This is a recap on the documentaries about World War II for November!  Next month is year in review, top ten lists and fun documentaries that do not quite fit in a class curriculum. 

Stealth Sub - YouTube (51:07)
In the English Channel off the Isle of Wright, 80 feet beneath the surface there is the wreck of the submarine.  Although the English Channel was a busy area during World War II, there was no known submarine sinking in English History.  The official history of the area shows that there were no submarine patrols.  So why is this submarine there?  What happened to it?  The Deep Wreck Mystery crew is on the case.  *HIGHLY Recommended for both a science and history class.*

Pearl Harbor and the Pacific - YouTube (50:16)
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a ruthless surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.  The attack caught America off guard and would bring the United States into World War II.  The US Public was caught off guard by the attack and they want answers.  This attack is just a forewarning of what is to come when the Japanese continue their ruthless attacks in the Pacific. *NOT Recommended for a history class.*

D-Day - YouTube (53:54)
It was the early morning of December 6, 1944, and a group of ships were making their way for the beaches of Normandy.  Many of these men did not know where they were going.  On the French shore, nobody expected the invasion.  It would have been an immense gable that could have cost the soldiers thousands of lives.  What happened to prepare for D-Day behind the scenes?  Who made what decisions?  Who were the secret agents involved with the D-Day invasion?  This documentary examines the unknown facts and stories behind the D-Day invasion.  *Recommended for a history class.*

The Outbreak of World War II - The First Victim (48:17)  The First Day (48:12)
Poland fell under the Nazi Blitzkrieg which would start World War II.  This attack would last for six weeks.  However, its consequences for Poland would be devastating.  Poland would endure the harshest conditions under the Nazi regime.  The governor of Poland Hans Frank would have the power of life and death over the Polish people.  He would rule Poland with brutality and would eventually come to justice for his crimes.  *Highly recommended for a history class.*

Nazi Secrets - YouTube (46:53)
Hitler unleashed some of the most terrifying weapons on the sea.  These weapons were lost to sea.  Imagine if you were draining the seas to learn more about these weapons.  This episode looks at several different wrecks.  How close did Hitler come to building an atomic bomb?  Was the pride of Australia sunk by a German secret weapon?  How did the Nazis invent a nearly invisible sub?  Using the latest in technology these wrecks are scanned and examined to learn more about those Nazi secrets. *Highly recommended for a history class.*

Hunt for U-479 - YouTube (55:50)
There are 50,000 shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea.  It has unique environmental conditions that help preserve the shipwrecks.  It is considered a treasure trove of history.  During World War II, the Soviets and the Nazis were fighting for control of the Baltic Sea.  The biggest disaster took place in the Baltic Sea.  The Wilhelm Gustloff was sunk in the sea and took 9,000 souls.  A dive team is assembled to tell this story among others from World War II.  *Not recommended for a history class or for research purposes.*

Leningrad - YouTube (49:51)
Hitler decided to invade Russia and by 1941, Leningrad was completely surrounded.  Hitler expected that the invasion would be quick and that the Russians would surrender quickly.  However that was not what would happen.  The Germans would lay siege to the city for 872 days.  One and a half million people would die from starvation or from the German artillery bombardment.  It was one of the costliest sieges in history.  *Not recommended for a history class or for research purposes.*

Screaming Eagles - YouTube (53:58)
The Screaming Eagles were an integral part of the allied strategy during World War II.  They were the ones who would parachute into enemy territory and take down targets before the main army arrived.  Their training forged them together into a tight-knit fighting force.  These soldiers were the first soldiers to land in Normandy and would have a huge impact on turning the war into the Allies favor.  *HIGHLY recommended for both a history class as well as for research purposes.*

Red Devils - YouTube (50:30)
It was a unit known as the Red Devils.   The First Airborne was an elite fighting force in World War II.  There was a similar unit in the German military that inspired its creation.  These were paratroopers for the British military.  They were known to be physically fit and were going to be an elite regiment.  The First Airborne would become one of the bravest units of World War II.  *HIGHLY recommended for both a history class, independent study students as well as for research purposes.*

Good morning, November has flown by quickly and now let’s do a quick little recap of the documentaries featured for the month! 

