It was unfortunate that naive politicians allowed the same thing to happen just twenty years later. None of them listened to Pershing and Foch. Germany should have been totally occupied, as it finally was in 1945 and Russia, the other totalitarian state, would not have occupied half of Europe.
As a veteran of numerous conflicts, allow me to say BS. Everything that Western men have fought for for the past 200 years has been squandered and pi55ed away.
@@0ldb1ll To be fair, in time humanity will be forgotten. Edit: I meant in eons to come, humanity will be nothing but stellar dust. Mock me if you must, it only serves to show your own shortcomings.
They gave their life’s for the freedom of them and their families. Now look at the countries they fought for. Not a lot left anymore, all over run by the 3rd world immigrants the governments can’t get enough off. While we lose our identities as to not offend. About time our politicians put the country they are supposed to lead, first.
My grandfather Albert Rainford from Bolton , Lancs., was on the Somme first day, wounded, recuperated, went back to Belgium , wounded second time. As a 10 year old kid, I would ask him about his time in the army, he never really said in any detail… just a grandad playing a little with his grandson in the 1960s… he was humble, I’m 70 years old now and I miss him so much. He is my hero and my inspiration.
My Grandfather also fought at The Somme ( Canadian Scottish) were he was wounded twice. Latter wounded at Vimy and the D.Q. Line. He also rarely spoke of it but had nightmares nightly until he died at the age of ninety one. A few years back I found his memoir and what wrote there was chilling. Up most respect for these men. Not forgotten
George about losing his friend Joe: "We'd not even said, so long, to one another", with a pause, tears in his eyes, an a lump in his throat. That was so sad. They are at peace now.
WW1 was probably the most grisly war in world history. It was the first war with mass use of artillery and machineguns, but armies were still using old troop movement tactics. Truly horrific
American civil war came very close and some military strategist could see the horror and carnage of modern industrial weaponry but as usual their voices got ignored with the outbreak of WW1.
The king telling his german cousin that he can't wait until the war is over so we can play tennis again. An aristocracy end plan because they were scared the working class were about to destroy them.
My grandfather fought in WWI and he NEVER spoke of it or allowed himself to be questioned about it. He left a memoir given to him by his buddy who didn’t make it.
@@Ronald-hx6zn My great grandfather was also mustard gassed and sent home. He suffered badly and died two years after the war ended. Poor fellas all of them.
@Woodsman_uk I never met my grandfather. Dad told me very little, because grandfather didn't talk about. My dad told me that grandfather said there were two treatments, morphine and alcohol. Said he refused morphine. My uncle served in British Army WW2.He was in a tank turret. That was the only thing my uncle said of his time during WW2.My dad wanted to join the Navy during WW2,but couldn't join due to medical condition. Dad left England 1939 for Canada were he worked in bomb factory. My Mother worked for him.Mom said she worked in the powder room.My Dad became Canadian citizen. We all moved to North Carolina in 1964. Dad got his United States 🇺🇸 citizenship giving him 3 citizenship. I joined USAF in 1975 as a Canadian. After serving I got my citizenship, United States 🇺🇸. I am very proud to be 3rd generation Veteran.
I grew up listening to the stories of my grandmother and her sisters and cousins, their husbands and sweethearts didn't come home or came home mentally and physically broken, it was very much a case of "before and after", after gassing, after year's on the front. I never knew my Grandfather as he passed before I was born. We are Irish & Welsh, Pa served as a pioneer all of WW1 and again in WW2, of 4 brother's and 7 brother's in law he was the singular man who came home without serious physical injury. My Mum would tell Me of his endless night terrors, his nightmares, his grief of his brothers death's, some dying year's later at military hospital's with ruined lung's. My mother's 3 elder sister's left Wexford for Britian after '39, served in the WAF and as nurse's in Coventry during the blitz. As an Irishman im very proud of each and every one of them. Better Day's Ahead. ☘️
Everyone old enough told me of these stories, and "their kids" told me of WWII, Korea, Nam. LORD? PLEASE? BLESS THEIR Sacrifices', Souls', efforts', and Family! GOD! Please? BLESS LIGHT!
It is sad when I realize the men who are talking are long gone. We must preserve their words forever. The sad thing is every battle, every war the scenes are reenacted ..
Wiping the tears from my eyes, all I can say is God bless you Gentlemen. If it wasn’t for your courage, bravery and determination. May you rest in peace, forever you are heroes.
Listening to George Littlefair talk about his friend Joe being killed was very emotional. He recounts stories in a very special way that really gets to me.
I'm sure there was a programme that followed some of these men, I recognised George Littlefair, he went back to france, accompanied by his daughter, he visited the grave of his old friend Joe. What a lovely gentleman he was.
My Grandfather was wounded at the Somme in 1916. He came back a broken man and died in an asylum. No help from the dvt back in those days But our family survived and did very well
These poor men, imagine fighting and dying. Suffering the horrors of the first and 2nd world war only to see our great country given up so willingly to other cultures and corporations. What a sorry waste.
