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Battle of the Somme documentary, commemorating the 90th Anniversary of the battle, vividly portrays the horrors and heroism of July 1, 1916. Through soldiers' diaries and letters, the film captures the brutal reality of warfare, where thousands of men marched into almost certain death. From young Private Cyril Jose to American Heiress Mary Borden's field hospital, it reveals the human toll of battle. With raw accounts and poignant insights, the documentary honours the sacrifice of a generation lost to the carnage of war.
March into history with our playlists, detailing the Battle of the Somme and extending to the broader canvas of World War I, its battles, heroes, and the legacy left behind.
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The noise of the 6-day bombardment could be heard in the Netherlands. My grandma (born 1902) told me. I’m 70 now. Greetings from the Netherlands.
Greetings to you, from a 17 year old boy in the US.
Greetings from Indiana! Never met anyone from the Netherlands I didn't like. Worked with your Marines in the MFO, 1982...cool folks.
I have family roots in the Netherlands. Zutphen, Gelderlands to be exact. My ancestors came to what is now New York City in the early 1600s to help establish a Dutch Colony.
and love from India.
@Nino Brown Correct .
When I was a kid delivering newspapers I had a stop to an old man and his wife. He always gave me a tip. At the time I thought nothing of it. Long story short he invited me into his home and I seen the photos from WW1 and listened to his stories and always with a cup of tea. I will never forget him and the stories he shared with me.
It would be great if you could share a few of those stories with us.
What country do u live in?
@@ImGoingSupersonic Best country on earth Canada
@@ImGoingSupersonic Canada
Thank you for sharing that simple anecdote. It reveals a lot about who those people were and it is real.
JRR Tolkien fought in this battle. He was "lucky" enough to contract trench fever from lice and be shipped back home for treatment after surviving 2 major assaults. Imagine how many Tolkiens we lost in this war on both sides. People who if they lived their lives in peace could contribute their intellect to better society. How much art, science, music, literature etc. lost from men who never got to follow their dreams?
Unfortunately, it took something like WW1 to finish moulding Tolkien.
Tolkien said that he took model from the courage of simple british soldier during this war for the character of Samwise Gamgee. And Tolkien lost all his best friends in this war, friends from college he shared with his researches about the new language he was creating ... very sad. He thinks probably about these friends (and certainly to the dead of this war) when at the end of "the lord of the ring" he makes Frodo explains that sometimes, it's necessary that some have to abandon certain things so that others can continue to enjoy them.
Which came first, the genius or the trauma?
@@ti-lo5hy Given he was an Oxford graduate in English language and literature with first class honours before he left for the war, I'd say the genius was definitely already there.
You are so brainwashed ,I mean brainless !!!
My Grandad was in this battle. He joined up in 1914 having lied about his age he was 14. He was a soldier to the end. He was also at Dunkirk. He was lucky to survive both.
Your grandad was a legend. It’s a shame that not everyone was so lucky. ❤️
@George Thomas not uncommon; my grandad fought at ypres after lying about being only 15 to the recruiting guy. Survived war despite being shot, hit by shell fragments and gassed, went down the pit for next thirty years and fire watched in ww2. They don't make them like those boys anymore. 🏴🙏❤
@@paulm6455 Can you imagine a 14 year old now going to war.
Lucky mf
I bet he got grounded for a year after pulling that stunt.
What I really love about this documentary is how it shows the suffering of both sides, portraying the Germans as being no less human than the Brits and the French. Big kudos for that.
do not forget who started both world wars. Not coincidence.
@@brudgerfrudger2174 Politicians, aristocrats, greedy men who wanted to build an empire. All wars are declared by old men. But it is young men who are forced to die for them.
If you haven't read or watched, All's quiet on the western front , you should give it a look its from the Germans perspective , you will probably like it
@@brudgerfrudger2174do you mean the elite, greedy ,rich ,self entitled people who will not even get a spot of mud on them, from what they stirred up and started for their own self interest. of gaining power and wealth at the detriment of everyone else .do you mean those poor fools ? the same fuckwitts that start most wars
@@brudgerfrudger2174 so they are less human?
My grandad fought in the Somme. He survived with a bullet wound in his side. He worked with the horses. Never spoke of the horrors he saw. He lived to 95 and loved a whisky with his cigarettes. He had 12 children. A gentle soft spoken man who never complained
I guess for many that were actually there it was traumatic to talk about it, and somethng many soldiers wanted to forget. Post traumatic stress syndrom was talked about after the Vietnam war, but of course it must have existed also 1914-1918. Glad Your granddad survived. Otherwise maybey You wouldn´t have existed.
@@svenerikjohansson8130 thank you
May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
@@keeley-jasminemaxinecavend9780 that's beautiful
My grandfather was a medic in 314th regiment. Completely shell shocked, so they pulled him out of the line and made him a field hospital orderly. He came back with a whole list of psychological problems including turning into a compulsive thief. He would steal completely useless things that never helped him but did get him into trouble. He lost numerous jobs but people in the small community understood the war messed him up so he was never convicted of the crimes. He would be smoking quietly and suddenly just start to shake uncontrollably. We grandkids were always asking” what’s wrong with grandpa?”
What a poor sod . I class these medics and stretcher bearers the Bravest of the Brave
Hero. Ex24 fldamb
so too was my Great Grandfather a medic. He did not survive. Cannot imagine what this must have felt like.
@@harryedwards9391 Well yeah, they were right at the front line
Poor man. I hate war.
My 2x great grandad fought in the 2nd battalion Royal Irish Regiment at the Somme. His name was Sargent Patrick Nolan, 65% of his regiment were killed or missing on the 1st day. Somehow he survived and unfortunately was killed at the 3rd battle of Ypres. Thinking of the horror he must have gone through brings tears to my eyes. We will never forget their sacrifice!