The Legend of Manfred von Richthofen - YouTube (52:36)
Manfred von Richthofen was the greatest fighter ace during World War I.  He was also considered the most famous fighter pilot of all time.  He is credited with 80 air combat victories.  He belonged to the landed gentry before becoming a fighter pilot.  He would become a brilliant tactician and lead a squadron known as the “Flying Circus.”  This “Flying Circus” would be successful.  Unfortunately, Richthofen would be shot and killed in 1918, at the age of 25.  This is the story of Manfred von Richthofen.  *NOT recommended for a history class or research purposes.*

Mines of Ypres - Youtube (44:42)
World War I was going to be the war to end all wars.  New technology was introduced such as the airplane and more technologically advanced guns.  Gas was introduced.  Trench warfare was introduced.  This would have been a change to warfare and the soldiers who lived in the trenches would have faced difficult conditions.  There was endless mud and the trenches flooded.  How did these soldiers endure in these mud pits?  *NOT recommended for a history class or research purposes.*

Call to Arms - YouTube (47:25)
When war was declared in 1914, millions of British men signed up for the war believing that it would be a quick war.  These men rode on a wave of patriotic euphoria believing that the war would be an adventure.  However, the reality of the war started to settle in.  Soldiers from World War I were interviewed and now these voices have been brought together for the first time in a documentary series.  Now those voices are silent.  *Recommended for a history class and for research purposes.*

Battle of the Somme - YouTube (47:39)
The Battle of the Somme was one of the most bloody battles of World War I. By November 1916, over 150,000 troops had lost their lives on this front.  At the start of the battle, there were high hopes that one big push would finally end the war.  The British carefully planned with the French for a mass attack. Plans would be blown up and changed.  However, that did not happen and many lives were lost.  The veterans of this battle recall this battle.  *Recommended for a history class and for research purposes.*

Saving the Wounded  - YouTube (47:40)
The British military prided itself on the quality of medical care it could offer its wounded soldiers.  This was the legacy of Florence Nightingale.  However, that legacy would be challenged with the arrival of modern weapons.  Thousands of nurses and doctors were sent to the front-line hospital.  In the four years of fighting thousands of soldiers were wounded or killed which would put these caretakers under strain that even Florence Nightingale could not anticipate.  *Recommended for a history class and for research purposes.*

The Home Front - YouTube (47:23)
It was not just the soldiers, doctors, and nurses who suffered during the Great War.  Many families were left behind and they would witness Zeppelin raids, food shortages, and constant worries.  Would the news of their loved ones come to them through a telegram?  News from the front would oftentimes change these families forever.  Now the people that survived the home front of World War I take their turn and speak.  *Recommended for a history class and for research purposes.*

Horror in the Mud - YouTube (47:52)
It is 1917, and Arras and Passchendaele are on the horizon.  The British would attack the Germans at Arras and the battle would see some of the highest daily casualty rates.  The ware also shifts to the air and the Red Baron takes to the skies.  Then in the summer, the British advanced for Passchendaele.  Countless soldiers would drown in the mud and Passchendaele would soon become synonymous with the horror of mechanized warfare.  There was a sense that the soldiers were living on borrowed time. *Recommended for a history class and for research purposes.*

The Boys of 1918 - YouTube (47:40)
World War I is drawing to an end.  The Germans are launching one last major offensive to try to win.  In spring many conscripts are sent to the front to replace those who had lost their lives.  Thousands were taken prisoner of war by the Germans.  These prisoners of war would endure months of hardship.  At the same time, the Russian Revolution ended Russia’s involvement in the war.  Who would emerge from the war?  *Recommended for a history class and for research purposes.*

Mount Paterno - YouTube (45:07)
World War I was fought in the Alps.  In 1915, some of the most desperate struggles took place in the Alps.  A maze of tunnels and caverns were dug in the Dolomite range by both the Italians and the Austrians.  Mountain soldiers would fight, climb and die over the peaks of the Dolomites.  Heroes would be made among these peaks.  The Dolomites were on the front lines in the struggle between the Italians and Austrians.  *NOT recommended for a history class or research purposes.*

I am just about done with November and the World War I and World War II theme.  I am still finding documentaries to talk about when it comes to World War I and World War II.  When I started, it was a challenge to find World War I documentaries, however I am happy to be finding more and more documentaries on World War I.  In fact, I did more documentaries on World War I this month than I did on World War II.  That said I am glad to be building up both World War I and World War II sections in the YouTube drop down menu.  Today, I am looking at a documentary on World War II and the 1st Airborne.  This documentary has a run time of 50:30.