Luckily for the ww1 vets, it wasn't really noticable for them, but those poor ww2 vets definitely had to witness the degeneration of our society and failures of leadership.
Listening to George Littlefair, the look in his eyes, tells so much of the reality of killing and dying. All these men reliving the story of their experience, I somehow feel more for them now than those young men they once were. They are gone now, and so those who fought in WWII are now going silent.
@@staleydu1 I've played the different scenarios in my head for years! What if the French and UK had given Germany a fair deal after the 1st?! Would their radical side never have risen? If Germany had not gone insane... Would Stalin and the Soviets have started a war with the Western country's? Could there have been German, French, UK alliance against the USSR... Treaty of Versailles was an epic moment in human history!
It's sad remembering the old fellows. I had a great grandfather who fought at Meuse Argonne. I was working at the VA when the last of them passed. Spent more time trying to talk with the aging WWII folks. We're now losing them quickly. It was a horrible war. My great uncle passed early because of Mustard gas. A lot of the old men passed to early because of that horrible war.
My paternal grandfather was in the US Navy ,and fought in France during WW1. He was a tall handsome man. After the war he became a gentlemen's tailor. I remember him keeping a large cast iron and wood shotgun in his house. He and grandma kept a tidy house. Grandma died in 1967 and grandad died in 1981 while in a VA Hospital in North Carolina. He was 93.
Nice to see British soldiers were best of friends in the trenches....Not like the US Army where Pat Tillman was deliberately wasted by his own jealous men
Because WW1 was useless and people went to war thinking it would be sports event. In WW2 people went there for their believes and convictions. Not that I want to make them look less but WW1 was just senseless and stupid from everyone involved. That's why they are called the lost generation and not the best generation.
@@CharlesRexElizabethReginaThe Silent Generation (born between 1925-45) is the one after the Greatest Generation. So named because they didn’t do political activism and in general showed conformity, strong work ethic, and traditionalism, also affected by growing up in the shadow of the Great Depression.
God bless these men and their families. My great-grandfather served in France and was in the trenches. He was mustard gassed. I never knew him, but it makes me so proud to be one of his great-granddaughters. I love to see his old photos.❤️
When my nan ask my grand dad how close he got to the enemy, the only answer he ever gave was "I could see the whites of their eyes" Then that would be it, end of conversation. Love and miss him terrible
What really got me was Jack Roger letter ✉️ that he got from home.(34:00) Extremely sad what happened to all those young kids back then,so many lives lost for nothing and here we are in 2024 and ww3 is brewing in Europe again.
WW1 is truly one of the greatest tragedies in human history. Both of my great-grandfathers served in WW1, US Army and British Army. My Great granduncle Daniel was killed in the Battle of Mons 1914. One of my favorites things I own is the campaign medal from my other great uncle John who was a US Army Artillery man at the Meuse-Argonne offensive. God bless them all.
Its heart breaking to see them recount these experiences, you can see in their eyes that as they speak they're right back there, living it all again, stuff like that never leaves you, no matter how many years go by things like this are burned into your soul
I wonder too. However, look at the great nany things that came from it gor our comforts. Technology, medicine etc. When the world gets to working quadruple time, things get done. Think of the airplane, went from a 15 second flight a few feet off the ground to supersonic in 40yrs. That's insane.
Europe might be less peaceful. Germany, France and England have been fighting each other for over a thousand years, and only stopped because of how horrible ww1 and ww2 were. Now they fight somewhere else, against weaker opponents, but at least western europe is rather safe.
@@OWnIshiiTrolling, I sincerely hope that your screen name is not who you really are because I hate trolls and trolling. I have to wonder if you don’t consider the Russia/Ukraine war to be European infighting?, and if you don’t consider it as infighting then what is it?. As for western Europe being “rather safe” try again, the fact is the whole world is unsafe at the moment and WWIII could easily start. In regard to fighting against “weaker opponents” are you forgetting that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars dragged on and on without making any difference to the forces that we were sent to fight, their capacity to wage war and the number of fighting men they could call upon never diminished, and, like all the other nations that invaded those countries, including Russia, we departed very very quickly with our tails between our legs leaving both countries in a worse position than before we decided to “help” them, and if you really think they are weaker foes then I suggest you reevaluate your opinion, just because these so called weaker foes don’t have the hi-tech weapons and equipment that we have, or the superior numbers of personnel available does not mean they are weak, they have been fighting between themselves (except for brief periods when other countries invaded them) for centuries and they are still fighting in the same way but using modern weapons, the weapons that we, the free world, supplied to them and the ones supplied by or captured from other countries, and we lost, less advanced enemies?………yes, weaker?………..no.
My Great Grandfather died in 1915, East Surrey regiment. His son, my Grandad fought in the Second World War, and thankfully survived, or else I wouldn't be here. He first visited his fathers grave when he was 70+ years old. Hearing these men tell their stories is really profound, I shed a tear when they described losing their friends. Lest we forget.
