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World War 1 (All Parts, 4k) — Transcript

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0:10[music]
0:121914
0:13the great powers of Europe are divided
0:16into two rival alliances the tripolon
0:19taunt France Britain and Russia united
0:23by fear and suspicion of Germany
0:26Europe's new strongest [music] power and
0:29the Triple Alliance. Germany, which
0:32fears encirclement by its rivals.
0:35AustroHungary clinging on to a fragile
0:38empire, and Italy seeking gains at
0:41French [music] expense.
0:44The spark comes on the 28th of June in
0:47the city of Sievo.
0:50Archduke France Ferdinand, heir to the
0:53Austrohungarian throne, is assassinated
0:56by a 19-year-old Slav nationalist named
0:59Gabrielo Princip. Austrohungary accuses
1:02its Balkan rival Serbia of having aided
1:05the assassin and sends an ultimatum
1:08demanding humiliating [music]
1:09concessions.
1:11Serbia rejects the ultimatum and
1:13Austrohungary declares war.
1:16Within hours, Austrian forces are
1:19shelling Belgrade.
1:21The Russian Zar Nicholas II [music]
1:24feels honor bound to defend Serbia, a
1:27fellow Slav nation, and orders the
1:29Russian army to mobilize.
1:33German Emperor Wilhelm II has promised
1:35his support to Austrohungary.
1:38He and his generals see conflict with
1:40Russia as inevitable and the sooner the
1:43better as Russian strength grows year on
1:45year. Russian mobilization is used to
1:49justify German mobilization followed by
1:52a declaration of war on Russia.
1:56Germany knows war with Russia means war
1:58with Russia's ally France. It has
2:02developed the Schlieen plan to meet this
2:04threat of a war on two fronts.
2:07First, its armies will advance rapidly
2:09through neutral [music]
2:10Belgium to encircle and destroy French
2:12armies near Paris and win a quick
2:14victory.
2:16Then, its forces can move east to deal
2:18with Russia, whose huge [music] army
2:20will take much longer to mobilize.
2:23And so, Germany declares war on France.
2:276 million men are now marching to war
2:30across Europe.
2:33[music]
2:34Italy, however, remains neutral. The
2:37terms of the Triple Alliance don't bind
2:39[music] it to join an offensive war. The
2:42United States also declares its
2:45neutrality. President Wilson and the
2:47American public [music] have no desire
2:49to get entangled in Europe's war.
2:53Britain is France's ally, but at first
2:55it's not clear if it will join the war
2:57against Germany.
3:00But when German troops invade Belgium,
3:02whose neutrality Britain has [music]
3:04guaranteed, an ultimatum is sent from
3:06London to Berlin, demanding they
3:09withdraw.
3:11It's ignored, and Britain declares war.
3:18[music]
3:22A British expeditionary force lands in
3:25France while the German invasion is held
3:28up for crucial days by Belgian
3:30resistance at the fortress city of
3:32Leazge.
3:34German troops commit several massacres
3:36against [music] Belgian civilians. The
3:38atrocities are inflated by Allied
3:41propaganda [music]
3:42and help turn public opinion in neutral
3:44countries against Germany.
3:48France, unaware of Germany's great
3:50encircling attack, launches Plan 17, an
3:54offensive into German territory.
3:57But in the Battle of the Frontiers,
4:00they're driven back with enormous losses
4:02on both sides.
4:05[music]
4:06The British Expeditionary Force clashes
4:09with the German army at Mons, but the
4:12British are heavily outnumbered and soon
4:15join the French in retreat.
4:17[music]
4:18The Allies make their stand at the river
4:20Mann, 40 mi outside Paris. Their
4:24desperate counterattack saves the city
4:26and drives the Germans back.
4:29Both sides suffer a quarter of a million
4:32casualties.
4:35The race to [music] the sea begins as
4:38both sides try to outflank each other to
4:41the north. A series of clashes leads to
4:44the first battle of Epra, where the
4:46Allies desperately cling on and prevent
4:49a German breakthrough.
4:51There are more heavy losses on both
4:54sides.
4:56The two armies then dig in along the
4:58entire 350 [music] m front, seeking
5:01shelter from deadly machine gun fire and
5:04artillery shells.
5:06Trench warfare has begun.
5:13[music]
5:17[music]
5:18British warships win the first naval
5:21battle of the war at Heland bite sinking
5:24three German cruisers.
5:28Britain has the most powerful navy in
5:30the world. 29 modern battleships to
5:33[music] Germany's 19.
5:35They now impose a naval blockade on
5:38Germany, preventing contraband goods,
5:41including food, from reaching it by sea.
5:44The aim is to bring Germany's economy to
5:47its knees and force it to surrender.
5:51But a week later, [music] the British
5:53cruiser HMS Pathfinder becomes the first
5:56victim in history of a lethal new
5:59weapon, [music]
6:00the submarine launched torpedo.
6:04German submarines or Ubot have a surface
6:07range of 9,000 mi and can attack
6:10undetected from beneath the waves.
6:13They herald a deadly new challenge to
6:16Britain's command of [music] the seas.
6:27On the Eastern front, Russian armies
6:30invade East Prussia, but they blunder
6:33into disaster at the Battle of
6:34Tannenburg, where General Von Hindenburg
6:37and his chief of staff, Eric Ludenov,
6:40mastermind a brilliant German victory,
6:43taking 90,000 prisoners and destroying
6:46an entire Russian army. The Russians
6:49contribute to their own defeat by
6:51transmitting uncoded wireless messages.
6:55A second massive German victory at
6:57Msuran Lakes forces the Russians into
7:00retreat. In just 6 weeks, the Russian
7:04army suffers nearly a third of a million
7:06casualties.
7:09[music]
7:09Meanwhile, Austrohungary's invasion of
7:12Serbia suffers a humiliating reverse at
7:14the Battle of Sir.
7:17Austrahungary's offensive against Russia
7:19also ends in disaster and retreat with
7:22the loss of more than 300,000 men.
7:26The fortress town of Shememes is cut off
7:29and besieged by the Russians. The
7:32Germans are forced to come to the
7:33rescue, launching a diversionary attack
7:36towards Warsaw.