My great grandfather was also in the 2nd battalion RIR. Killed 22nd August 1916 at the Somme. Body recovered in a trench at thiepval wood
I have only recently discovered that I had 2 grand-uncles who died in WWI - Uncle James died at the 1st battle of the Somme & Uncle George at Ypes. My grandfather Sam was injured 5 times, won the Military Medal in 1917 & survived. Ordinary men who performed heroically.
Oh had they died by Pearse's side or fought with Cathal Brugha their names we'd keep where the Fenians sleep 'neath the shroud of the foggy dew.
My gg died first day of the somme , heros all of them
It's my dream to join the royal Irish
Watching war documentaries as realistic as this make my problems seem small and realize how ungrateful we are when we complain and demand.
Whatever we are going through today, doesn't compare to those in ww1. Remember that when you need to
@@PaidSearch Since I really dug down into WW1 in 2018 that's a big thing which has helped me. Whenever I feel something is hard I think of these incredible men and immediately the problem doesn't bother me the same way at all.
That's because you are a decent human with a functional brain. Unfortunately people like you are becoming less common.
We will be at Civil War here soon,that seems to be what the Elites have planned for the Working class..smfh
@@FounderOfAiTheNewOrder you spell like a dog that has peanut butter in it's mouth.
The soldiers on both sides were so eloquent in the letters. The way they spoke was so poetic.
Checkout American civil war letter writing then...
Sadly that is lacking today.
Not to downplay it, but millions of letters were written. I'm sure these few you hear about is handpicked for quality. Average, barely educated farmhands, miners and factory workers didn't write like this.
@@marrs1013 I served in Afghanistan in 2010, my regiment lost 18 men with about double that losing limbs, it was my regiments worst fighting since the Korean war, I never returned letters to my family because it gave me a massive surge of emotion and made me feel like I was writing my "last" letter. Its a very strange experience to put pen to paper to family back at home I always wonder how many lads had the same emotiona as me during the world wars
People were smarter then. The further you go back, the more brilliant they were.
I remember when I was a teenager, my grand-uncle Paddy, a Dubliner, was still alive and often came to visit his sister, my grandmother. A dapper little man, he had been in charge of a gun-and-horses limber in The Great War. Fifty years later, he had not got over it. Usually very chipper and humorous, now and then, suddenly, he would get up and disappear into the back yard, where we saw him one day cowering and shaking in the dark of the shed. I never forgot it. No counselling in those days! He wasn't the only elderly man of those days going around the cities with a mind full of the horrors of that war, long into the decades. What he had witnessed I can hardly imagine. Or perhaps one can imagine all one wants.
The thing this documentary does which I have always appreciated more than anything else is emphasis on its connections to the people who participated. The scene of the men reflecting on that last additional evening before they went into battle moves me so deeply every time. If anything else, I am glad those tens of thousands killed in this horrific conflict got to witness even one last sunrise. Lest We Forget.
Only the men that were killed will have seen the end of war.
The connection is the War itself.
@@rachaeldangelo1337 Plato, well done.
Imagine being 15 and becoming a man who's seen more horrible things than almost anyone you meet for the rest of your life.
Didn't grow up on a council estate did you?
My great uncle joined up at 15 he didn’t make his 18th birthday.
@@MetalFan10101 Nor did I grow up in the projects, as we'd say in America (I think those terms are comparable? I had to Google).
@@murderc27 I think that’s his point
@@howey935 Moll pppm.mplppppp.lpmmpppppm.m.mpl
We cannot possibly can even come close to knowing their fear, their sadness, their sacrifices, how tired, hungry, cold, hot they were through their crucible.
The truth is, there were 100s of battles just like the Somme.
@@bensmith7932 Since the Battle of the Somme cost 1M men, then that would mean hundreds of millions of men were lost. So that’s not true.
@@bensmith7932 No, not really. This was the worst day in British military history.
Read some of the War poets from that time, their works give you some idea of what these people experienced, felt, and thought.
@@erikrungemadsen2081 *In Flanders Fields* In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. That is why we have poppies on Remembrance Day. Written By Lt.Col John McCrae, Canadian Expeditionary Force: McCrae fought in the Second Battle of Ypres in the Flanders region of Belgium, where the German army launched one of the first chemical attacks in the history of war. They attacked French positions north of the Canadians with chlorine gas on April 22, 1915 but were unable to break through the Canadian line, which held for over two weeks. In a letter written to his mother, McCrae described the battle as a "nightmare", For seventeen days and seventeen nights none of us have had our clothes off, nor our boots even, except occasionally. In all that time while I was awake, gunfire and rifle fire never ceased for sixty seconds ... And behind it all was the constant background of the sights of the dead, the wounded, the maimed, and a terrible anxiety lest the line should give way. - McCrae Alexis Helmer, a close friend, was killed during the battle on May 2. McCrae performed the burial service himself, at which time he noted how poppies quickly grew around the graves of those who died at Ypres. The next day, he composed the poem while sitting in the back of an ambulance at an Advanced Dressing Station outside Ypres. This location is today known as the John McCrae Memorial Site. Coincidentally, he died of the "Spanish Flu" On January 28, 1918, while still commanding No. 3 Canadian General Hospital at Boulogne.
I'm glad people are taking a closer look at WW I now. The amount of battlefield deaths and injuries was horrendous. I hope more footage, pictures and firsthand accounts can be found and put into historical works so that the period will stay well documented and remembered.
Watch EUROPA the last battle.
That film is just anti-historical garbage
I agree. I remember being taught so much in both middle and high school about WWII, but the Great War - which is just as important a scar on modern history, if not more so - was given a few weeks' time in my social studies class in high school. It wasn't until much later that I started learning more about it.
As an Australian the great war was by far the worst war per capita for our country. We used to learn a lot about Gallipoli but not much about the western front despite the ANZACs playing a vital role there. I know we weren't involved in the Somme but we certainly were on the western front. Unfortunately I fear it's not part of the school curriculum anymore.