I was in the USFA from 1965-1969. I was a medic and could have been sent to Vietnam to fly med-evac from battlefields an/or from aid stations to US bases outside of Vietnam. I thank God that I stayed stateside for my whole hitch. Some of my friends from my tech. schools were not so fortunate. I have the highest respect for Vietnam veterans. They won all the battles and the politicians, those who started the war, lost the war.
August 2024, 110 years after the start of WW1 and glad these men are not here to see what has become of the country they gave their lives to defend. Just heartbreaking to contemplate
they did see, were a great country, and they fought along side the countrymen of many nations, racists in this country forget, you only have to look at the Menin Gate to see
Some people are lucky enough to have someone to look up to in their family history. My great grandfather fought the Americans and British in WW1, immigrated to America afterwards and built a beautiful family, he's definitely the man I look up to even though I've never met him. I feel like I do with all the stories I was told. I'm extremely proud of him because he fought for no other reason but for being invaded, he did his duty bravely and I'll always honor his memory for as long as I live.
There's a song called "dancing at witson" about a Folksinger who went to a small English village at witsontide and saw tourists conplaining that only old ladies were doing the traditional dances. It turned out that most of the original male population had been killed in the war, and new men in the area didn't know the dances. It's very sad. One verse goes: "From the green farmlands And from their loved ones There marched husbands, And brothers, and fathers and sons They have gone like the Forests of oak trees before They have gone to be Wasted in battle".
What an amazing documentary. Extremely moving and sobering. My grandad who fought in WW2 always referred to that generation of men as the poor buggers.. a nod to the horrific nature of what they went through even compared to ww2.
My uncle Magnus, was a conchy in the first world war he was in prison in the WW1 , he was self educated. He came from a Scottish Island. I’m not sure which one., he was self educated He wrote the official biography of Elvis Schweitzer. They walked through China. Between wars. My grandfather died in the 70s was a regular he was a sergeant major in the Royal horse artillery he was wounded he lost the site of his one of his eyes. I’m not sure which one he was sent to India after the first five years without his family. , he had three or four children by then he had nine children or together one girl and eight boys 20 years between the youngest and the oldest he has still got one boy left over 90 , after the war he when he came back from India he was there for 35 years. I cannot remember speaking to once.
At a family gathering a couple of times I overheard my grandmother tell her sister they found tom down the paddock again. One of her uncles reliving the war . Early 70's. A no go area asking about it. On my father's side his dad and his served in the Durham light infantry.
@@ceciljohnrhodes4987 there are many many men who would not be able to handle this type of life and war. So many men are too worried about being able to dress as women and concerned about what pronouns they’re being called. It’s shameful where we have come! People today are weak minded, delusional, entitled, do not care about the important things of this country, very self-centered, and do not care for the betterment of this country much less the world! Can you imagine a biological male dressing as a woman being forced to go fight in the battle, and worried about being able to carry a purse instead of a gun and whether or not they’re called they or them? It disgusts me! I hundred percent do not believe these were the freedoms that these men were fighting for! The generations before us were so much stronger than we are!
Amazing men. Yes for surviving the war, but more for shouldering the burden for the next 80 years. I grew up in the home of a Vietnam combat veteran father. I've felt the edge of that weight. But just the edge. And he's carried the entire load, now for 55 years. I only know it's heavy...
A true generation of gentlemen who got the opportunity to live a long life. They fought for our freedom and rights and watched their family and friends die. Still they suffered and still they remembered, but we will never forget them. They are the true heroes of the war. May they all rest in peace and be back once again with all of their family and friends. They would all be welcomed with open arms and joy with no more fighting or tears. Thank you all for your sacrifices and the strength to continue a life in freedom. We shall never forget x
My great grandfather fought with the Liverpool pals kings own regiment in the trenches in WW1 , Both my grandfathers fought in WW2 my late dads father in the army and my late mums father served under Captain Jonny Walker on the HMS Stork in the Royal Navy all came home think they would be appalled the way this country has now become and run godbless them and thank you
Good doc. Aside from the dramatized color sequences, some of the B&W films seem different somehow. Most were speed adjusted to normal speed, but some seem more intimate. I wish a doc on film quality and techniques during the war(s) would be done. At least speed adjustment provides a contemporary feel to them.
No rank or uniform could ever stop the bullet from a gun as these brave men went over the top to machine gun fire. I still walk past any senitaff I come past and just take a moment to think about all our lads on the front lines over the years. Sadly its now become something lost in time with the teenage generation in 2024.
Trench warfare was not new. There were German officers in the U.S. during our Civil War in which trenches were dug and maintained for long, bloody sieges that ultimately did nothing. With that knowledge, the German officers went back to Berlin. This information was part of what supported the Schlieffen Plan. They knew they needed to reach Paris quickly or the war was lost. When they came up short, the High Command knew it was going to get ugly, and drawn out. They all knew trench warfare was a recipe for attrition, but the leaders were willing to play that game.