7:38It leads to weeks of brutal winter
7:40fighting around the Polish city of
7:42Woods, but there is no clear winner.
7:46Meanwhile, the Turkish Ottoman Empire
7:49has joined the Central Powers, declaring
7:52war on its old enemy, Russia. [music]
7:55Turkish warships bombard the Russian
7:57ports of Odessa and Seasto.
8:01While in the Caucuses, Russian troops
8:04cross the Turkish frontier.
8:15[music]
8:15Beyond Europe, the war rages on the
8:18world's oceans and in far-flung European
8:21colonies.
8:23German troops cross into British East
8:25Africa, modern Kenya, and occupy [music]
8:28Taveta,
8:30while Allied forces seize the German
8:32colony of Togo land, modern Togo. But
8:36British forces invading German Cameroon
8:39are defeated at Gowa and in Sangakon.
8:43While a 3,000 strong force attacking
8:46German southwest Africa, modern Namibia
8:49is captured at San Fontaine.
8:52A month later, British landings at Tanga
8:55end in chaos and defeat at the hands of
8:57a much smaller German force led by
9:00Colonel Vonletto Verbbeck. Cut off from
9:03Germany, Leto Vorbeck goes on to wage a
9:06highly successful guerilla war against
9:08the Allies, tying down huge numbers of
9:11troops.
9:14In Asia, Japan honors its treaty with
9:18Britain and declares war on Germany.
9:21Japanese forces go on to seize the
9:23German naval base at Singtowo.
9:27The German colonies of Samoa and New
9:30Guinea surrender to troops from New
9:32Zealand and Australia.
9:35But in the Pacific off the coast of
9:37Chile, German Admiral Vonbay's powerful
9:40East Asia squadron sinks two British
9:43cruisers at the Battle of Coronel. Both
9:46ships are lost with all hands.
9:505 weeks later, he runs into a British
9:52naval task force at the Falkland
9:55Islands. Four of the five German
9:57cruisers are sunk. Von goes down with
10:01his flagship.
10:04Meanwhile, in the Middle East, British
10:06troops seize control of the Ottoman port
10:08of Bazra, securing access to the vital
10:12Persian oil that fuels the British
10:14fleet.
10:17[music]
10:22[music]
10:23That winter, Austrian troops finally
10:26capture Belgrade,
10:29but the Serbs then counterattack and
10:31drive them back once more.
10:34[music]
10:35The fighting in Serbia has already cost
10:37around 200,000 casualties [music]
10:40on each side.
10:43In the North Sea, [music] German
10:45warships mount a hit and run raid
10:47against English coastal towns, shelling
10:50Aru, Whitby, and Scarbor and killing
10:54more than 100 civilians.
10:58On the Western Front, the French [music]
11:00launch their first major offensive
11:02against the German lines, but the first
11:05battle of Champagne leads to small gains
11:08at a cost of 90,000 casualties.
11:12While in the Caucuses, [music]
11:14an Ottoman offensive through the
11:15mountains in mid-inter ends in disaster
11:18at Sarakamish.
11:20Turkish casualties total 60,000,
11:24many [music] frozen to death.
11:27On the Western front, that first
11:30Christmas is marked in some sectors by a
11:33short truce and games of football in no
11:36[music] man's land, the killing zone
11:39between the trenches.
11:41[music]
11:46[music]
11:49January 1915.
11:52World War I is just 5 months old and
11:55already [music] around 1 million
11:58soldiers have fallen. A war that began
12:01in [music] the Balkans has engulfed much
12:03of the world. The central powers,
12:06Germany, Austria, Hungary, and the
12:09Ottoman Empire, fight the Allies,
12:12Britain, France, Russia, Serbia, and
12:15Montenegro, Belgium, and Japan.
12:19In Poland and the Baltic, [music]
12:21the Russian army has suffered a string
12:23of massive defeats, but continues to
12:26battle German and Austrohungarian
12:28forces.
12:30AustroHungarian troops have also
12:32suffered huge losses [music] and are
12:34humiliated by their failure to defeat
12:37Serbia.
12:39In the Caucus' mountains, Russian and
12:42Ottoman forces fight each other in
12:44freezing winter conditions.
12:47While on the Western front, French,
12:50British, and Belgian troops are dug in
12:52facing the Germans in trenches
12:55stretching from the English Channel to
12:57Switzerland.
13:07As part of the world's first strategic
13:09bombing campaign, Germany sends two
13:12giant airships known as Zeppelins to
13:16bomb Britain. They hit the ports of
13:18Kings Lin and Great Yarmouth, damaging
13:20houses and killing four civilians.
13:25[music]
13:26At sea at the battle of Dogger Bank, the
13:29British Navy sinks one German cruiser,
13:32but the rest of the German squadron
13:34escapes.
13:38Command of the seas has allowed Britain
13:40to impose a naval blockade of Germany,
13:43preventing vital supplies, including
13:45food, from reaching [music] the country
13:47by sea.
13:49Germany now retaliates with its own
13:51blockade.
13:53It [music] declares the waters around
13:55the British Isles to be a war zone where
13:57its Ubot [music] will attack Allied
13:59merchant ships without warning.
14:02Britain relies on imported [music] food
14:04to feed its population. Germany plans to
14:08starve her into surrender.
14:10[music]
14:12On the Eastern front, German Field
14:15Marshal Von Hindenburg launches a winter
14:18offensive and inflicts another massive
14:20defeat on the Russian army at the second
14:23battle of Missurian Lakes.
14:26The Russians lose up to 200,000 men,
14:30half of them surrendering amid freezing
14:32winter conditions.
14:36The Russians have more success against
14:39Austria Hungary. The city of Shamishel
14:42falls after a 4-month siege, netting the
14:45Russians 100,000 prisoners.
14:48Austria Hungary's total [music] losses
14:51now reach 2 million.
14:54Meanwhile, the British and French send
14:57warships to the Dardinels to threaten
15:00Constantinople, capital of the Turkish
15:02Ottoman Empire. They believe a show of
15:05force will quickly cause Turkey to
15:07surrender.