It was a unit known as the Red Devils.   The First Airborne was an elite fighting force in World War II.  There was a similar unit in the German military that inspired its creation.  These were paratroopers for the British military.  They were known to be physically fit and were going to be an elite regiment.  The First Airborne would become one of the bravest units of World War II. 

The First Airborne was inspired by a German military parachute unit.  Winston Churchill saw this unit and wanted the same for the British Military.  Tony Hibbert was one of the first men to volunteer for this regiment.  He had been evacuated from Dunkirk.  Eventually they were sent to Italy and were effective.  Eventually more and more paratroopers were recruited and trained to jump behind enemy lines.  Men had to be both physically fit and mentally fit.  They had to be of good character as well. 

Jim Knox joined the First Airborne and recalls the training.  It was rigorous and recruits had to run everywhere and not walk.  Knox thought his training officers were trying to kill him.  However this strictness of the training was to help craft an elite soldier.  Stephen Morgan recalls parachute training.  The men had to be able to work their parachutes in even the toughest of conditions.  They had to learn how to jump from an airplane.  The biggest challenge was “do you jump?”  The First Airborne recruits would have to jump seven times from two different types of airplanes. John Frost was a recruit to the parachute brigade.  He was an experienced officer.  Caroline Frost tells the story of her father.  He would become the commanding officer of the second battalion of the First Airborne.

The First Airborne’s mission was to jump behind enemy lines and capture a radar station.  Bad weather would delay the initial raid.  When the weather cleared, the men fly for France.  Unfortunately the British planes would come under fire.  That said, none of the airplanes were hit.  The attack was on and destroyed the radar station.  As they retreated to the beach, they took casualties.  However, the danger was not over.  Communication was poor; however the paratroopers would eventually be brought back to England.  Six men were wounded, six men were captured, and two men were dead.  This raid was a big morale boost to the English.  Parachute regiments were here to stay.  This raid was the first parachute regiment’s battle honor.

First World War I veterans Frederick Boy-Browning would lead the regiment and he wanted to give this regiment a distinguished look.  Maroon and Cambridge Blue were to be with regiment’s color, these colors were also Boy-Browning’s regiment colors.  The Pegasus was the mascot.  These colors and mascot were a sign that the man who wore them was someone they could trust, someone that they could go to war with.  To learn more about the First Airborne and their exploits continue to watch the rest of this episode.

This unit was mentioned in the series Band of Brothers, and it’s squadron leader was played by John Light who plays Flambeau on Father Brown.  Easy Company help get a company of First Airborne out from behind enemy lines.  It was nice to see a documentary on this division.  The story of Frost was interesting and I found it funny that he would use his horn to rally his troops.  Anyway this was a good documentary and one I would show to a history class and would recommend it to an independent study student.

Good morning, I am on the last week of November and winding down the World War I and World War II documentaries.  I am going to do a documentary on World War II about its first days.  The run time for this documentary is 48:12. The episode is called The First Day.

September 1, 1939 was the day when Adolph Hitler declared war on Poland.  His plan was to destroy the Polish military and then eventually the Polish nation.  He was going to obliterate the livelihoods of the Polish people as well as anyone else who stood in his way.  It was a time that ended the childhoods of millions of children.  This is the story of what happened on the first day of the invasion.

The story begins with a recreation of the order that went out for the invasion.  The war was going to begin.  Otto Schmidt recalls the day of the invasion and how the people would die.  The Nazi Airforce made their move on a small Polish town.  Schmidt recalls diving and bombing the center of the town.  He was horrified as he knew that the people did not know that they were at war. 

Piortr Kieszkowski spoke about how that day of war was when his childhood ended.  He was in the village of Wielun that was being bombed by Schmidt and his men.  He recalls the house collapsing around him.  He recalls being in darkness and that his mouth was full of dust.  It was a miracle that they had survived.  His grandmother would sadly pass away in the bombing.  The bombing of Wielun was a practice for what was to come.  Schmit recalls feeling horrified at what he had done.