I saw a video on the battle of mons, I was always interested on how fighting was done before trenches, volley fire at long range, such as in the Russo-Japanese war where a company of Japanese volley fired over a slight ridge and silencing a Russian arty battery, but at Mons "The great formidable looking German phalanx melted away to our rifle fire, they with heavy losses fell back then covering fire advanced again, were cut down but advanced again" absolutely horrifying, no wondering they dug trenches if you were in a house it collapse on you.
Times have changed, governments, mentalities but we... Nothing changed and we learned nothing! We keep killing each other. It can be said that these soldiers died in vain, they gave their lives for no reason. Times have changed but the moment we go to war we turn into monsters and kill to survive. In a war there are no innocents, we lose our human virginity and become killing machines, either that or we let ourselves be killed. But the stupidity of it all, is always for the same reason: Power!
I doubt it is any different today - when I was very young I asked a WW1 vet what it was like and he said that the only word that could describe it was “murder” , he said “ War is murder” and that’s all it is
My great-grandfather died in Meschede, Germany in the spring of 1918. His name is on a memorial stone here. I wonder if he died in a prisoner of war camp.
My Nan lost her first husband 1917,she later married my grand pop. I used to collect whistles, once I blew one as I entered his house and grand pop screamed at me, later mum said to me it ment go over the top, now I understand. I miss you grand pop. Sorry
This points out the manipulation of people they new what was going on but if they really told them they wouldn’t have had so many troops , the manipulation I will never forget like these young men risking it all without being properly informed
This should be required viewing for every young person. Think of the suffering and pain, for what? To enrich the elites on both sides who never have to experience what these men had to endure.
Looking at all the self harm and suicides in today modern war in the Ukraine with Russia is shocking enough. Seeing how much mentally those guys are suffering, cant imagine how much of an utter horror the men in WW1 went through! Absolutely horrible! :(((
If all the sons, listened to their Mothers, there would be no Wars. And no warmongering Politicians and elitists to fight their Wars by proxy. To keep their status, their property. Psycho-Sociopathic... ....'. and cowards.
You can see how much pain they still feel remembering their friends who were killed and the waste of war in general.
Rest easy Gentlemen. You will not be forgotten...
They have been; along with those who served since.
It was unfortunate that naive politicians allowed the same thing to happen just twenty years later. None of them listened to Pershing and Foch. Germany should have been totally occupied, as it finally was in 1945 and Russia, the other totalitarian state, would not have occupied half of Europe.
As a veteran of numerous conflicts, allow me to say BS. Everything that Western men have fought for for the past 200 years has been squandered and pi55ed away.
@@0ldb1ll
To be fair, in time humanity will be forgotten.
Edit: I meant in eons to come, humanity will be nothing but stellar dust.
Mock me if you must, it only serves to show your own shortcomings.
They gave their life’s for the freedom of them and their families. Now look at the countries they fought for. Not a lot left anymore, all over run by the 3rd world immigrants the governments can’t get enough off. While we lose our identities as to not offend. About time our politicians put the country they are supposed to lead, first.
My grandfather Albert Rainford from Bolton , Lancs., was on the Somme first day, wounded, recuperated, went back to Belgium , wounded second time. As a 10 year old kid, I would ask him about his time in the army, he never really said in any detail… just a grandad playing a little with his grandson in the 1960s… he was humble, I’m 70 years old now and I miss him so much. He is my hero and my inspiration.
My Grandfather also fought at The Somme ( Canadian Scottish) were he was wounded twice. Latter wounded at Vimy and the D.Q. Line. He also rarely spoke of it but had nightmares nightly until he died at the age of ninety one. A few years back I found his memoir and what wrote there was chilling. Up most respect for these men. Not forgotten
Incredible men of their time. Rest easy now gentlemen, no more pain.
George about losing his friend Joe: "We'd not even said, so long, to one another", with a pause, tears in his eyes, an a lump in his throat. That was so sad. They are at peace now.
I can't even read this without a lump in my throat or tears in my eyes.
War is declared by those who have no intention to do the actual fighting.
No war happens no matter who declares it
@@LemonHead-sq5ws yea but did any of the people who decrlare the war actually fight in it?
I mean, JFK was a navy vet. Bush was in the air force. @thatwierdbilly
@@alastordeer3355 i know but i hope you get what i mean
WW1 was probably the most grisly war in world history. It was the first war with mass use of artillery and machineguns, but armies were still using old troop movement tactics. Truly horrific
American civil war came very close and some military strategist could see the horror and carnage of modern industrial weaponry but as usual their voices got ignored with the outbreak of WW1.
Even after all your sacrifices we still haven't realized the useless, waste of war. God bless you all.
We never will either. It's in our Animal nature. We are a failed experiment from the Alien gods
Rich mans war, poor mans blood, both sides bankrolled by the same people, oh the futility of war, we must never do this again 😢
Quiet, hippy.
Bankrolled by whom?
