.
Kills a bunch of them
@@lsusmuggler the psychological effects were also unheard of at the time.
I mean, who would have noticed another mad man around here?
good luck everyone, that was my favourite episode of the whole show it was sooo good
+rugg ed (IrishPie101) what he said was a quote from blackadder , have you never seen it?
***** Final episode of Blackadder goes Forth, the fourth series of Blackadder. Quite possibly one of the best finales of all time.
Not a mobile phone in sight, everyone just living in the moment. 😏
Those poor men, hmmm God bless those guys of long ago. They had to manage machine guns, flame throwers, and the worse of all deadly poison gas like chlorine gas, mustard gas, and phosgene.
It wasn't due to weight, it was due to dissipline. Soldier did run in WW1. However one of the main reasons for walking was to keep a cohesive fighting force that would arrive at the enemy trench in a group instead of pockets of people here and there.
Those brave young men honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, 100 years ago, as they prepared for their journey and marched goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God. If there is a heaven, I hope I can meet them there and shake each and every one of their hands. Rest in Peace.
James Batchelor there is a heaven brother
That was beautiful
If you aren't sure about heaven, you're not going there. But it does exist. As does the other place. If you're not sure, you better make sure, or you'll be damned sure.
@@attilathechump9458Actions matter not beliefs unless you are a Christian. Christian beliefs don’t extend to me as I’m not a Christian. Do Hindu beliefs apply to you?
This ending kinda reminds me of the ending of 1981's "Gallipoli", a film about another one of World War I's brutal slaughters of many soldiers.
Duck being a part of all of this RIP all the men who went through this so the rest of us didn't have to
I always wondered why they didn't run instead of walk over no mans land. If it was a decision ordered by the Generals then it was a bloody terrible one
+TotallyToonsTV They still had a Napoleon mentality back then.
They were described as "Lions led by Donkeys"
+TotallyToonsTV because it was useles to run because it was a long walk so they walked in formation to maximize their attacks towards the enemy trenches , that way when they arrived they attacked in mass to maximize their effect.
+0wnage clan At the Somme it was because there was to be no German resistance.
+TotallyToonsTV At the Somme, they fired about six million shells into the German lines over the course of a week. They expected nothing to be on the German side, so they were given heavy gear and told to walk, to save their energy incase the German's counter-attacked.
However, the Germans had some pretty serious concrete dug-outs a good five or six metres underground, and a lot of the shells that were fired didn't even explode, meaning that as soon as the shelling stopped, they just got out and resumed positions.
I bloody cried at the end of this...
Very nice pristine uniforms and brand new gear without a speck of dirt for soldiers on the front line.
Everyone needs a friend like Otis.
Are the crouch/prone buttons bugged? I'm just wondering here, this game needs a patch.
lol
In them days the joystick had but 1 button
Self Stirring Pot and they call it walk button lol
No sprinting button available
German arty op, please nerf.
That`s the Cleanest fucking trench soldiers i ever seen!
When you played Verdun and have flashbacks watching this
The French were watching this all happen!--From a couple of restaurants about 10km away!
JAMES BOND!?
As an American across the pond I have nothing but respect for Great Britain. Thank you.
I like how they're all just taking their time.
Still can’t believe this is all the generals could come up with for a strategy
"The name's Bond. James AARGGGGGGGGHHHH!!!!"
That's some mighty fine tranquil no-mans-land they have there. And they're walking across. God damn it really took us a long ass time to finally wage warfare effectively.
+Michael Moen "God damn", "long ass".
DarrenBonJovi Dem adjectives, right? Though God Damn written as is, is just an expletive.
I always found it absurd that the soldiers were ordered to just walk out in the open like that, wide open to be picked off by rifle & machine gun fire. Between that and artillery, and whether your chain of command makes the right gamble with strategy, it's just dumb luck whether you made it or not. That's just insane.
They walked as they had a lot of kit on them. The distance was too long to run as they would be exhausted by the time they got to the German line. It wasn't until later that the initial wave fought light.
Like the other guy said, before this they shelled the German trench for a week straight, they used more shells in that week than in the entire war before it. They expected an empty trench so they carried a bunch of equipment to capture and hold the tent for at least a few days. But German trenches had lots of underground bunkers so the shelling in reality didn't do much
Man I love it when keyboard warriors come into the comments with literally -0 knowledge of history and try to talk facts
Just please leave 😆