Could the war have been avoided?  The Great Powers wanted to avoid war and were willing to deal with Hitler to achieve that peace.  Hitler had his eyes on Czechoslovakia and he was going to get land from Czechoslovakia.  He was going to go to war for it and the Western Powers still weary from World War I would give him the land.  The people were not consulted on this land transfer.  They would have to accept their fate for peace.  It was a “classic blackmail scheme.”  The peace deal was just a way to help give Hitler time to build up his military.  

However, Hitler was slowly preparing for war and had been secretly rearming Germany.  He was flexing his power and challenging the Allies.  His first challenge was in 1936 when he invaded the Rhineland and the West could only protest his invasion.  Eventually, Hitler took over Austria.  He was bringing German territories into the Reich.  He would have his eyes on recovering Danzing, a swath of land that was under the League of Nations control.  Finally, Hitler would invade the rest of Czechoslovakia.

Eventually, the Allies would see that Hitler would not stop claiming territories.  He had no limit to his aims.  The Polish government looked at Hitler and drew its conclusions.  They would make no concessions to Hitler and would fight back against Hitler.  However, Hitler was prepared to wipe out the whole Polish State.  The return of Danzing was the pretext for Hitler’s Polish invasion.  Polish people in Danzing would find themselves under persecution from the Germans.  One resident recalls Germans throwing rocks at their windows.

The Polish army tried to build up their strength.  However, the Polish military would not be a match for the German army.  That said, the Polish government put out propaganda saying that the Polish army could march into Berlin in a mere three weeks.  However, the truth was that they would not be able to stand up against the mighty German war machine.  Eventually, the military would be sent to the German border, and the threat of invasion hung in the air.  For many children it would have been the last time they would have seen their fathers.  To learn more about the beginning of World War II continue to watch the rest of the documentary.

I liked this episode, it was very well done and went through a careful explanation of the lead up to World War II.  The recreations were well done and it had a very good flow.  I would show this to a history class room.

It is the last week in November and it is time to wind up the World War I and World War II documentaries.  Let’s go to a documentary on World War II after the disappointment of yesterday’s documentary.  Today I am going to look at a documentary on the 101st Airborne Division and their impact on World War II.  The documentary has a run time of 53:58.  It is part of the Battle Honors series and it is called the Screaming Eagles.  It can be found on the War Stories YouTube Channel.

The Screaming Eagles were an integral part of the allied strategy during World War II.  They were the ones who would parachute into enemy territory and take down targets before the main army arrived.  Their training forged them together into a tight-knit fighting force.  These soldiers were the first soldiers to land in Normandy and would have a huge impact on turning the war into the Allies favor.

The 101st Airborne had their roots in World War I, however the war ended before they could see action.  The 101st Airborne was reborn during World War II in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  John O’Brien talks about foundations of the 101st Airborne and how the eagle became its symbol.  The first 101st was organized during the Civil War in Wisconsin.  This regiment was given an eagle as a mascot.  The regiment was disbanded but then reorganized as part of the Wisconsin National Guard and they adopted the Eagle rising from the flames as its mascot.  Eventually, the regiment was recognized again during World War II, where they would become a paratrooper unit.  This was a rather cool introduction to the 101st Airbourne, I did not know that the founding was in Wisconsin.

William Lee was the first man to lead this regiment and said that they were going to make history.  Thousands of men would volunteer willingly to jump out of airplanes.  The first veteran interviewed is Ed Shames who talks about volunteering.  The new volunteers were sent to Camp Toccoa and the training regiment was strict.  Carl Beck talks about the training and how tough it was.  It was designed to weed out recruits who would not make good paratroopers.  Shames recalls needing to have an IQ over 100 and runs up Currahee Mountain.  If you dropped out from the runs up Currahee, you would be shipped out of the regiment. 

The training was extremely physical, they were going to be a superior unit.  After three months of basic training and were known as the fittest soldiers in the army.  However, when they got to jump school these soldiers would not make friends with the instructors.  The jump school teachers could not keep up with the Toccoa-trained soldiers.  Everyone was going to jump and there were a variety of training methods of training to jump.  They had purpose-built weapons.