15:09They bombard [music] Turkish shore forts
15:12in the narrow straits, but three
15:14battleships [music] are sunk by mines
15:16and three more damaged. The attack is
15:20called off. [music]
15:31[music]
15:32On the western front, the British attack
15:35at Nerv Chappelle,
15:38but the advance is soon halted by German
15:40barbed wire and machine guns.
15:45British and Indian units suffer 11,000
15:48casualties, about a quarter of the
15:50attacking force.
15:526 weeks later at the second battle of
15:55Ipra, the Germans attack with poison gas
15:58for the first time on the Western Front.
16:01A cloud of lethal [music] chlorine
16:03forces Allied troops to abandon their
16:05trenches, but the Germans don't have
16:08enough reserves ready to exploit [music]
16:10the advantage.
16:13Soldiers on both sides are quickly
16:15supplied with crude gas masks as a
16:18chemical weapons arms race begins.
16:24The Allies land ground troops at
16:26Gallipoli, including men of the
16:28Australian and New Zealand Army Corps,
16:31the ANZACs.
16:32Their goal is to take out the shore
16:34forts that are preventing Allied
16:36warships reaching Constantinople.
16:39But they immediately meet fierce Turkish
16:42resistance and are pinned down close to
16:45the shore.
16:48The day before the landings, the Ottoman
16:50Empire begins the [music] systematic
16:52deportation and murder of ethnic
16:54Armenians living within its borders.
16:58The Armenians are a long persecuted
17:00ethnic and religious minority suspected
17:03of [music] supporting Turkeykey's
17:05enemies.
17:07Tens of thousands of men, women, and
17:10children are transported to the Syrian
17:12desert and left to die.
17:15In all, [music] more than a million
17:17Armenians perish.
17:20The Allies condemn the [music] events as
17:22a crime against humanity and
17:24civilization and promise to hold the
17:26perpetrators criminally responsible.
17:29To this day, [music] the Turkish
17:31government disputes the death toll and
17:34that these events constituted a
17:36genocide.
17:40[music]
17:47On the Eastern front, [music] a joint
17:49German Austrohungarian offensive in
17:51Galysia breaks through Russian defenses,
17:55recapturing Shemeishaw and taking a
17:57100,000 prisoners.
18:00It is the beginning of a steady advance
18:03against Russian forces.
18:06At sea, the British passenger liner
18:09Lucitania sailing from New York to
18:11Liverpool is torpedoed by a German hubot
18:15[music] off the coast of Ireland without
18:16warning.
18:191,198
18:21[music] passengers and crew perish,
18:24including 128 Americans. [music]
18:29US President Woodro Wilson and the
18:31American public [music] are outraged,
18:34but Germany insists the liner was a fair
18:37target as the British used her to carry
18:40military supplies.
18:42In May, the Allies launch the second
18:45battle of Artois in another effort to
18:48break through the German lines.
18:51The French make [music] the main attack
18:52at Vimei Ridge while the British launch
18:55supporting attacks [music] at Ober Ridge
18:57and Festoair.
19:00The Allies sustain 130,000 casualties
19:04and advance just a [music] few thousand
19:07yds.
19:10That summer, above the Western [music]
19:12Front, the Fauler Inda helps Germany win
19:15control of the air. It's one of the
19:18first aircraft with a machine gun able
19:20to fire forward through its propeller.
19:22Thanks to a new invention known as
19:24interrupter gear, allied aircraft losses
19:28mount rapidly in what becomes known as
19:30the Fauler scourge.
19:38[music]
19:40Italy, swayed by British and French
19:42promises of territorial gains at
19:45AustriaHungary's expense, joins the
19:48Allies, declaring war on AustriaHungary
19:51and later the Ottoman Empire and
19:53Germany. The Italian army makes its
19:56first assault against Austrohungarian
19:58positions along the Isso River, but is
20:01repulsed with heavy losses.
20:05Meanwhile, the Allies face a crisis on
20:08the eastern front.
20:10The Russians have begun a general
20:12retreat, abandoning Poland.
20:15German troops enter Warsaw on the 5th of
20:18August.
20:20Zar Nicholas II dismisses the Russian
20:23army's commanderin-chief, Grand Duke
20:25Nicholas, and takes personal command.
20:29It will prove disastrous for Thesar as
20:32he becomes more and more closely tied to
20:34Russian military defeat.
20:38At Gallipoli, the Allies land
20:40reinforcements at Sula Bay, but neither
20:43they nor a series of fresh attacks by
20:46the ANZACs can break the deadlock.
20:50Conditions for both sides are terrible.
20:53Troops are tormented not only by the
20:56enemy but by heat, flies, and sickness.
21:01In the Atlantic, a German yubot sinks
21:04the liner SS Arabic. 44 are lost,
21:09including three Americans.
21:12In response to further US warnings,
21:14Germany ends all attacks [music] on
21:16passenger ships.
21:21[music]
21:27On the Western front, the Allies mount
21:29their biggest offensive of the war so
21:31far. Designed to smash through the front
21:34and take pressure off their belleaguered
21:36Russian ally.
21:38The French attack in the third battle of
21:40Artois and second battle of Champagne.
21:44The British with the help of poison gas
21:47attack at loss.
21:50Despite initial gains, the attacks soon
21:53get bogged down with enormous losses on
21:56all sides.
21:58[music]
22:05Allied troops land at Salonica in Greece
22:08to open a new front against the central
22:10powers and bring aid to Serbia.
22:14But the allies are too late. Bulgaria
22:18joins the central powers
22:20and their joint offensive overruns
22:23Serbia in two months.
22:26That winter, the remnants of the Serbian
22:29army escape through the Albanian
22:31mountains.
22:33Their losses are horrific. By the end of
22:36the war, a third of Serbia's army has
22:38been killed, the highest proportion of
22:41any nation.
22:47Fierce fighting [music] continues on the
22:49Italian front as Italian troops launch
22:52the third and fourth battles of the
22:54Isso.
22:56Austrohungarian [music] forces, though
22:58outnumbered, are dug in on the high
23:01ground and impossible [music] to
23:03dislodge.