@@SunnyvaleTrailerParkSupervisor Rothschilds
The merchants guild lmaooo just kidding bro thats a obscure reference of my own pleasure@@SunnyvaleTrailerParkSupervisor
The king telling his german cousin that he can't wait until the war is over so we can play tennis again. An aristocracy end plan because they were scared the working class were about to destroy them.
My grandfather fought in WWI and he NEVER spoke of it or allowed himself to be questioned about it. He left a memoir given to him by his buddy who didn’t make it.
My Father told me of Grandfather time serving during WW1
He told me his lungs were burned by mustard gas.
@@Ronald-hx6znmust have been horrible
@@Ronald-hx6zn My great grandfather was also mustard gassed and sent home. He suffered badly and died two years after the war ended. Poor fellas all of them.
@Woodsman_uk I never met my grandfather. Dad told me very little, because grandfather didn't talk about.
My dad told me that grandfather said there were two treatments, morphine and alcohol. Said he refused morphine.
My uncle served in British Army WW2.He was in a tank turret. That was the only thing my uncle said of his time during WW2.My dad wanted to join the Navy during WW2,but couldn't join due to medical condition. Dad left England 1939 for Canada were he worked in bomb factory. My Mother worked for him.Mom said she worked in the powder room.My Dad became Canadian citizen.
We all moved to North Carolina in 1964.
Dad got his United States 🇺🇸 citizenship giving him 3 citizenship.
I joined USAF in 1975 as a Canadian. After serving I got my citizenship, United States 🇺🇸.
I am very proud to be 3rd generation Veteran.
I grew up listening to the stories of my grandmother and her sisters and cousins, their husbands and sweethearts didn't come home or came home mentally and physically broken, it was very much a case of "before and after", after gassing, after year's on the front. I never knew my Grandfather as he passed before I was born. We are Irish & Welsh, Pa served as a pioneer all of WW1 and again in WW2, of 4 brother's and 7 brother's in law he was the singular man who came home without serious physical injury. My Mum would tell Me of his endless night terrors, his nightmares, his grief of his brothers death's, some dying year's later at military hospital's with ruined lung's. My mother's 3 elder sister's left Wexford for Britian after '39, served in the WAF and as nurse's in Coventry during the blitz. As an Irishman im very proud of each and every one of them. Better Day's Ahead. ☘️
Everyone old enough told me of these stories, and "their kids" told me of WWII, Korea, Nam.
LORD? PLEASE? BLESS THEIR Sacrifices', Souls', efforts', and Family!
GOD! Please? BLESS LIGHT!
It is sad when I realize the men who are talking are long gone. We must preserve their words forever. The sad thing is every battle, every war the scenes are reenacted ..
Wiping the tears from my eyes, all I can say is God bless you Gentlemen.
If it wasn’t for your courage, bravery and determination. May you rest in peace, forever you are heroes.
Listening to George Littlefair talk about his friend Joe being killed was very emotional. He recounts stories in a very special way that really gets to me.
I'm sure there was a programme that followed some of these men, I recognised George Littlefair, he went back to france, accompanied by his daughter, he visited the grave of his old friend Joe.
What a lovely gentleman he was.
@@pauldurkee4764 - I love that. I’m sure it brought him closure and peace.
• true legends here •
They all lived long lives, I hope they were great ones. Rest in Peace you great men.
My Grandfather was wounded at the Somme in 1916. He came back a broken man and died in an asylum. No help from the dvt back in those days
But our family survived and did very well
These poor men, imagine fighting and dying. Suffering the horrors of the first and 2nd world war only to see our great country given up so willingly to other cultures and corporations. What a sorry waste.
It is easy to forget WWI and WWII were only 21 years apart.
Luckily for the ww1 vets, it wasn't really noticable for them, but those poor ww2 vets definitely had to witness the degeneration of our society and failures of leadership.
YES
Amen brother. Country is a disgrace now.
I couldn’t agree more. I’m Dutch but i fully stand behind your comment.
Priceless interviews. Humbling.
Very humbling and so sad that so many young men never returned home
Listening to George Littlefair, the look in his eyes, tells so much of the reality of killing and dying. All these men reliving the story of their experience, I somehow feel more for them now than those young men they once were. They are gone now, and so those who fought in WWII are now going silent.
its wild that more than 100 years after this war ended we can watch the veterans of it speaking in a video about their experiences
9:55 The moral for Mr. George Littlefair…. Always listen to your mother!
WE will never forget and should never forget
Remarkable men!
I'm so glad their stories have been recorded for posterity
"no war was so unnecessary to be fought as the first and so absolutely necessary to be won as the second." Winston Churchill
But the first begat the second. So sad
This must been seen in context: Churchill firmly believed that WW1 and WW2 were simply one war with a 20 yr armistice. It was one war!
@@staleydu1 a plan by the British empire to take out a near peer competitor x2
@@staleydu1 I've played the different scenarios in my head for years! What if the French and UK had given Germany a fair deal after the 1st?! Would their radical side never have risen? If Germany had not gone insane... Would Stalin and the Soviets have started a war with the Western country's? Could there have been German, French, UK alliance against the USSR... Treaty of Versailles was an epic moment in human history!