Eventually, the Screaming Eagles would join the rest of the US Troops in England.  They were preparing for an invasion of Europe.  The 82nd Airbourne had made the first jumps in Italy which would prove to be a success.  So it was decided that the Paratroopers would used again, only in numbers that would dwarf in comparison to what was used in Italy.  The Paratroopers were for the most part kept in the dark until the orders were received.  D-Day was going to happen.  To learn more about the 101st Airborne and their fight on D-Day continue to watch the rest of the episode.

I was a little bit nervous about this documentary because I was very familiar with the Easy Company story and I felt like I was going to miss the voices of Winters, Guarnere, and Heffron.  Then I saw Ed Shames and knew that he was part of Easy Company and was the last surviving paratrooper from Easy.  I was equally impressed with Carl Beck’s contribution to the documentary.  You almost had the sense that these were the last survivors of the 101st Airborne in general.  I was very happy with this documentary.  The sections on the 101st Airborne Museum were very well done as well.  I would show this episode to a history class and would use it for research purposes.

Good morning, good afternoon or good evening!  I hope that you are very well reading this blog and doing your planning.  November presses on with World War I and World War II documentaries.  Soon it will be December and it will be fun and frivolous documentaries and year in review blogs.  Then it will be January 2025!  I cannot believe that I have been blogging about documentaries since 2020.  I hope that this website continues to be a good source for teachers when it comes to selecting documentaries.  Today is a documentary about World War I.  The run time for this documentary is 45:07.  It is part of the Great Underground War series and it is called Monte Paterno.  I had reviewed an episode of the series before and I did not like it, so maybe this episode will be better.

World War I was fought in the Alps.  In 1915, some of the most desperate struggles took place in the Alps.  A maze of tunnels and caverns were dug in the Dolomite range by both the Italians and the Austrians.  Mountain soldiers would fight, climb and die over the peaks of the Dolomites.  Heroes would be made among these peaks.  The Dolomites were on the front lines in the struggle between the Italians and Austrians.

Italy signed a secret treaty with London and when World War I began they raced to capture the Dolomites.  Hard on their tails was the Austrians.  Tunnels were carved into the rock.  Well-positioned artillery could easily control the Dolomites.  Two archeologists explore the tunnels that were carved into these mountains.  These two archeologists will find climbing the mountains a challenge.  This is one area of the war you never really heard about in school.

The mountains were the border lands between Austria and Italy.  Italy had fought against Austria before and had taken the side of the French, British, and Russians to regain their lost territory.  The Italians pushed very hard to take their lost territories back.  The summits in the Dolomites were the sight of back-and-forth fighting between the Italians and Austrians.

There was a man who would rise to the occasion, he was a mountain guide.  His name was Sepp Innerkolfer and he was from a family of farmers.  However, he would eventually become a mountaineer and would get his license to guide people through the mountains.  He was a pioneer of tourism in the area.  He would fight hard against the enemy's encroachment on these mountains.  Sadly the enemy was his Italian neighbors.  These mountain guides were as tough as the mountains they guided people through.  I tried to look into the man further to get the spelling of the name, however I could not find it.  Eventually, I found it when his great-grandson was interviewed.  Other Tyrolian mountaineers would participate in the war.

The mountaineers would have the necessary skills that would survive the terrain.  Emperor Franz Joseph would mobilize the Australian Mountaineers from Italian intrusion.  They were excellent marksmen and could navigate the terrain.  Other soldiers would be deployed and the mountaineers would help train these new soldiers.  The elderly and women trained men to be lookouts in the valley.

However, there were challenges along the way.  Mountaineers who knew the area well were told not to put patrols on certain mountains.  Even though they told the generals that those locations were good for defending.  Only after the enemy invaded these high peaks did the generals realize that these peaks were a good defense point.  To learn more about the war in the Dolomites, continue to watch the rest of this episode.

This should have been divided into chapters for easier viewing.  The discussion on Sepp Innerkolfer seemed to have run long.  The narrator could have done a quick introduction and then moved on to the war.  It was a reminder of how bad the first episode I reviewed was.  I had to rewind it several times.  There was too much introductory filler.  It took forever to get to the tunnel exploration.  So this episode was not better than the first one I reviewed.  I would not recommend this documentary for a history classroom nor would I recommend it for research purposes.