Likely none of this footage was actually from WW1 but from reenactments. Footage exists but very little has been digitized and the footage that has been you can barely tell what you are looking at.
There is something pleasing and warm about the way they wrote to their loved ones ("My dearest mother"), and their comments on their own terrifying situation are stoical and insightful. The overall impression is of a nobler and warmer generation than our own.
I don't know if our generation is less noble and less warm but these men do deserve commendation
They were more inoccent in some way and more worthy.
you also have to think about the censorship in place if anything was written in a way that wasnt "honorable"
People were smarter back then.
@@huntclanhunt9697 letters were also censored back then....alot of changes were made to original letters
As a history student who has been closely studying the history of WW1, this documentary have brought me in absolute tears. I’ve read it in textbooks but its not the same; all we see are numbers of casualties but what we never see are the stories and courageous lives that these men lived. Remembrance day will never be the same. To every soldier and veteran who have fought, I express my utmost respect to you. Truly legends.
They really were living at a time where military strategies hadn't quite caught up with the times as well. Getting mowed down by machine guns knowing there's no possibility for a retreat order to come....horrifying. Absolutely horrifying!!
You don‘t read memoires of soldiers in history class? I can give you a list if u want
Also, Dan Carlin.
@@Based_Druid Blueprint for Armageddon. Amazing podcast
@@johnhowe6178 That’s the one. Thank you, the name was eluding me.
Everyone should visit these battlefields once in their life it’s an eerie feeling you’ll never feel anywhere else and a reminder of what was there
Hudson C-20 I agree. If I ever make it to France I will definitely visit the Somme. I have visited the Gettysburg battlefield in Pennsylvania and it was quite an experience.
Strange feeling isn't it, you can drive along the front through all these tiny villages and hamlets and you continually come across these cemeteries containing 50+ graves of Commonwealth soldiers if not far more. Really puts the scale of the battle into perspective.
I did visit . by accident and i think you are very right. Everybody should. It makes you very quiet.
@Mike Townsend it makes you want to cry . With the first graveyard you think oh yes problably ww1. it is the Somme. But it does get meaning when the graveyards full of young people don't stop. They go on, and on and on. And when you think well there can't be more. There are. It is very sad and you feel something terrible happened. . I was just driving we didnt stop but it makes you think. what kind of people are we? So threat them with respect and everybody should pay a visit.
When I went to a crater from an undermining explosion at the Somme, there was an eerie feeling knowing that many Germans were killed in an instant there, then other Germans captured and set up machine guns to cut down the approaching British. I can’t recommend enough that people visit these places to understand the reality of that terrible conflict.
Charlie May's letter is one of the profound pieces of WW1 history I have ever heard.
Wow. I am 12 years old and this has me in tears. I am one of the few children of my age that finds that is really interested in the wars. It is just heartbreaking. This documentary was so well done, I can really feel the soldiers pain.
I hope you realize something most young people never do before reaching the age of enlistment, including myself. When the rich wage war it's the poor who die.
@@benghazi4216 yes, sadly that is true
well guess I'm not the only one
Man up child. You are already 12y old. You should not act like a whiny baby.
@@Jasspero jeez calm down do you have any fellings?
A little over a century has past and still every time I read, watch and listen about that horrible war my heart aches and get tears in my eyes. What all those poor souls have been through is beyond my wildest imagination. May all of them rest in peace.
I read the book 1914 by Max Hastings 7 times..I get angry every time...!!!
@@nigelfentton7348 Indeed it still make us all very angry about the absurdity. Just imagine for a moment you were born in 1900. When you're 14, World War I begins and ends when you're 18 with over 22 million dead. Soon after a global pandemic, the Spanish Flu spreads, killing 50 million people perhaps 100s of millions of people word wild. And you're alive and 20 years old. When you're 29 you survive the global economic crisis that started with the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange, causing inflation, unemployment and famine. When you're 33 years old the bad international situations start boiling… again. When you're 39, World War II begins and ends when you're 45 years old with over 60 million dead. Those born in the last 60 years thinks their grandparents have no idea how difficult life is, but they have survived several wars and catastrophes. Today we meet all the comforts in a new world, amid a new pandemic. People complain because for several months they must stay confined to their homes, they have electricity, cell phone, Internet, food, most even with hot water and a safe roof over their heads. None of that existed back in the day. But humanity survived those circumstances and never lost their joy of living. Today we complain because we have to wear masks to enter supermarkets. 😷 Let us all be appreciative and always think about the first two generations of the first half of the 20th century.
Same for me, my great grandfathers uncle fought in it. He fought for Canada and was originally from Ireland. I think he either fought in the Somme, passchendaele or both. He survived, all veterans should be remembered with utmost respect and all the fallen who won’t throw old just so we can
sounds like indigestion
@@brahim119 Spot on...Great post about the privations of our ancestors...and all the fuss now about masks!
I knew two veterans from this battle. One was shot in the head, survived and went back for the second battle. Both survived the war and lived into their 90s
@Logan Jones. 1970s
@Logan Jones. Harry patch who fought in the 3rd battle of Ypres or Passchendaele lived to be 111 dying in 2009 he was wounded in groin & went on to have 3 wife’s & 2 children. I think the desire to live when you have seen complete horror, breeds a distinct spirit.
@Kent Tekulve the last U.K. veterans of the Somme are dead Anyone who served in 1916, would be over 100 years old.
@Kent Tekulve are from Britain or were they German or commonwealth troops.
@@ryleeroseborough7885 Nono, he knew two veterans in the 1970s.
My grandfather, Scottish born and grown up in Sydney Australia, was a stretcher bearer in this battle and others in WW1. This depiction means a lot.