23:07In the Middle East, a British advance on
23:10Baghdad is blocked by Turkish forces at
23:14the Battle of Tessifon, 25 mi south of
23:17the city.
23:19The British withdraw to Kut, where they
23:22are besieged.
23:24[music]
23:26The Allies abandon the Gallipoli
23:28campaign. 83,000 [music]
23:31troops are secretly evacuated without
23:34alerting Turkish forces.
23:36[music] Not a man is lost.
23:39It's one of the best executed plans of
23:42the war.
23:44The campaign [music]
23:45has cost both sides a quarter of a
23:48million casualties.
23:511915 is a bad year for the Allies,
23:55enormous losses [music] for no tangible
23:58gains.
24:00But there is no talk of peace.
24:02Instead, all sides prepare for even
24:05bigger offensives in 1916.
24:08With new tactics developed from earlier
24:10failures,
24:12all sides still believe a decisive
24:15battlefield victory is within grasp.
24:26World War I was supposed to have been a
24:29short and glorious war, but by 1916,
24:33a new kind of industrialized warfare had
24:36seen the death toll sore into the
24:38millions with no end in sight.
24:43Naval blockades were beginning to cause
24:46shortages of food and fuel across
24:48Europe.
24:50While thousands of women had entered the
24:53workforce,
24:54replacing the men sent to fight in their
24:57millions.
24:59All sides were [music] preparing for a
25:01long war.
25:08[music]
25:11The war has raged for a year and a half
25:13as the allies continue to battle the
25:16central powers recently [music] joined
25:19by Bulgaria.
25:22At sea, the British maintain their
25:25[music] naval blockade of Germany,
25:27preventing the import of food and other
25:29vital raw materials. [music]
25:33Germany has retaliated with a yubot
25:35blockade of Britain, but has to limit
25:37[music] its attacks to avoid provoking
25:40the neutral USA, whose citizens have
25:43already been caught in the crossfire.
25:47On the Western front, French, British,
25:50and Belgian troops are dug in opposite
25:52the Germans. Both sides trapped in
25:55[music] the bloody stalemate of trench
25:58warfare.
26:00On the Eastern front, the Russians have
26:02ended [music] their long retreat and
26:04stabilized the line, but their army has
26:07suffered huge [music] losses.
26:11On the Italian front, Italian troops
26:13have launched a series of costly,
26:15unsuccessful attacks against strong
26:18Austrohungarian defenses.
26:22While on the Balkan front, the Central
26:24Powers have overrun Serbia, whose army
26:27is forced to make a [music] bitter
26:28retreat through the Albanian mountains.
26:33Now on the 5th of January,
26:36Austrohungarian troops attack
26:38Montenegro. [music]
26:40They are delayed at the battle of
26:41Movats.
26:43But 3 weeks later, Montenegro [music] is
26:45forced to surrender.
26:49On the Caucus' front, the Russians
26:51launch a surprise winter offensive
26:54against Ottoman Turkish forces.
26:576 weeks later, Russian [music] troops
26:59occupy the city of Erzur. In April, they
27:03capture the Black Sea port of Trebzand.
27:06Meanwhile, the British transport two
27:09motorboats to Lake Tangana in Africa.
27:13They finally arrive after a 10,000mile
27:16trip by sea and land and help the
27:19British seize control of the strategic
27:21lake from local German forces.
27:25The same month in German Cameroon,
27:28German troops besieged on Mora Mountain
27:31for 18 months finally surrender to the
27:33Allies.
27:35It marks the end of the Cameroon
27:37campaign.
27:45[music]
27:50On the Western front, the Germans
27:53unleash a devastating assault on the
27:56French fortress town of Verdan.
27:59German General Eric vonfalenheine knows
28:02France will defend this symbolic town to
28:04the last man.
28:07His plan in his own words is to bleed
28:10France white in its defense. It is the
28:14strategy of attrition. Verdon becomes
28:17one [music] of the most terrifying
28:19battles of the war. A mincing machine
28:22where infantry divisions are destroyed
28:25almost as fast as they can be fed into
28:27the line.
28:29In Britain, 1 million men have already
28:32volunteered for military service. But
28:35the government realizes it won't be
28:37enough. Britain becomes the last major
28:39power to introduce [music] conscription.
28:43That spring on the Western Front,
28:45British troops are the last to be issued
28:47with steel helmets.
28:50The nature of trench warfare produces a
28:52high proportion of head wounds. The
28:55German style helm, the French Adrian
28:58helmet, and the British Mark1 steel
29:01helmet offer limited protection from
29:03shell splinters [music]
29:04and shrapnel.
29:07Neutral Portugal has been cooperating
29:09with the British, which seems to offer
29:11the best chance of holding on to her
29:13African colony, [music] Portuguese
29:15Angola. On the 9th of March, Germany
29:19retaliates by declaring war on Portugal.
29:25On the eastern front, Russia launches an
29:27attack near Lake Narok to relieve
29:30pressure on the French at Verdan. But
29:33it's a disaster. There are 100,000
29:36Russian casualties and the attack fails
29:38to divert any German troops from the
29:41fighting at Verdan.
29:43In Dublin, Irish Republicans launch an
29:46armed revolt against British rule. It
29:50becomes known as the Easter Rising. and
29:53is put down after 6 days of street
29:55fighting.
30:06In the Middle East, after a 5-month
30:09siege, British forces at Kut surrender.
30:13General Townsend leads 9,000 British and
30:16Indian soldiers into captivity. About
30:19half later die from starvation or
30:22disease.
30:25Britain wants Arab support in its fight
30:27against the Ottoman Empire. So it's
30:30promised Arab leaders an independent
30:32Arab state after the war.
30:36But now Britain and France secretly sign
30:39the Sykes Pico agreement, planning after
30:42the war to divide the Middle East into
30:44British and French zones of control.
30:47Unaware of this deal, Hussein bin Ali,
30:50Sharif of Mecca, leads the Arabs in
30:53revolt against Turkish Ottoman rule. In
30:56the Battle of Mecca, his forces seize
30:58control of the holy city.