Good morning, today let’s continue to work through documentaries on World War II and World War I for November.  Today is a documentary from World War II and the Battle of Leningrad.  This looks like an older documentary, so I do not know what to expect.  Here we go!  The run time for this episode is 49:51.  The documentary is called Leningrad and it is from the War Stories YouTube Channel.  It is part of the Battlefield series.

Hitler decided to invade Russia and by 1941, Leningrad was completely surrounded.  Hitler expected that the invasion would be quick and that the Russians would surrender quickly.  However that was not what would happen.  The Germans would lay siege to the city for 872 days.  One and a half million people would die from starvation or from the German artillery bombardment.  It was one of the costliest sieges in history. 

The story begins with Hitler deciding to invade Russia by late 1941.  A plan was drawn up to attack Russia on two fronts: one front in the north and the other front in the south.  These attacks would have two large army groups.   Leningrad would be the target of the north group and then they would go and invade Moscow.  Finland was also struggling to fight against the Russians, they would eventually lose land to Russia.  They would turn to Germany for help to regain their land.  They had no interest in invading Russia.  Unfortunately, the German plan would rely on the army uniting with the Finnish army to help with the invasion.

Eventually, the plan was changed, and three army groups were to invade Russia.  This would dangerously stretch the troops to their limits, but Hitler would not be deterred.  Many German officers were opposed to the invasion because Russia was a challenge to invade.  They tried to talk Hitler into taking a step-by-step approach to the invasion, however, Hitler would not be deterred.

Then the documentary transitions into Joseph Stalin.  He had purged the Soviet military of brilliant generals.  He had no intention of fighting a war in the West.  He had peace treaties with both Britain and Germany.  However, things started to change and the Germans were planning to invade Russia.  He slowly accepted that war with Germany was inevitable.  He worked to buy time for the invasion, he did not anticipate that Germany would invade Russia in 1941.  The people under him saw the preparations Germany was taking to invade Russia and kept that intelligence from him for fear of his temper.
Unfortunately, the Russian military was woefully unprepared for the German invasion.  With the purges, the Russian military could not be expected to face the German army.  Not only was there a lack of brain power, but the Russian military had outdated and inadequate weapons.  The German weapons were far superior to the Russian weapons.  The stage was set for the invasion of Russia.

When the invasion came, the Russians were caught off guard.  They were stunned by the quickness of the German invasion.  Many soldiers were captured and weapons were destroyed.  Joseph Stalin shot more generals as a result of the invasion.  The Red Army did not know where the Germans were going.  The German army continued to move deep into Russian territory.  The civilian populations in Riga greeted the German soldiers as liberators.  They were greeted with flowers from the locals.  To learn more about the invasion of Russia watch the rest of the documentary.

The style of the documentary is old, and I get the impression that it was geared toward a classroom setting.  That said, it was a very long setup to get to the Siege of Leningrad.  As a viewer, you did not get to the actual invasion until twenty minutes into the documentary.  That was disappointing because I found myself drifting away from the documentary in the first half of the documentary.  Then it was another ten minutes talking about the invasion.  The title should have been called the Invasion of Russia and not Leningrad.  I would expect a documentary on Leningrad to talk about Leningrad and not a whole lecture on the invasion of Russia.  I would not show this documentary to a history class, I drifted away from this documentary and I know a student will not pay attention either.

Good morning, I wish I could do another Last Voices of World War I, but alas I ran out of those documentaries.  Now let’s shift to a documentary on World War II and the Baltic Sea.  When it comes to World War II, a lot of action took place on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, however, we never hear about what happened on the Baltic Sea.  The run time for this documentary is 50:50.  It is called the Hunt for U-479.

There are 50,000 shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea.  It has unique environmental conditions that help preserve the shipwrecks.  It is considered a treasure trove of history.  During World War II, the Soviets and the Nazis were fighting for control of the Baltic Sea.  The biggest disaster took place in the Baltic Sea.  The Wilhelm Gustloff was sunk in the sea and took 9,000 souls.  A dive team is assembled to tell this story among others from World War II.

The Wilhelm Gustloff was a cruise ship that was created by the Nazis to provide the people with a cruise vacation.  During World War II, Wilhelm Gustloff was requisitioned for service to help evacuate German civilians from the advancing Soviets.  Thousands of people tried to get on the ship, and historians put the number at 10,000 plus people that were on the ship at the time of the sinking.  The Wilhelm Gustloff was among two other ships that were fleeing from the Soviets.  The other two ships were the Goya and the General Steuben.