As a Frenchman from the Somme, I say thanks to your grandfather ❤️
My father too, was a Scot. He was there
The leadership behind this particular event in history exemplifies the absolute pinnacle of human mindlessness.
My great grandfather’s brother aged 21 died at the Somme they never found his body private Samuel Smith York’s & Lancs regiment Barnsley 🙏🏻🇬🇧
In Belgium we still find a LOT of skeletons and especially explosives on our farmlands, so much so that the anti mine service drives up and down the roads 2 times a day to get them and explode safely in a controlled detonation, even to this very day. We find countless of unexploded shells and skeletons.
My Grandma's brother William Waterworth In the Yorkshire Regiment died at the Somme. His name isn't on his local town's memorial which has always puzzled me.
Weird I'm pretty sure we have no relations but my great grand father survied the invasion of Germany from d day all the way till a was a mile away from Berlin when it ended his name was SGT Hartwell York 🇺🇸 all I'm saying is they have the same last name cause his side 9f the family immigrated from the UK to america 100s of years ago before america was a nation so it is possible there are incredibly distance relatives. He lost his whole squad and saved one during the beach landing that got injured and was alone for a portion and pick up stragglers alone the way for the duration he was MIA the government didn't know he was dead or not till towards the end he started as. Private but when the war ended got boosted to SGT he could of made a career out of it but after what he witnessed and had to do he was done with Millitary service but to be fair there was alot of men on the front lines that survived and did the same
@@colemanwalsh7477 nice
@@colemanwalsh7477 I'm from the North West of England and I've never known a man to have the surname waterworth so its fairly rare in my experience so it could be possible
It's a sobering feeling walking the roads in the area of Albert . Graves everywhere . William Albert Barker Canadian Infantry 3rd Battalion . Age 17 years . Rest in peace Uncle William
May he rest in peace. Do you know what day he was killed? Just for historical interest and to remember.
@@1joshjosh1 September 20 ,1916 . He is buried in Pozieres Cemetary
My Great-Grandfather was a German soldier in WW1. He moved with his family to the states in the early 1920's and he died in 1979 at 81 years old. I was only 8 years old at the time and don't remember a whole lot about him. I do know that he was serving in the German Army in 1916 because we have pictures of him in his uniform from that time. He never spoke about the war and we don't have any of his military records. Every time I see a video like this, I wonder if Opa was there. R.I.P. to the soldiers on both sides...
Hi My Great Grandad was in the first world war, remember him having a flashback.. Remember my Grandad saying to me, they said you come home fit for a king, how they lied. My Grandad went to Germany, I asked what's it like, he said lovely people and polite.. My Great Grandad also past away in 79. Aged 90.. Still got a Postcard with German Solders on it..
And may many of them ressurect in glory when that time comes
Awesome. I would love to hear stories from the German side. I know in war propaganda makes the enemy the devil but I'm sure they were fighting for the people and nation. ❤
i am completely impressed with the production of this documentary. i love the realistic skits especially!
My great grandfather fought at the Somme. Sargent John William Innes he was wounded 3 times in the battle. My GG lived the rest of his life with shrapnel in his brain which caused him terrible pain. The Canadian soldiers were strong and incredibly brave.🇨🇦🇬🇧
I remember seeing a lot of photographs and stills of the first units of the PPCLI when I was in DP1 and 2. They adorned the walls and I always had an interest in looking at then whenever we had a break, there were stories of when some units were captured, the Germans thought they had captured giants, as the smallest man was 5' 11"
My great grandfather got shot in the hip. He spent his entire life after that on morphine. He was one crazy driver so my mother said. She was in a car with him at a train crossing. He thought he might just run that train over
@Furll What?!?!
My great grandfather was also in this battle. He got hit by shrapnel in the back and then shot through the jaw while looking for help on the battle field. He survived and lived with pieces of metal in his back for the rest of his life.
The Canadians fought as bravely as all the allies.🇨🇦🇨🇦.
This is absolutely superb. The acting is on a par with anything I've seen in any big-budget Hollywood film.
They need to make a big budget film that shows ww1 in depth, like saving private Ryan.
I wouldn’t go that far
Agreed
@@louisvuitton56 ,
I disagree have you never seen Slam dunk Ernest, Bio dome, the green lantern?
I am American. My grandfather served in the first world war and shared pictures and stories to me, but he died when I was 16 years old. I wish I had asked him more about his experiences. He was in the artillery and when we saw lightning in the distance he always said it reminded him of the shells exploding far away. He was an officer and while his unit was usually the hammer and not the nail, he did lose a close friend when a German shell came unexpectedly over a hill and struck a command tent.
This is one of the best portrayals of combat to be seen, especially considering the length. Makes Saving Private look like a short subject. The attention paid to the moments leading up to the assault are the best I've ever seen, other than being there. THE BEST WWI MOVIE MADE!
All Quiet on the Western Front (2022), 1917 (2019), They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
@@VitaKet Okay - four way tie, and I might add All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
My great uncle, Sargeant Henry Dodson Noon, born in Eastwood near Nottingham, emigrated to Australia 1912, joined the 16th Battalion AIF, landed at Gallipoli on I believe on the first day, only survivor of a section attack where he was wounded in the face and remained out in no mans land for 12 hours or so, when he was finally found by a stretcher party, died at mouquet farm night of 29/30th August bringing up ammunition to the front, aged 22, lest we forget, he was the only boy with six sisters.
i will not and am not alone
My grandfather was a rifleman at Passchendaele. He was wounded but recovered and transferred to the RFC which then became the RAF, where he did an even more dangerous job. I was brought up hearing about this and places that included "Gallipoli" and "Somme" (uttered in hushed tones). It's in my DNA: I will never forget them. I remember my grandfather well, so I knew a witness to these horrible things.