31:01On the Italian front, Austrohungarian
31:04forces launch a surprise attack at
31:06Asiago.
31:08Italian defenses give way.
31:11Austrohungarian troops are poised to
31:13break through into northern Italy.
31:17That month in the North Sea, the German
31:20high seas fleet clashes with the British
31:23Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland. In
31:27the only major naval battle of the war,
31:30the British suffer heavier losses, but
31:33claim victory as the German fleet
31:35withdraws and does not reemerge from its
31:38base for the rest of the war.
31:48For the summer of 1916, the Allies have
31:52planned major simultaneous offensives
31:54against the Central Powers from east and
31:57west. Now they are needed more than ever
32:00to relieve pressure on the French at
32:02Verdan and the Italians at Asiago.
32:08The Russians launch their attack first.
32:11On the eastern front, General Alexe
32:13Brucilov has carefully maintained the
32:15element of surprise.
32:18His troops break through the enemy
32:20lines, in some places, advancing 60 mi
32:23and taking 200,000 prisoners.
32:27This brilliant, though costly, Russian
32:30attack achieves its aim as the Central
32:32Powers are forced to [music] redeploy
32:34troops from other fronts to shore up the
32:37line.
32:42At sea, British cruiser HMS Hampshire on
32:46route to Russia hits a mine and sinks
32:49off Orcne.
32:51Among the 650 dead is Britain's iconic
32:55Secretary of State for War, Lord Kiter.
33:003 days later, in the Adriatic, Italian
33:03troop ship Principe Ombberto is sunk by
33:06a German submarine.
33:08It's the deadliest sinking of the war
33:11with 1,900 lives lost.
33:16On the Western Front, Britain and France
33:19launch their major summer offensive, the
33:22Battle of the S.
33:24Hopes are high for a breakthrough. But
33:27the first day is a disaster. [music]
33:30A long Allied artillery bombardment
33:32fails to knock out German defenses, and
33:35waves of British infantry are cut down
33:38by machine gun fire as they advance
33:40[music] into no man's land. In the space
33:43of a few hours, the British suffer
33:4657,000 casualties, a third of them
33:49killed. It's the worst day in the
33:53history of the British army.
33:56But more attacks are ordered and the
33:59battle will rage for another 5 months.
34:09Encouraged by the Russian advance,
34:11Romania joins the Allies.
34:15But despite an initially successful
34:17advance into Transylvania, Romania
34:19quickly faces a counteroffensive from
34:22German, Bulgarian, and Austrohungarian
34:25forces.
34:27The Allied force at Salonica tries to
34:30support Romania by launching their own
34:32offensive towards Monastere.
34:35With Serbian troops in the lead, there
34:37are small gains, but dogged Bulgarian
34:40resistance prevents a breakthrough.
34:44On the western front, General
34:46Vonfalenheim
34:47finally calls off the attack at Verdan.
34:51The French army has honored their
34:53commander, General Neville's promise,
34:55[music]
34:56ilasaron Pa. They shall not pass.
35:00[music]
35:01But victory comes at a terrible price.
35:04365,000
35:06casualties.
35:07The Germans lose almost as many.
35:11Verdun remains one of the bloodiest
35:13battles in human history.
35:18For his defeat at Verdan, Falconheine is
35:21sacked and Germany's heroes of the
35:23Eastern Front, Von Hindenburg and
35:25Ludenorf, take command in the [music]
35:27west. Meanwhile, the battle of the Song
35:31continues.
35:32Near the village of Flair, the British
35:34introduce a new weapon they hope can
35:37break the deadlock of the trenches. It
35:40is called the tank.
35:42But despite some small successes, the
35:45first tanks [music] are too few in
35:46number and too prone to mechanical
35:49failure to make any real impact.
35:53On the Eastern front, Russia's Brussil
35:56offensive comes to an end. Casualty
35:59estimates vary wildly, but it's clear
36:02both sides have suffered [music]
36:03catastrophic losses.
36:06Neither the Russian nor the
36:07Austrohungarian army ever fully
36:10recovers.
36:14On the Italian front, heavy fighting
36:17rages throughout the autumn as Italian
36:20forces make [music] repeated costly
36:22assaults against Austrohungarian
36:24positions along the Isso River.
36:29The Battle of the Som comes to an end
36:31amid autumn rain and mud.
36:34The Allies have advanced 10 mi at the
36:38cost of 600,000 casualties.
36:42German losses are about 450,000. [music]
36:47The Allies reassure themselves that this
36:50is a winning strategy because at this
36:53rate, Germany will run out of men first.
36:58Meanwhile, disaster engulfves Romania as
37:02the country is overrun by the Central
37:04Powers. Romanian forces [music] suffer a
37:07quarter of a million casualties.
37:09The remnants of its army take position
37:11alongside the Russians on the Eastern
37:13[music] front.
37:15That winter, France Joseph, emperor of
37:18Austria since 1848, dies.
37:22He is succeeded [music] by Carl
37:27In Britain, Prime Minister Herbert
37:29Aswith is forced [music] from office and
37:32succeeded by David Lloyd George,
37:36while General [music] Joffre is replaced
37:38as French commander-in-chief by General
37:40Neville, who promises [music] victory
37:42through bold aggressive action. Amid the
37:46comingings and goings, US President
37:48Woodro Wilson's attempts to mediate a
37:51peace settlement come to nothing.
37:54Neither side is willing to make
37:56concessions.
38:03In 1916,
38:05World War I became a war of attrition.
38:09Both sides began to focus less on
38:12winning victory on the battlefield than
38:14grinding down the enemy and inflicting
38:17such enormous losses they would be
38:20forced to surrender.
38:23In 1917,
38:25the strategy will push Europe's major
38:27powers to the brink of collapse.
38:35[music]
38:40Germany knows [music] it will lose a
38:42long war of attrition against the Allies
38:45who have greater resources.
38:48So, its leaders gamble. They resume
38:51unrestricted submarine warfare,
38:54believing their yubot [music] can cut
38:56off Britain's food imports by sea and
38:59starve the country into surrender within
39:026 months.