The first wreck explored is the Wilhelm Gustloff, and this was one wreck that nobody had ever heard of.  The one thing that was shocking about the wreck was the lack of human remains on the wreck.  Jak P. Mallmann Showell talks about the Wilhelm Gustloff and how it was built.  It would not have the speed that other ocean liners.  It could not be able to outrun a Soviet submarine.

The next wreck that is explored is General Steuben.  Over four thousand people lost their lives on this wreck.  The General Steuben wreck is a wreck that is covered with nets so the divers have to be careful when exploring the wreck.  In the midst of diving these wrecks, the shipwreck hunters are looking for a lost U-boat.  The U-479 had operated in the Baltic Sea but is now lost. 

Horst Bredow talks about his experiences in the U-Boat.  He served on the U-Boats during World War II.  He manages an archive that deals with U-Boat histories.  He recalls being seasick on the U-boats.  If you are an avid watcher of PBS, you would remember Horst Bredow from the U-869 documentary.  It was very nice to see him in this documentary.

The team turns to learning more about U-Boats and what conditions were like in those U-Boats.  They are going to use these studies to help find the U-Boat.  They eventually make their way to Estonia to make their plans to find U-479.  Then there was a discussion on another shipwreck that was discovered in the Baltic.  Then there is a short discussion on the ferry Estonia shipwreck and a visit to that memorial.  What challenges will these divers face in the Baltic?  Will the shipwreck divers find the U-479?  What do the Baltic shipwrecks reveal about World War II?  Tune into the rest of the episode to find out more.

It would have been nice to have this documentary divided into chapters to help break things up.  The documentary just jumped from one wreck to the other.  Some parts were really fast-moving and then slowed down when it came to learning more about a wreck. It was nice to see Horst Bredow in this documentary.  I do not believe the mention of the MV Estonia was very appropriate for a documentary on World War II wrecks, although I understand that it relates to the weather on the Baltic Sea.  I also would have appreciated a longer discussion on what was going on during World War II on the Baltic Sea besides the refugees fleeing the war.  I would not recommend this documentary for a history class nor would it be good for research purposes.

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening depending on when you are reading this.  November is the time for World War I and World War II.  Today is the last episode of the Last Voices of World War I series.  This has been an excellent series and I wish it was another episode or two.  The run time for this episode is 47:40.  The episode is called The Boys of 1918.

World War I is drawing to an end.  The Germans are launching one last major offensive to try to win.  In spring many conscripts are sent to the front to replace those who had lost their lives.  Thousands were taken prisoner of war by the Germans.  These prisoners of war would endure months of hardship.  At the same time, the Russian Revolution ended Russia’s involvement in the war.  Who would emerge from the war?

Jack Rogers was making plans to celebrate his birthday back at home.  He wrote his mother telling him not to send a cake and that he was coming home.  Plans changed with the German offensive.  All leave was canceled, and Jack and other soldiers marched towards a trench.  Instead of celebrating his birthday, the German soldiers pushed on towards their goal.  The German soldiers overwhelmed the British troops.

Bill Easton, who was with the field ambulance was shocked at the speed and the ferocity of the German attack.  They captured many British trenches and soldiers.  The British soldiers had no choice but to surrender.  Jack expected to die in the trench when a German charged him.  However, the German soldier asked for cigarettes and Jack was taken prisoner.

The British military was looking for more and more troops.  The government had lowered the age of conscripts to eighteen years old.  Fred Hodges had volunteered initially but was turned down because of his age.  Eventually, he tried again and was accepted as a soldier.  There were many conscripts who were bullied and cajoled into fighting.  However, there was another young man who was reluctant to fight.  Percy Williams was promised that it would be a year before he saw a frontline.  However, his training was cut short and he was sent to the front line to replace the man soldiers that were lost.

The Germans smashed through British lines and took many prisoners of war.  These recruits and conscripts had their training cut short to be sent to the front.  Fred could not wait to get to the front and see some action.  His parents had a hard time sending him off. 