We won't ever forget
🌺🌺🌺 Lest We Forget! 🌺🌺🌺
My great Grandfather was wounded in September during the Battle of the Somme and lost his left arm.
Imagine experiencing this and surviving only to hear later of the massive casualties, discovering that you were part of one of the largest and bloodiest battles to date.
Seriously... Crazy.
And then imagine having to right back into the trenches and do the whole thing over again and again, day after day....
@@scottadkins7322 for another 2 and a half years
I couldn't imagine it. How did you get through it?
You don’t think the massive casualties would be obvious to someone who was there and survived? 🤔
Being in a fight like this is something I could never imagine but there was still bravery despite it being so scary. Thank you to all the soldiers who fought throughout.
thank you for what exactly ? i feel sorry for them
This was an absolutely meaningless war. Don't thank them. Remember them.
Reply comment is right, these boys were naive and fell for the propaganda machine....we dont have to thank them but feel heartbroken for all lives lost on both sides
All the history classes I'd attended as a kid never covered any period or event beyond the industrial age. I've been curious about The Great War, and in the last 3 years or so, I've sought out whatever I could discover. I'm glad I've found this - things keep popping up in programs & streaming services I watch referring to any one of the thousands of incidents and/or people in this war. I keep finding myself utterly mindblown.. and each time, I'm in tears.
My great Grandfather lost his life in this battle, Pvt. Albert Coburn 23 years old, sadly left his wife and 3 children. The sacrifice these men made is incredible, lest we forget.
My great uncle died in the Somme it is such a waste of young life.
@@elizabethhayward570 That's sad to hear and indeed it was, how old was your Great uncle when he went to the somme?
@@marcushill1674 I think he was about 22 he had emigrated to Australia. His family here thought he would not be called up.
@@elizabethhayward570 That's crazy and very unfortunate, so did he serve with the Australian Army or did he make the journey back to the UK? regardless the sacrifices made is nothing short astonishing, sorry for all the questions
He died a hero and he will always be remembered
The sad part is, now, even 100 years later, farmers are still finding skeletons in the fields...ones that will never grow old, as we do. EDIT holy cow, 1.5K likes, thanks y'all.
My great great uncle was in this battle Luckily he survived But not so lucky for others.
@rafanellys i too had a great uncle who was killed at the Somme, he was part of the queen victoria rifles.
It is a blessing to grow old. Knowing that many died so others may live.
The farmers don't find skeletons only. Also bombs are found every year. Luckely most don't explode when they are digging up by the machines.
@rafanellys yeah bc germans, frensh and brits killed themself for "freedom" They died for nothing!
Fantastic. We move so fast these days to listen to stories of passion and wisdom, we forget that those who have walked before us have the torch to light our way. That gentleman was sharing his stories and tea, to help you through life. Thank you for sharing.
My grandfather came back to America after fighting in this war in one piece. Only to have his wife and two children die of the Spanish Flu in 1919. If you thought 2020 was rough, think about all those people suffering then.
Perhaps he should thank his lucky stars he was not there in the beginning - otherwise he may not have been alive to know that his family died five years later?
Only politicians compare 2020 to actual hardships. The difference is life was actually full of suffrage in those years, and it being used to scare us into our sheep pens.
The so-called Spanish Flu was actually the American Flu, started in US Army barracks in Kansas, and then conveniently named "Spanish" Flu. In ways big and small, Americans skirt the responsibility for what they do, the "Spanish" flu being just one case among many.
@@Sirvalian Semi-illiterate trumptards would find it debatable, I suspect. Just like they find evolution and climate warming debatable. Nothing feels better than ignorance, does it.
@@bryanduncan1640 Absolutely, given that the American Expeditionary Force only fought in a couple of battles in the final 6 months of WW1...
Brilliant and very moving but for me the real sadness is we're all friends now (more or less). All those young men having given up their precious existence,such a waste of beautiful creations
And young men today, as then, still OBEYING socially adept psychopaths.
@@dunexapa1016 This is so true and very sad
@@dunexapa1016 like?
have not had the time to watch this until now, it was an amazing program. thank you for posting this exquisite piece of history.
This makes my heart ache that all these people died for what? Its pretty obvious our nations/governments care little for our lives! Our veterans are treated just as bad. I salute all the fallen soldiers, thank you.
Come on! They care about us! That’s why they’re forcing vaccines on everybody lol
Great comment.
Watch EUROPA the last battle, it's a true factual account of WW2, 12 hour documentary that may very well shift your paradigm.
@@JDD8888 That film is just anti-historical garbage
@@JDD8888 EUROPA the last battle is just Socialist propaganda, akin to communist propaganda really.
My grandfather was a surgeon at the battle of the Somme, R.I.P all those who perished
My great uncle Johnny died on July 1st 1916. The first day of the battle in Albert. He was 20. They didn’t stand a chance. Commoners dying in a war that aristocrats started.
yes rich mans war poor mans fight
There will be no more when those that wish it......fight it.
Not sure Gavrilo Princip was much of an aristocrat
That's who ALWAYS does the dying and who does the starting....
@@ray.shoesmith The politicans who decided to go to war were aristocrats. But of course, they sent others to their violent death and life changing injury.
This is the best WW1 documentary I’ve seen so far. It’s perfect.
Wow. Superbly put together. Absolutely gripping and equally horrific
My grandfather was there at the fall of Crete ww2 and visiting the area he fought for his life in and visiting the cemeteries where so many of his comrades lie was a humbling and powerful experience.
I don't think ive cried as much watching this. Even the graves ethced with no name just 'A Soldier' - their loved ones never knowing where they rest. There's so much we all take for granted nowadays. I wondered how I would ever have coped if I were in such a terrible war.
This is one of the best history series I’ve ever seen on any media platform. Ops Room is king.
Thank you for uploading this.