39:05But the new shoot [music] on sight
39:07tactics mean neutral American ships will
39:10inevitably be caught in the crossfire,
39:13risking America joining the war on the
39:15Allied side.
39:18Just 2 days into the campaign, the SS
39:21Husatonic, an American steamer carrying
39:24wheat from Galveastston, Texas to
39:26England, is sunk by a yubot.
39:31The British then pass to the US
39:33government a telegram they've
39:34intercepted from German [music] foreign
39:37secretary Arthur Zimmerman to the German
39:39ambassador in Mexico.
39:43Germany is encouraging Mexico to attack
39:46America. If America and Germany end up
39:49at war,
39:51the so-called Zimmerman telegram puts
39:54yet more pressure on US President Wilson
39:57to declare war on Germany.
40:02[music]
40:07In Russia, enormous casualties and bread
40:10shortages lead to riots and revolution.
40:16The zar abdicates.
40:18A provisional government takes charge,
40:20pledging to continue the war. But at the
40:24front, Russian troops begin to desert on
40:27mass.
40:30After a string of German provocations,
40:33the US finally declares war on Germany.
40:37It brings immense [music] resources to
40:39the Allied cause, but they will take
40:42many months to mobilize.
40:44And the German gamble of unrestricted
40:47submarine warfare may still pay off.
40:51April is the Yubot's most successful
40:53month of the war. They sink 886,000
40:57[music]
40:58tons of Allied shipping, an average of
41:0117 ships a day, all packed with urgently
41:04needed food and supplies.
41:07Britain will face starvation if the
41:10Hubot are not defeated soon.
41:15On the Western [music] Front, the
41:17British launched the Battle of Aras, a
41:20diversion to support a major upcoming
41:23French offensive.
41:25After heavy fighting, Canadian troops
41:28seize the high ground of Vimei Ridge.
41:31It's a limited Allied victory, but costs
41:35150,000 Allied casualties to 130,000
41:39German.
41:42Above the trenches, the First Air War
41:44has reached new levels of sophistication
41:47and deadliness.
41:49Reconnaissance aircraft are crucial for
41:52spotting enemy positions and directing
41:54artillery fire onto them.
41:57Scout aircraft or fighters try to shoot
42:00them down before they can execute their
42:03mission.
42:06New models of aircraft are developed
42:08every few months. But that spring, the
42:11superiority of German aircraft leads to
42:13heavy Allied losses in what becomes
42:16known as bloody April.
42:24[music]
42:263 days after the fall of Vimeie Ridge,
42:30French General Robert Neville launches
42:32his [music] main offensive.
42:35Expectations are high,
42:37but after initial success, the advance
42:40bogs down and casualties quickly mount
42:43on both sides.
42:46[music]
42:50[music]
42:53The apparently senseless losses cause
42:56morale in the French army to collapse.
43:00Whole units mutiny, refusing to attack.
43:04General Neville is sacked as French
43:07commanderin-chief
43:08and replaced by General Petan, Hero of
43:11Verdan, who promises no more suicidal
43:15attacks.
43:19That summer at Messin [music] Ridge, the
43:22British tunnel under the German lines
43:25and detonate 19 enormous mines under the
43:28enemy position.
43:31It's the largest man-made explosion in
43:34[music] history to date and paves the
43:36way to a brilliant but highly local
43:39British victory.
43:43[music]
43:48In Greece, King Constantine, who has
43:51[music] favored neutrality, is forced to
43:54abdicate, and Greece joins the Allies.
44:00[music] Russia's provisional government
44:02orders a new attack, but the July
44:05offensive is a disaster.
44:08The morale and discipline of the Russian
44:10army [music] has collapsed. It can no
44:13longer be relied on to fight, and the
44:15Central Powers counterattack is almost
44:18unopposed.
44:22At sea, the Allies begin to group their
44:26merchant ships into convoys which sail
44:29under naval escort. The new system leads
44:32to a steady fall in losses.
44:35The tide is turning in the Yubot War.
44:42As discontent with the war grows in
44:44Germany, the German Parliament, the
44:47Reichag, passes a peace resolution,
44:50calling for a piece of understanding and
44:52reconciliation.
44:55It's ignored by the German high command,
44:58which now effectively rules the country
45:00as a military dictatorship.
45:05In Belgium, the British launched their
45:07major offensive of 1917,
45:10the third battle of Ep.
45:13It will be remembered as Passanddale.
45:18Heavy shelling, rain, and broken
45:21irrigation channels turn the battlefield
45:23into a sea of mud. In these impossible
45:26conditions, all hopes of a breakthrough
45:29soon fade.
45:33The attack is called off after 3 months,
45:36by which point the British have suffered
45:38240,000 casualties, the Germans 200,000.
45:48[music]
45:50On the Italian front, at the 11th battle
45:53of the Zanszo, Italian and
45:56Austrohungarian forces [music] batter
45:58each other into exhaustion.
46:01There are 150,000 [music] Italian
46:04casualties, 100,000 Austrohungarian.
46:08[music]
46:12That year, 1917,
46:14the list of Allied nations grows.
46:17[music]
46:18Brazil, Liberia,
46:21China, and Siam all declare war on
46:25Germany as a result of German yubot
46:27attacks or to curry favor with the
46:30allies.
46:32China will contribute [music] many
46:34thousands of laborers working for the
46:36allies in Europe, the Middle East, and
46:39Asia.
46:40[music]
46:46[music]
46:51That year in the Middle East, British
46:53forces avenged their 1916 humiliation at
46:57Kut by defeating the Ottoman Turks and
47:00marching on to occupy Baghdad.
47:06British forces in Egypt advance [music]
47:08across the Sinai desert,
47:11but are thrown back by Ottoman forces at
47:13the first and second battles of Gaza.
47:19In July, Arab rebels [music] capture the
47:21strategic Ottoman port of Akaba.
47:25They are accompanied by a British
47:27military adviser, [music] Captain TE
47:30Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of
47:33Arabia.
47:37That autumn, British Foreign Secretary
47:39Arthur Balfur issues the Balfur
47:42Declaration, expressing [music] support
47:44for the creation of a national home for
47:46the Jews in Palestine.