In the meantime, thousands of prisoners of war were making their way to prisoner-of-war camps.  Jack remembers being forced into the cattle trucks without anything to eat or drink for two days.  There was a ventilator at the top that provided air.  Eventually, they entered Germany.  Bill remembers being marched into a camp and then being asked to treat wounded men in a church nearby.  Bill was the only one who volunteered to serve.  He recalls seeing forty men that needed to be treated.

Emboldened by their initial success, the Germans launched another attack.  Percy Williams was shocked by the artillery bombardment.  He was “nearly sick with fright.”  It was the first time he realized that he could potentially die.  He recalls the gas attack that happened and not being able to see because of the film on the gas mask.  He concludes that he had never experienced something so terrifying in his life.

Ernie Stevens recalled the machine guns being shot off behind him.  His regiment could not escape and so it was decided to surrender to the Germans.  Being taken prisoner left Ernie feeling dread and that he had let his family down.  Percy Williams had been shot in the leg and was captured by the Germans.  How would these men survive the prisoner-of-war experience?  To learn more about the final year of the war and the experiences of the men in trenches and prisoner-of-war camps tune into the rest of the episode to find out.

The story of Bill Easton becoming an honorary German sergeant was surprising and a delightful addition to this documentary.  This was a very strong conclusion to the series.  I would show this documentary to a history class.

Good morning, good afternoon or good evening depending on when you are reading this and doing planning.  November is flying by and I am working on World War I and World War II and I am working on the Last Voices of World War I series.  This is proving to be an excellent series.  It was very interesting to see that it took fifteen years to interview the last survivors.  The run time for this episode is 47:52.  The episode is called Horror in the Mud.

It is 1917, and Arras and Passchendaele are on the horizon.  The British would attack the Germans at Arras and the battle would see some of the highest daily casualty rates.  The ware also shifts to the air and the Red Baron takes to the skies.  Then in the summer, the British advanced for Passchendaele.  Countless soldiers would drown in the mud and Passchendaele would soon become synonymous with the horror of mechanized warfare.  There was a sense that the soldiers were living on borrowed time.

Alfred Henn talks about the battle of Arras.  The villagers welcomed the advance of the British and French troops because they were going to liberate the town.  In the lead-up to the battle, there were minor skirmishes.  It would hope that the final attack would bring the German army to its knees.  Henn talks about how even the horses were afraid of what was to come.  Tommy Thomson as part of an attack on a German trench.  The officer who was going to lead the attack was visibly terrified.  Thomson believes that the officer should not have been in charge of the attack.  The officer believed that he was going to be killed and he was killed.

After the Somme, men had a constant fear of being injured or killed.  The Winter of 1916 was also one of the coldest on record as well.  The men were miserable and the spirits were low.  Henn recalls being cold and wet all the time.  He recalls a shell burst and him wishing that it was closer to warm up even though it probably would have killed him.

Trench foot would become rife in these conditions.  Andrew Bowie recalls suffering from trench foot.  His foot would become so swollen that he was taken to the hospital.  By the time he got to the hospital, the blisters had burst.  It turns out he would have lost the leg if the blisters had not burst.  Bowie was sent to England to recover.

The Germans moved on from the Somme to go to the Hindenburg line.  They left behind a trail of destruction.  The British troops moved to this new line and they would have to face them head on.  Aras would be the site of the battle.  It was here that there was a new breed of soldiers: conscripts.  Harry Patch was one of the soldiers.  He did not want to go but he had to go when he was called up.  Army life had no appeal to him, so he would not have gone off to war.

Many men went to extreme lengths to avoid going to the trenches.  An emerging branch of the military was becoming attractive for many of these reluctant transcripts: the Air Force.  Bill Hall and Sydney James were two men wanting to avoid the trenches and they both joined up with the Royal Flying Corps.  Sydney’s mother did not approve of his decision to fly.  However once the training was done, these new pilots would be found at the battle of Aras.  You can see the new technology that was coming into play during World War I.

At the battle of Aras, the British were making an impact and it is here that the Red Baron and his flying circus were sent to try to reestablish German domination.  To learn more about the Battle of Aras and the Battle of Passchendaele continue to watch the rest of this episode.

Yeah, this time around I did turn on closed captioning.  There is a variety of voices that have come together for these interviews and it seems that every episode had different voices talking about their experiences of World War I.  I still recommend showing this to a history class.