I'm in my 30s, but am shocked at the lack of caring about both WW's from younger generations with the "It doesnt effect me" or "its a part of history" mentality. It was a waste, but we shouldn't devalue the sacrifices these young men made. Everyone should relish and make the most of every day we are at peace, this is what they fought for! We are so lucky we weren't alive then.
That's very true man. Such a waste of life, to die in some foreign land for rich men back home, nowhere near the front. Young people these days are too into themselves to think about anything else.
Amen.
@@elvinhuta7854 right few pal
@@mcivor321 I think your generalising, not all young people are too into themselves. There is those that don't care about history as there was when you were young and your father was young and your grandfather was young. And there is those who do care I know many who do including myself I'm 17
@@ratscalking9870 your probably right man, just sometimes it's hard to see.
just watched 1917 last night, now i feel the need to watch a WW1 documentry RIP to all those brave people who died
the reason im here is school ngl
I just love war, though it may be odd to put those two in the same sentence.
Have u seen they shal not grow old
The War to End All Wars....Will we never learn ?? It is so sad...And my Grand Father was in this nightmare of blood killing and death..and all my family were in WW2...absolutely horrific...
@@nigelfentton7348 Unfortunately, this is what happens when Psycopaths attain power/leadership
Love world war1/2 documentaries/dramas like this.
This was one of the best documentaries I've ever seen
One German officer who was later taken prisoner told his British captors that if you had run instead of walked you d have over run us as you out numbered us so heavily.
Thanks for sharing... Just as I thought. How daft are the officers who decided to have them walk? What was the perceived advantage of that, over running? And how do you admit to yourself, as an officer, that you caused the deaths of so many men because of your hubris? I have an ancestor who was a stretcher bearer in the French army. The things he must have seen.
@@raphaelprotti5536 they still wanted to hold onto old tactics of walking slowly and trying to overwhelm the enemy like they did before. This of course doesn’t work when modern guns can mow down troops left and right.
@@patricksullivan5642 No. Just, no ... The British Army, prior to WW1 was the most professional army in the world, made up entirely of well-trained and well-disciplined volunteers. Fire and movement was the cornerstone of all their operations, and the British infantryman was well-versed in such tactics. The problem, as it stood in 1916, at the time of The Somme offensive, was that army effectively no longer existed. At the outbreak of the war, the British Army numbered 247,432 regular soldiers, supported by 210,000 reserves and the Territorial Force which numbered around 246,000. Many of these had become casualties during the first years of the war, and the army had now swelled to over 2 million. This New Army, Kitchener's volunteers, was well motivated, but had only had been in service for about a year. Unlike the German and French armies, these men had no previous military experience, and were completely untested in combat. This applies to all levels in the Battalion structures, Privates, NCOs and junior officers. Simply put, they were raw recruits, led by recruits, being asked to take on the most formidable opponent in Europe, if not the World at that time. There was serious concerns over whether discipline and order could be maintained under battle conditions, by Junior Officers with no more experience than the men they were leading. Previous experience at other battles had shown that Artillery had proven itself capable of destroying German strong points and cutting German wire. One of the problems at The Somme was that a lot of these Artillery Batteries were also New Army, equally inexperienced and untested. However, the barrage at The Somme was using almost twice the number of guns per yard of frontage than was used at Loos in 1915, and even there it had proved sufficient to breach the German lines. The belief, at the time, was that a barrage of this scale, one of, if not the largest seen at this time, would be sufficient. Orders for how men were to advance was not made at Army, or even Corps level. It was left to the discretion of Brigade and Battalion commanders to judge how best to employ their men, given their abilities and training levels. Some were ordered to walk, believing the artillery would have cleared the path for them. Others used fire and movement. Some had even infiltrated well forward of the British front lines before the infantry attack had even started. North of the Albert-Bapaume road things didn't go so well. Superior German defences in that area, coupled with terrain and a lesser density of artillery fire resulted in most of the casualties suffered that day. South of that line things went a lot better, particularly further south where the border between the British and French fronts meant that the British were able to take advantage of increased density from the French guns. In such areas, objectives were taken and the German's were seen retreating in disarray, one unit managing to take all it's objectives with the loss of only 3 men killed.
@@raphaelprotti5536 that's not strictly true. They only walked part of the way. Simply because there was no way they could run the full distance with their kit and then expect to effectively engage the Germans in the trenches.
@@ZolaMagic25 WEll some of that makes sense, although maybe the could take the trench first and fetch their kit later? What a terrible war.
My great grandfather lost a leg at the Somme. We still have his kilt which has a patch where the Maxim Gun bullet hit him in the thigh.
Bravo for your great grandfather's service!
This is my favorite documentary of all time. I wish there was more content by this team in this style. I've watched other Real Truth documentaries but nothing compares to this one. If I've missed something and someone could point me in the right direction, I would be eternally grateful.
Beautifully produced documentary. Very moving and raw.
The bloodiest century in history. That thought is stuck in my head. R. I. P. To all the men who left behind their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends, uncles, aunties, cousins, grand fathers, grand mothers, wives. R. I. P. Lest we forget These men's memories shall live on forever. 🌹🌹
"...bloodiest century in history. ..." History isn't over yet.
@@thetooner8203 Yeah that's scary innit? That there is the possibility of this sort of death (WW1) in one hour because of nuclear weapons
@@thetooner8203 history is the past you melon, it is the bloodiest century in history
@@roryatkinson3303 Oh. It's over then? They've stopped making it? I thought we were working on another century, in which it's early days yet.
@@thetooner8203 what you are talking about is the future..
I've studied and researched this battle for years now the pain and emotional stress those men must of felt the constant artillery barrages day and night, rats and other rodents, the high levels of mud and water, seeing their friends killed off one by one. They say it was the war to end all wars it ended nothing it laid the foundations to a war far worse and higher loss of life in history these men will never be forgotten they shall never grow old and desreve the upmost repesct.
