100 days to victory bbc4

I suppose I was more interested in WWII.
It was also how, after 4 years of stalemate. No real movement one way or another and then capitulation.
That tactics changed, dramatically, passed me by.
Edit added..
As the Australian historian said , despite its industrialisation , 1914 would have been recognisable by a Napolionic soldier, whereas 1918 would be more familiar to a modern soldier. ( I have NO military experience btw)
 
What would you say the most significant improvement was between 1914 and 1917 Muttley?
Something that would match those stated in the programme that occurred in the last 100 days.
 
Osboro said:
What would you say the most significant improvement was between 1914 and 1917
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what you would accept as the "most significant" as changes were made throughout the period. Trenches and barbed wire were certainly an innovation in the extent of their deployment. The use of artillery evolved throughout the period. Creeping barrages in front of infantry advances. The original "tank" was first deployed in 1916. And of course you should remember that it was a "world" war so there were advances in naval warfare as well, including the first major use of submarines in the First Battle of the Atlantic. WW1 also saw the first battles fought in the air with the development of biplane and monoplane as "fighters", we saw attempted bombing of civilian targets with dirigibles (Zeppelins). As has been said the way the war was fought at the end was entirely different to how it was fought in 1914. It was the first "industrial war" in which the industrial output of the nations involved was as much a factor in victory as martial prowess or expertise.

Sadly war is a very effective way of stimulating innovation in the way that we kill people. Most armed forces are structured around fighting the last war that they fought. How quickly they can adapt to a new threat is important. The lessons from Ukraine will be learned in years to come.
 
Peter Jackson’s film from a few years ago They Shall Not Grow Old was the seminal film about WW1 and captured how boyish enthusiasm to go to war ended up with Northern France littered with bodies of teenage men in the most appalling conditions.

There was no real victory.
 
Overall you could the say the battlefield became 360. Air and artillery ranging changed dramatically. Interestingly, like Ukraine at present alot still comes to supply.

The Germans went for broke, supply lines couldn't keep up, home and in France.
 
I'm fascinated by WW1, have been ever since I studied it for O Level History. Been to the battlefields many times and as someone who is not a big cyclist I'd love to do the battlefields cycle trip.

Re the programme the OP mentions, it was very good. Sir Tony Robinson's World War One is very good if you haven't seen it, it's often on Discovery. Also, Our World War (on BBC iPlayer) is well worth a watch too. 3 part docu-series focussing on three key events in WW1 - Battle of Mons, the formation of a Manchester Pals Battalion and their fighting at The Somme and the use of Tanks at the Battle of Amiens. The modern music works really well too.
 
Last edited:
My paternal grandad was at the front from November 1916 to September 1918. He wrote his experiences so I could follow some of it against parts of the TV programme. His war stopped with an attack on a fortified farmhouse near the River Lys. The army experimented with using smokescreens to hide forward attacks where he was, but the smokescreen was fired in the wrong place and his company were left exposed attacking the farmhouse. He was caught in the top of his leg by a bullet trying to get through barbed wire in no mans land. After a difficult night in a shell hole he was rescued and after 12 months in hospitals, his leg was saved. In 1940 he joined up again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top