Churchill and Patton, and Frankland are Just About the three most historic souls I love to study, and I Do Admire!
My grandfather was in the Canadian army in Ww1. Fought as front line grenadier. Came home. But never spoke of it
My grandfather would only talk about his favourite grub, or so Nanna said
grenadier? I wonder if he did trench raids. Probably saw and did barbaric things.
Everyone in war did@@Reignor99
Canada isn't real
It's sad remembering the old fellows. I had a great grandfather who fought at Meuse Argonne. I was working at the VA when the last of them passed. Spent more time trying to talk with the aging WWII folks. We're now losing them quickly. It was a horrible war. My great uncle passed early because of Mustard gas. A lot of the old men passed to early because of that horrible war.
My paternal grandfather was in the US Navy ,and fought in France during WW1. He was a tall handsome man. After the war he became a gentlemen's tailor. I remember him keeping a large cast iron and wood shotgun in his house. He and grandma kept a tidy house. Grandma died in 1967 and grandad died in 1981 while in a VA Hospital in North Carolina. He was 93.
Nice to see British soldiers were best of friends in the trenches....Not like the US Army where Pat Tillman was deliberately wasted by his own jealous men
Bless them all, the long and the short and the tall...
I hear people say ww2 was the best generation.. don’t hear much about ww1 sadly.
they were both pretty good if you ask me
Ww2 was the beginning of pop culture thanks to the US dominance in the conflict.
Because WW1 was useless and people went to war thinking it would be sports event. In WW2 people went there for their believes and convictions. Not that I want to make them look less but WW1 was just senseless and stupid from everyone involved. That's why they are called the lost generation and not the best generation.
They were called the silent generation for a reason.
@@CharlesRexElizabethReginaThe Silent Generation (born between 1925-45) is the one after the Greatest Generation. So named because they didn’t do political activism and in general showed conformity, strong work ethic, and traditionalism, also affected by growing up in the shadow of the Great Depression.
We can never imagine what these guy's sacrificed for us, not just the one's that gave their lives. How can we ever repay them.
They were sacrificed for bankers... Wake up. There is nothing noble about fratricidal civil war
Thank you from France
A hundred years from now... This will all be forgotten along with all the people in it and watched it. History will always repeat.
We still have accounts of wars from thousands of years ago so it won't be forgotten. What is lost is the personal effects of such wars.
God bless these men and their families.
My great-grandfather served in France and was in the trenches. He was mustard gassed. I never knew him, but it makes me so proud to be one of his great-granddaughters. I love to see his old photos.❤️
When my nan ask my grand dad how close he got to the enemy, the only answer he ever gave was "I could see the whites of their eyes" Then that would be it, end of conversation. Love and miss him terrible
Thank you for your service and most importantly, your bravery
Thank you for this post. Totally brave and never forgotten.
It is shameful to blurr historic images.
The bravest of men in the worst of times.
What really got me was Jack Roger letter ✉️ that he got from home.(34:00) Extremely sad what happened to all those young kids back then,so many lives lost for nothing and here we are in 2024 and ww3 is brewing in Europe again.
Reading anything about WWI ,I find absolutely heartbreaking!
WW1 is truly one of the greatest tragedies in human history. Both of my great-grandfathers served in WW1, US Army and British Army. My Great granduncle Daniel was killed in the Battle of Mons 1914. One of my favorites things I own is the campaign medal from my other great uncle John who was a US Army Artillery man at the Meuse-Argonne offensive. God bless them all.
Its heart breaking to see them recount these experiences, you can see in their eyes that as they speak they're right back there, living it all again, stuff like that never leaves you, no matter how many years go by things like this are burned into your soul
Often wondered how the world would be today if WW1 & WW2 never happened..so many good men lost for the most absurd of reasons.
I wonder too. However, look at the great nany things that came from it gor our comforts. Technology, medicine etc. When the world gets to working quadruple time, things get done.
Think of the airplane, went from a 15 second flight a few feet off the ground to supersonic in 40yrs. That's insane.
Europe might be less peaceful. Germany, France and England have been fighting each other for over a thousand years, and only stopped because of how horrible ww1 and ww2 were. Now they fight somewhere else, against weaker opponents, but at least western europe is rather safe.
overpopulation would be an actual issue
@@OWnIshiiTrolling, I sincerely hope that your screen name is not who you really are because I hate trolls and trolling. I have to wonder if you don’t consider the Russia/Ukraine war to be European infighting?, and if you don’t consider it as infighting then what is it?. As for western Europe being “rather safe” try again, the fact is the whole world is unsafe at the moment and WWIII could easily start.