47:50The aim is to rally Jewish support for
47:53the Allies, but the declaration
47:55contradicts [music] existing pledges to
47:57Arab leaders.
48:01[music]
48:06In October, the British finally win at
48:09Gaza, clearing the way for an advance
48:12into Palestine.
48:156 weeks later, General Alenby leads
48:18British troops into Jerusalem, ending
48:21400 years of Ottoman rule.
48:32With Russian forces in disarray, Germany
48:35is able to move troops from the east to
48:38the Italian front.
48:41At the Battle of Caparto, they help to
48:43smash through the Italian army,
48:46advancing 70 mi and taking a quarter of
48:49a million prisoners.
48:53British and French divisions desperately
48:56needed on the Western Front have to be
48:59redeployed to shore up the line.
49:04In Russia, a second revolution brings
49:07Lenin's Bolevik party to power.
49:10He is determined to end Russia's
49:12involvement in the war.
49:16In France, Gor Clemenso becomes prime
49:19minister. Nicknamed the Tiger, he
49:22promises total war and total victory.
49:27But for the Allies in late 1917,
49:30final victory looks uncertain.
49:33Russia has stopped fighting. French
49:36armies are recovering [music] from
49:38mutiny.
49:39The Italian front has almost collapsed
49:43and American reinforcements still seem a
49:46long way off.
49:49For the time being, the British are the
49:51only effective Allied force in the
49:53field.
49:56So the British attack at Camry with the
49:59first major tank assault in history.
50:03On the first day, nearly 400 tanks
50:07spearhead an advance of several miles
50:09through German defenses.
50:12But then the tanks break down or are
50:15knocked out. The Germans rush in
50:18reinforcements
50:19and the gains are lost.
50:28Finland declares independence from
50:31Russia.
50:34Romania, isolated by the Russian
50:36collapse, signs an armistice with the
50:39Central Powers.
50:426 days later, Russia also signs an
50:45armistice.
50:46The Allied Eastern Front is no more.
50:521917 has seen one major Allied power,
50:56Russia, knocked out of the war. But the
50:59arrival of a fresh new ally, America.
51:04Germany knows only military victory can
51:07now save it from being overwhelmed by
51:09Allied resources and begins planning one
51:13last massive onslaught for the spring of
51:171918.
51:21[music]
51:24After 3 and 1/2 years of war, the allies
51:28are in crisis.
51:31Russia has been rocked by revolution and
51:34its new bolevik government has signed an
51:36armistice with [music] the central
51:38powers.
51:40Thousands of German troops will be freed
51:42up to fight on the western front where
51:45the carnage of trench warfare has
51:47already claimed more than a million
51:49lives.
51:53But Germany is also desperate.
51:56Britain's long naval blockade has led to
51:58shortages and social unrest at home.
52:02While America's entry into the war
52:04brings fresh manpower and vast resources
52:07to the Allied cause.
52:10Germany faces [music] inevitable defeat
52:13unless it can win a quick victory on the
52:16Western front.
52:22[music]
52:25US President Wilson announces his 14
52:28points.
52:29They outline his vision for a post-war
52:32world, including an end to secret
52:35treaties, a reduction in the size of
52:37armed forces,
52:39self-determination for the people of the
52:41Austrohungarian Empire, and an
52:44international organization to settle
52:47future [music] disputes.
52:50But most European leaders dismiss his
52:52ideas as wishful thinking.
52:57At Breast Leovsk, [music]
52:59Bolevik Russia signs a peace treaty with
53:01the central powers.
53:04Russia gives up vast amounts of [music]
53:06territory in exchange for peace.
53:11Half a million German troops can now be
53:14redeployed from the east to the western
53:16front where German General Eric Ludenorf
53:20plans an allout lastditch offensive to
53:23win the war.
53:28Ludenorf's spring offensive catches the
53:31Allies offguard.
53:33German stormtroopers using new
53:36infiltration tactics help to overwhelm
53:38the British fifth army which is soon in
53:41full retreat.
53:44The German advance threatens to split
53:47the British and French armies with
53:49disastrous consequences.
53:52So French General Ferdinand [music]
53:54Foch is appointed Supreme Commander of
53:56Allied forces to coordinate strategy.
54:01Outside Amol, British and Australian
54:04troops improvise a defense and finally
54:07[music] halt the German advance.
54:12The German offensive switches to the
54:14north, targeting the channel ports.
54:18But the British inflict [music] heavy
54:20losses on the Germans and prevent a
54:22breakthrough.
54:25[music]
54:34Above the trenches, the first air war
54:37continues to escalate.
54:40Each side now has more than 3,000
54:43aircraft in service on the Western
54:45Front. But by 1918, the Allies have won
54:49air superiority thanks to greater
54:51resources.
54:56On the 21st of April, Germany's most
54:59famous pilot, Manfred von Richtoven, the
55:02Red Baron, is shot down and killed near
55:05Among
55:07with 80 victories. He's the war's
55:09highest scoring ace and is buried by the
55:12Allies with full military honors.
55:16Britain's new independent bombing force
55:20launches a daylight raid against
55:21Cologne.
55:23It marks the beginning of Britain's own
55:25strategic bombing campaign.
55:29On the ground, Ludenorf's offensive
55:31switches south, targeting the French.
55:35German troops advance 30 mi but are
55:38halted at the river Mahm just as fresh
55:41American divisions enter the line.
55:45The US first division is the first to
55:48see combat at the battle of Kini.
55:523 days later the US second division wins
55:55victory [music] at the battle of Bellow
55:57Wood.
55:59By now, there are nearly a million
56:02American soldiers in France with 10,000
56:05more arriving every day. The fourth
56:08phase of the German offensive leads to a
56:119-mile advance, but is finally halted by
56:14a French counterattack.
56:17In Italy, AustriaHungary launches an
56:21attack at Asiago and the Pave River to
56:24support Ludenorf's offensive in France.
56:28But it's repulsed with heavy losses and
56:30morale amongst the Austrohungarian army
56:33collapses.
56:40British and French troops land at
56:43Mormansk in northern Russia.