Well said.. Very well said....
Well said but sadly if the snowflake people have anything to do with it all war memorials will be pulled down destroyed In Britain we have to protect statues atm from people from the BLM campaign... I mean black people died in the war too Those people are ridiculous & clueless,,,, War needs to be remembered,, hopefully well learn eventually.
Watch EUROPA the last battle, it's a true factual account of WW2, 12 hour documentary that may very well shift your paradigm, sharing is caring.
The personal diary stories and letters are heartbreaking, plus the story’s in the comments. I am crying. May all the men, women and horses that lost there life’s in the war Rest In Peace
the most realistic war documentary ive seen... love it
I remember watching this years ago and it has never left me,the best documentary ever,based on real men and their diaries and letters home,the version I watched was narrated by Tilda Swinton but its exactly the same otherwise,thats also on KZhead.This or the Swinton narrated version should be shown on tv every year without fail either on the anniversary of the Somme or on Armistice day,brilliantly made and so moving.
I think all comments should get a like. This documentary is just unbelievable, bless them all with all our hearts and love. I salute you sir.
My great grandfather was 14 when he volunteered in 1914 and out of all his friends he grew up with he was the only one to come back.
Warum als 14 Jähriger zum Militär! War das Mindestalter um sich ermorden zu lassen nicht 18 Jahre?
One of the most eye opening docus out there. One you wont forget in a hurry. The track is so haunting too
Much respect to all the men who fought and died that day. Let's not forget these men and remember them till our days are over as well
Well the neighbors started it!!!
@John Triplett they didn’t have a choice, if you were healthy you fought or you were seen as a coward and treated like one so what would you have done in that situation?
@John Triplett Cool-SALUTE!
And make sure your children know too.
*in those months
I’m an American college student, and I chose to write two papers over the Somme. One was a historiography, and the other was a historical fiction... None of my work has made me feel this much for either side. This documentary was spectacular, and even though I’m enlightened more on the subject, I’m greatly saddened that these events ever took place. I’m saddened that men were massacred, and whole towns were left without fathers, brothers, and sons... R.I.P. to all who fell at the Somme, and for those who died earlier or later in the war. Both sides, thank you for your service. Thank you for doing what you felt was right in the face of horror and atrocities. May you rest easy now that your job is done, and may the families of the deceased find peace in knowing that neither side gave up for their beliefs. 🙏🏻🕊💙
You 'thank the service' of the opposing combatants of two nations you're not of from a time you didn't exist.. ? 100% Polyethylene mate?
@@Dave-hu5hr Your sentence construct is appalling. Also, can you not appreciate the sentiment? 100% Troll.
@@Dave-hu5hr what's wrong with you?
You should look into the battle for Okinawa in Feb. 1945; or more recently, the Battle of Roberts Ridge in Afghanistan...
Watch EUROPA the last battle, it's a true factual account of WW2, 12 hour documentary that may very well shift your paradigm, sharing is caring.
This documentary is so raw and confronting. Reading textbooks and history books and casualty lists just can't convey the depth and breadth of the human experience of something like this.
When I was a kid in the 60's my crossing guard at school had fought on the Somme and wore his medals on Armistice Day. I never forgot what he told me that he was a Manchester, and along with thousands of working men from Bradford and Halifax, Leeds, Liverpool and other towns and cities in the north of England had all joined Trades Unions and were all interested in Socialism or Communism, and what satirical magazine, Punch referred to as "the twin spectres". He was of the opinion that the British AND German ruling, upper and middle classes all feared this greatly and where it would lead. This he opined was decided at the famous "Meeting of the Crowned Heads of Europe" in Potsdam at the wedding of one of the Kaisers daughters and to combat the feared rise of "the Twin Spectres" they flung these men in their hundreds of thousands at these Machine Guns.
Well that didn’t play out too well for Tsar Nicholas unfortunately.
You Brits are incredible! love and respect to all the veterans out there.
There aren‘t enough likebuttons, I‘d give this documentary 10, 20, 100 thumbs up! Best I‘ve ever seen! My thoughts are with the the fallen! Greetings from Germany!
RIP to the fallen on both sides!
@@mooham8762 simply poor men mostly on both sides fighting because the elite have their agenda
@@silvesteinrmartin The horror of modern war was apparent after Napoleon's campaign in Russia-1812. Why did the nations of Europe continue to allow their best and bravest die in the century that followed?
Hello from Canada 🇨🇦
Grüße aus Schweden !
This was a fantastic documentary. Best I’ve seen yet. RIP to all from both sides..
Incredible. Thank you for an outstanding presentation.
damn this was very well done.
One of those documentaries I've always remembered over the years. Seen it at least half a dozen times and still find myself watching it again whenever it's on TV.
I agree. Well written, directed, acted and produced.
The only nit-pick I could make out is that the British troops used late-model Lee-Enfield rifles instead of the early ones they used in WW1 and early in WW2. Other than that the documentary was excellently made.
@@kbonh22 How old is the documentary?
I am a 22 year old male living in the U.S. I’m a self proclaimed history buff. I could bet most of my peers have no idea what the battle of the Somme or can even recall minimal knowledge about the Great War. I am grateful for my passion about 20th century world history and I hope the stories of these brave men never die.
Also 22 and self proclaimed. I try my best to tell my peers about it but I feel like nobody cares and I’m just so shocked how little people know what this world has gone thru.
23 here living in Colorado.
Keep it up guys 👍👍
Agreed. I’m 26 and most people I know don’t care to learn about this stuff. It’s important history. It shaped the world we live in today.
I'm 33 and I've been to war. Change your mind now about these men being brave, before you share their fate. They're not any braver than sheep bleating as they're led to the slaughterhouse.