In regard to fighting against “weaker opponents” are you forgetting that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars dragged on and on without making any difference to the forces that we were sent to fight, their capacity to wage war and the number of fighting men they could call upon never diminished, and, like all the other nations that invaded those countries, including Russia, we departed very very quickly with our tails between our legs leaving both countries in a worse position than before we decided to “help” them, and if you really think they are weaker foes then I suggest you reevaluate your opinion, just because these so called weaker foes don’t have the hi-tech weapons and equipment that we have, or the superior numbers of personnel available does not mean they are weak, they have been fighting between themselves (except for brief periods when other countries invaded them) for centuries and they are still fighting in the same way but using modern weapons, the weapons that we, the free world, supplied to them and the ones supplied by or captured from other countries, and we lost, less advanced enemies?………yes, weaker?………..no.
@@sadhu4624Overpopulation IS an issue.
Their eyes tells it all
When Ted says the poem about his dead French friend!!!😢
I have to repeat it 2 or 3 times, Arivoir.
My Great Grandfather died in 1915, East Surrey regiment. His son, my Grandad fought in the Second World War, and thankfully survived, or else I wouldn't be here. He first visited his fathers grave when he was 70+ years old. Hearing these men tell their stories is really profound, I shed a tear when they described losing their friends. Lest we forget.
I was in the USFA from 1965-1969. I was a medic and could have been sent to Vietnam to fly med-evac from battlefields an/or from aid stations to US bases outside of Vietnam. I thank God that I stayed stateside for my whole hitch. Some of my friends from my tech. schools were not so fortunate. I have the highest respect for Vietnam veterans. They won all the battles and the politicians, those who started the war, lost the war.
August 2024, 110 years after the start of WW1 and glad these men are not here to see what has become of the country they gave their lives to defend. Just heartbreaking to contemplate
they did see, were a great country, and they fought along side the countrymen of many nations, racists in this country forget, you only have to look at the Menin Gate to see
Some people are lucky enough to have someone to look up to in their family history. My great grandfather fought the Americans and British in WW1, immigrated to America afterwards and built a beautiful family, he's definitely the man I look up to even though I've never met him. I feel like I do with all the stories I was told. I'm extremely proud of him because he fought for no other reason but for being invaded, he did his duty bravely and I'll always honor his memory for as long as I live.
There's a song called "dancing at witson" about a Folksinger who went to a small English village at witsontide and saw tourists conplaining that only old ladies were doing the traditional dances. It turned out that most of the original male population had been killed in the war, and new men in the area didn't know the dances. It's very sad. One verse goes:
"From the green farmlands
And from their loved ones
There marched husbands,
And brothers, and fathers and sons
They have gone like the
Forests of oak trees before
They have gone to be
Wasted in battle".
What an amazing documentary. Extremely moving and sobering. My grandad who fought in WW2 always referred to that generation of men as the poor buggers.. a nod to the horrific nature of what they went through even compared to ww2.
My grandfather served in WW1.
British Army.
I have his campaign ribbon.
• ever appreciative for those who sacrifice so much in an attampt to keep life relatively easy to live out here at home •
My uncle Magnus, was a conchy in the first world war he was in prison in the WW1 , he was self educated. He came from a Scottish Island. I’m not sure which one., he was self educated He wrote the official biography of Elvis Schweitzer. They walked through China. Between wars.
My grandfather died in the 70s was a regular he was a sergeant major in the Royal horse artillery he was wounded he lost the site of his one of his eyes. I’m not sure which one he was sent to India after the first five years without his family. , he had three or four children by then he had nine children or together one girl and eight boys 20 years between the youngest and the oldest he has still got one boy left over 90 , after the war he when he came back from India he was there for 35 years. I cannot remember speaking to once.
At a family gathering a couple of times I overheard my grandmother tell her sister they found tom down the paddock again. One of her uncles reliving the war . Early 70's. A no go area asking about it.
On my father's side his dad and his served in the Durham light infantry.
Wonder how these blokes would feel about the current state of the countries they so bravely fought for
Very happy that we’re free to be who we want to be.
@@ceciljohnrhodes4987 there are many many men who would not be able to handle this type of life and war. So many men are too worried about being able to dress as women and concerned about what pronouns they’re being called. It’s shameful where we have come! People today are weak minded, delusional, entitled, do not care about the important things of this country, very self-centered, and do not care for the betterment of this country much less the world! Can you imagine a biological male dressing as a woman being forced to go fight in the battle, and worried about being able to carry a purse instead of a gun and whether or not they’re called they or them? It disgusts me! I hundred percent do not believe these were the freedoms that these men were fighting for! The generations before us were so much stronger than we are!
Amazing men. Yes for surviving the war, but more for shouldering the burden for the next 80 years. I grew up in the home of a Vietnam combat veteran father. I've felt the edge of that weight. But just the edge. And he's carried the entire load, now for 55 years. I only know it's heavy...
