World War I - Recap

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.*