56:46It's the beginning of Allied
56:47intervention in Russia's civil war on
56:50the side of so-called white or
56:52antibolchevik forces.
56:58On the western front, the Germans final
57:01attack is defeated in the second battle
57:03of the mar.
57:06Ludenorf's offensive has cost the
57:08Germans more than 600,000 casualties and
57:12has failed to make a decisive
57:14breakthrough. Germany's final gamble has
57:18failed.
57:22[music]
57:27The allies now go on the attack.
57:30At the Battle of Among, British,
57:33Australian, Canadian, and French troops
57:37supported by tanks and aircraft advanced
57:407 miles in a single day.
57:44General Ludenorf [music]
57:45calls the 8th of August the black day of
57:48the German army.
57:52German troops [music] are exhausted,
57:54hungry, and demoralized, and begin to
57:57surrender in their thousands.
58:00[music]
58:02The battle of Among begins the Allies
58:05100 days offensive.
58:07Trench warfare is over. The Germans are
58:11in full [music] retreat.
58:16[music]
58:20In the Balkans, a [music] new allied
58:22offensive at Doapole breaks through
58:25Bulgarian positions. The overstretched
58:28Bulgarian army collapses [music]
58:30and two weeks later, Bulgaria signs an
58:32armistice.
58:37[music] In the Middle East, British-led
58:40forces defeat the Turks at the Battle of
58:42Megiddo, taking 25,000 prisoners. Allied
58:47troops soon occupy Damascus and Aleppo.
58:52[music]
58:55On the western front, Marshall Foch
58:59orders a general attack.
59:01British, French, and American armies
59:04reach the Hindenburg line, a line of
59:07reinforced German defenses
59:10and break through.
59:18[music]
59:18Ludenorf informs the Kaiser that the
59:21military situation is hopeless and that
59:24Germany must seek an armistice.
59:27[music]
59:30Germany sends a request to [music] US
59:33President Woodro Wilson
59:35who in return demands German withdrawal
59:38from all occupied territory
59:41and the Kaiser's abdication.
59:45On the Italian front, the Allies deliver
59:48the final blow to Austria Hungary at the
59:51Battle of Victoriao Venito.
59:55The Austrohungarian army disintegrates
59:58and 300,000 prisoners [music]
1:00:01are taken.
1:00:04With the Central Powers facing collapse,
1:00:07the Ottoman Empire signs an armistice
1:00:09with the Allies at Mudros.
1:00:144 days later, AustriaHungary signs an
1:00:16[music] armistice with the allies at
1:00:18Villai.
1:00:21At Ke, the German high seas fleet is
1:00:24ordered to make a suicidal attack on the
1:00:26British Navy, but instead it mutinies.
1:00:31Revolution [music]
1:00:32spreads through Germany.
1:00:34The Kaiser abdicates
1:00:36and a German Republic [music]
1:00:38is proclaimed.
1:00:41On the 11th of November 1918, a German
1:00:45delegation signs an [music] armistice
1:00:47with the Allies inside Marshall Tho's
1:00:49railway carriage at Compen.
1:00:53It comes into [music] force at 11:00
1:00:55a.m., but fighting continues until the
1:00:58last moment.
1:01:00American Private Henry Gunter is killed,
1:01:03charging a German machine gun at 10:59.
1:01:07He is thought to [music] be the last
1:01:09soldier killed during World War I.
1:01:163 days [music] later in East Africa,
1:01:19German General Vonletto Verbbeck
1:01:21surrenders his army on the Chambzi
1:01:23River. For 4 years, he has tied down
1:01:27huge numbers of Allied troops, [music]
1:01:29remaining undefeated while cut off from
1:01:31home.
1:01:33He is still considered one of history's
1:01:35greatest guerilla leaders.
1:01:38[music]
1:01:43[music]
1:01:48The Paris Peace Conference opens at the
1:01:51Palace of Versailles, just outside the
1:01:53French capital. Delegates accept a
1:01:56proposal to create a League of Nations
1:01:58to settle future international disputes.
1:02:02The Versailles Treaty signed in June
1:02:05imposes harsh terms on Germany.
1:02:09Its military is restricted in size.
1:02:12It must pay war reparations to the
1:02:15Allies.
1:02:17It loses territory to its neighbors.
1:02:22And its colonies are seized [music] by
1:02:24the victors.
1:02:28Germany must also accept responsibility
1:02:30[music]
1:02:31for the war in a war guilt clause, a
1:02:34source of lasting [music] resentment in
1:02:36Germany.
1:02:43[music]
1:02:43The boundaries of Europe are redrawn.
1:02:47Poland reemerges after a 100red years of
1:02:50foreign rule. While Austria, Hungary,
1:02:54Czechoslovakia,
1:02:55Yugoslavia,
1:02:57and an enlarged [music]
1:02:58Romania emerge from the ashes of the
1:03:01Austrohungarian Empire.
1:03:04The Ottoman Empire is dismantled.
1:03:08New states, most under European control,
1:03:11are created in the [music] Middle East.
1:03:13Here, as in Europe, the seeds of future
1:03:16conflict are sown.
1:03:20While in the Far East, former German
1:03:23possessions in China are handed to Japan
1:03:26to China's outrage.
1:03:29[music]
1:03:34World War I claimed the lives of 9 and a
1:03:37half million soldiers,
1:03:39one in eight of those who fought.
1:03:4321 million more were wounded. [music] 7
1:03:47million civilians also lost their lives.
1:03:52Huge areas of Europe were left
1:03:54devastated. [music]
1:03:57Old empires vanished. New states were
1:04:00born. Lives across the world were
1:04:04transformed.
1:04:07The world was never the same again.
1:04:11[bell]
1:04:14[music]
1:04:19If you enjoyed this video, please
1:04:21remember to like it and subscribe to the
1:04:24channel. and [music] find out how you
1:04:25can help us make more videos at our
1:04:28Patreon page.
1:04:38[music]
1:04:46[music]

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This page contains the full transcript of World War 1 (All Parts, 4k) by Epic History, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 6,852 words across 1,312 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

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Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to translate the transcript into 100+ languages.

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