Great Grandmother and Son, left Spain in 1918, The photo of Her and my "then" 7 year old future Grandfather.. Is a family treasure... Always found the history of the first World War is important to study and learn from.. sadly almost ignored.. Especially when I was in school.. Cheers from Southern California 🇺🇸
I. Must admit, this brought me to tears several times... Outstanding work in portraying one of the darkest times in Our history. All in all, there's one thing that I was supprised by. With all that work and effort, a Po-2/Tigermoth as a reconnaissance aircraft? Especially that Po-2 was 3d rendered...
It's amazing how we get to watch this incredible content for free.
It really is,what an amazing documentary
bot
usually its propaganda or trying to rewrite history but this one seems unbiased
I'm a Vietnam era vet, but never could imagine anything like this. Stationed in South Korea, my biggest problem was who was making the bear run. This is the best documentary on the subject that i have seen. WW1 battles must have been an absolute horror shows.
Thank you for your service.
Dare I ask whats a Bear run?
@@serwombles8816 probably meant beer run
Thank you for your service
To be fair , bear running sounds dangerous
This is one of the best WWI documentaries.
As a life long student of history, I have to say, this is far & away the best documentary on The Somme.
Thank you for that information on JRR Tolkien. I completely agree with you about the horrendous loss of life.
Second great uncle died at the Somme. He was in the Cameron Highlanders.
R.I.P. to your great uncle sir.
I had a great great uncle in the Argonne
My great great grandad died when his reconnaissance plan was shot down just after the Somme started.
My great uncle was in the Somme. A cross made from the fuze ring of a German shell that fell in Happy Valley sits on my chimney piece. He subsequently went into the Indian Army, captured by the Japanese and held at Changi, working on the Burma railway.
My grandfather survivied, German officer. But died at Bridge of Gien in France. My father, his son, showed me the places... Where my grandfather faught. Where he faught... I showed this places to my son too.
Ive stood at the Somme. You have NEVER heard such a silence until you have stood there for yourself, a truly remarkable place.
It’s breathtaking isn’t it
@@JC-zt1zu I have to disagree. "Kids" back then were naive and gullible. Thats not the same as "brave". Kids today are just as brave. Thats not changed, the time has, and its impossible to compare.
In Belgium, farmers at places like Ypres and such still dig up unexploded shells daily, so much so that the Belgian DOVO (anti mine people) drive up and down each road 2 times a day to get them and explode them safely, and the bombs find are often stacked on the road, as long as the road goes, sometimes they still find some handfull of skeletons as well. Even today we find unexploded shells and skeletons deep in the mud on farmlands.
@@HarcusCGTV the original comment you replied to has disappeared, so I don't know the context of your comment is in. But I'd say it's hard to compare the young people of today compare to the young people who served in WW1 and 2. As a young person myself, I absolutely would call those who served in the wars brave, I wouldn't say young people of today aren't brave, more so that they (we) have not had to prove our bravery.
@@takitachibana1267 Yes, I have been all round the area. Pachandale (sp?) was very haunting, as was "silent wood".
My Father a medical Student at Guys volunteered for the 6th City of London Rifles. He fought on the Somme with his battalion . On the first day 1200 went over, and next day roll call 145 were left. He survived the Somme and was decorated and mentioned in Dispatches, He always went to Parade with his medals and oak leaves in the centre. He lead a charmed life until 1918 when he was wounded out with mustard gas and phosgene gas burns. It took his father 18 months for him to recover, but he was always erratic afterwards. It really effected his whole life. He died at 81 suffering from the long term effects of these gas injuries. They got him in the end. RIP.
Thank you - well researched and executed .Greetings from South Africa.
This day in 1916 British troops walked into sunlight RIP to the fallen
More like into the sun.
It was the Somme that got me into military history back in '98
“Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going?”― Tennessee Williams.....................
Cool quote/cool man.
wonderful!!! Will remember that one
saw this on amazon prime. one of the best films ive ever seen
This blurs the line between documentary and movie. Just really well done. Exceptional
"...8 soldiers hit every single second." At 58:50 the smoke and huge clouds of dust/dirt must have been horrible, with all those men straining to see the enemy but knowing that if the clouds clear up so they can see the enemy it means the enemy can also see them. What a nightmare they lived every second of every day. The word that comes to my mind is 'desperation'. RIP, men.
Great documentary. I show it to my classes every year during Remembrance week. The students and myself always get watery eyed at 27:00. That shot where it seamlessly transitions to the real men hits home in a way no other film or documentary i've ever seen on the war has.
my Grand-Grandfather descriped the same at the german side, he ( already older at that time ) saw very young soldiers marching, singing and smiling and when they stepped around the corner and saw the battlefield you could litrally see that everything inside of these man changed totaly at the spot; after battle you could hear the word "Mama" from all sides
Watch EUROPA the last battle, it's a true factual account of WW2, 12 hour documentary that may very well shift your paradigm.
Excellent documentary. The best I have seen made of world war 1. Often forgotten and overlooked you helped to give light to the great deeds and immeasurable horrors suffered by these men. Thank you.
Watch EUROPA the last battle, it's a true factual account of WW2, 12 hour documentary that may very well shift your paradigm, sharing is caring.
A relative of mine on my father's side. Private Ernest Luke Moss, Somerset Light Infrantry was one of the 19 thousand or so who died 1st July 1916. No burial site but commemorated at Theipval memorial. A generation we may never understand. And will probably never better for their sacrifice. RIP. Heroes.
@Andrew Carter beautifully stated. 🥀☯️♾☯️🥀
💚🙏🏻
This is one of the best war docs I've ever seen, just perfect.
Best ww1 content I’ve ever seen, I need more.
Excellent documentary!!! I love the way the makers of this documentary "blend" the actors with real footage of the real brave souls! Nice work indeed!
15 yrs old in 1914 and 15 yrs old in 2022 is a big different
Everybody’s a winner has ruined a couple generations!!!