World War I - The Hidden Secrets of the Battle of Yrpes

Good morning, we are back to World War I for November.  It seems that I have really expanded my list of World War I documentaries this year.  I feel like the amount of World War II documentaries outnumbers the number of World War I documentaries.  This time we are looking at the battle at Ypres and the run time for this documentary is 1:10:25.

Norm Christie examines the Battlefields of Ypres in the Lost Battlefield series.  He is exploring the story of the Canadian soldiers that were killed during World War I.  The Battle of Mount Sorrel and the Battle of Hill 70 would shape the Canadian Corps.  He explores the legacy of the Canadian Corps and its contributions to the Great War.  Christie travels to the battlefields of Ypres to learn about the Canadian contributions to the Great War.

Christie kicks off this documentary with a trip to the Vimy Memorial.  He talks about the Canadian soldiers who made up the Canadian Corps during the Great War.  At the start of the war, the Canadian Corps would have been made up of men from a variety of backgrounds.  They would have had no experience in war and were looking for adventure.  He walks the fields where the battles happened.  He picks up shrapnel in the fields.  Then it shifts to a discussion on Ypres.  Ypres was the last Allied stronghold in Belgium. 

The Germans wanted it and the Allied troops were determined to defend it.  The Canadian Corps was assigned to a hill near Ypres.  They were to defend the hill from a potential German advance.  The Germans were preparing to take the hill and the Canadians watched the German preparation knowing that they were getting ready to attack them.

Christie tours a trench where the Canadians were stationed to prevent a German advance.  He talks about the German bombardment of the trenches in the advance of the battle.  He talks about the Canadian participants in the Battle of Ypres.  He talks about the men who were killed in the initial bombardment.  One of the officers was killed by a piece of shrapnel.  Christie continues to talk about the battle and the casualty rates as he walks the trenches.  The Great War would have changed the landscape. 

Unfortunately, I found myself periodically drifting while watching this documentary.  When I turned back to this documentary there was a discussion on the first flame throwers and how they killed many men.  Then there was a discussion of how many Canadians turned up wounded or missing in the initial battle of the Ypres.  However, based on the Great Tour documentary the Canadian Corps would hold strong against the Germans.  There was a painting made of this battle and it was sent to be displayed in Canadian schools.  Now, back to this documentary, Christie continues to explore the trenches and talk about Ypres. 

When I first started this documentary and saw Norm Christie’s name mentioned I thought I was watching the Great War Tour again.  Then I realized he look a whole lot younger and the film quality hinted that the documentary was older.  So no, this is not a repeat of the Great War Tour.  The first ten minutes of this episode were divided into chapters but then the rest of the documentary was not divided into chapters.  Too bad the rest of the documentary was not divided into chapters.

With that out of the way, at the start, it was a bit hard to follow because Christie seemed to do time jobs.  I have a feeling that this was Christie’s first time presenting a historical documentary and if it is it definitely shows.  It was a nice touch to include the words of the men who fought in these battles, but it was almost too little too late.  I also found myself drifting and not paying attention to the documentary.  I am pretty sure if a teacher would view this they would find themselves drifting as well.  Teachers, be glad that I watched this documentary and you did not have to.  Due to how hard the documentary was to follow, I would not recommend showing this documentary to a history classroom.