The pain in George’s eyes when he spoke of his best friend’s death…
Bless, heroes all.🙏
I believe The Lord put his arms around them and now they’re at peace. God bless all solders who put forth their best efforts. ✝️
if there was a god he would have stopped the carnage,and the gassing of 2 million chidren in ww2
A true generation of gentlemen who got the opportunity to live a long life. They fought for our freedom and rights and watched their family and friends die. Still they suffered and still they remembered, but we will never forget them. They are the true heroes of the war. May they all rest in peace and be back once again with all of their family and friends. They would all be welcomed with open arms and joy with no more fighting or tears. Thank you all for your sacrifices and the strength to continue a life in freedom. We shall never forget x
Brave brave boys
none of these men have light left in their eyes, this is crazy
Well it was 110years ago
They’re old
Weird comment
My great grandfather fought with the Liverpool pals kings own regiment in the trenches in WW1 , Both my grandfathers fought in WW2 my late dads father in the army and my late mums father served under Captain Jonny Walker on the HMS Stork in the Royal Navy all came home think they would be appalled the way this country has now become and run godbless them and thank you
6:58 Censoring someone playind dead?. That's a movie scene, not an actual battlefield footage.
God bless All of them.
Good doc. Aside from the dramatized color sequences, some of the B&W films seem different somehow. Most were speed adjusted to normal speed, but some seem more intimate. I wish a doc on film quality and techniques during the war(s) would be done. At least speed adjustment provides a contemporary feel to them.
Made with AI
No rank or uniform could ever stop the bullet from a gun as these brave men went over the top to machine gun fire.
I still walk past any senitaff I come past and just take a moment to think about all our lads on the front lines over the years.
Sadly its now become something lost in time with the teenage generation in 2024.
Trench warfare was not new. There were German officers in the U.S. during our Civil War in which trenches were dug and maintained for long, bloody sieges that ultimately did nothing. With that knowledge, the German officers went back to Berlin. This information was part of what supported the Schlieffen Plan. They knew they needed to reach Paris quickly or the war was lost. When they came up short, the High Command knew it was going to get ugly, and drawn out. They all knew trench warfare was a recipe for attrition, but the leaders were willing to play that game.
Proper men
Heroes èach and every one. Rip. Forever in my heart Grandad. 😢
I saw a video on the battle of mons, I was always interested on how fighting was done before trenches, volley fire at long range, such as in the Russo-Japanese war where a company of Japanese volley fired over a slight ridge and silencing a Russian arty battery, but at Mons "The great formidable looking German phalanx melted away to our rifle fire, they with heavy losses fell back then covering fire advanced again, were cut down but advanced again" absolutely horrifying, no wondering they dug trenches if you were in a house it collapse on you.
god bless them all ..WE NEVER LEARN DO WE
They were remarkable in the absolute worst conditions human beings could be subjected to.
Never go to war 🔥🔥🔥💀🔥🔥🔥
Times have changed, governments, mentalities but we... Nothing changed and we learned nothing! We keep killing each other. It can be said that these soldiers died in vain, they gave their lives for no reason. Times have changed but the moment we go to war we turn into monsters and kill to survive. In a war there are no innocents, we lose our human virginity and become killing machines, either that or we let ourselves be killed. But the stupidity of it all, is always for the same reason: Power!
I doubt it is any different today - when I was very young I asked a WW1 vet what it was like and he said that the only word that could describe it was “murder” , he said “ War is murder” and that’s all it is
My great-grandfather died in Meschede, Germany in the spring of 1918. His name is on a memorial stone here. I wonder if he died in a prisoner of war camp.
Interesting!
But it would have been even more interesting to hear at least some voices from the other side.
not part of Kitcheners army
So very young
this should be played in every school every year to remember those men
Old Navy Rum? Were can I join?
And so history has been repeating itself, sadly so often.....
My Nan lost her first husband 1917,she later married my grand pop. I used to collect whistles, once I blew one as I entered his house and grand pop screamed at me, later mum said to me it ment go over the top, now I understand. I miss you grand pop. Sorry
Running into the merciless slaughter of a machine gun. Horrifying.
The content is very good
They fought for and secured the right's & freedom's of Abdi and Ahmed
whos family members fought on our side, how soon the racists forget
36:15 why the blurriness?
Probs due to how graphic it would be if shown if it was shown this would be age restricted
@Nathan21679 I saw those exact scenes in TV documentaries unblurred.
"I was young and daft"
You just cannot comprehend the figures ........
Dead horses, dead men, dead soldiers. On both sides. For the glory of whom?
This points out the manipulation of people they new what was going on but if they really told them they wouldn’t have had so many troops , the manipulation I will never forget like these young men risking it all without being properly informed
This should be required viewing for every young person. Think of the suffering and pain, for what? To enrich the elites on both sides who never have to experience what these men had to endure.
Looking at all the self harm and suicides in today modern war in the Ukraine with Russia is shocking enough. Seeing how much mentally those guys are suffering, cant imagine how much of an utter horror the men in WW1 went through! Absolutely horrible! :(((
These are very old interviews also. But great.
“It saved lives! That Old Navy rum, and I don’t exaggerate”.😂
If all the sons, listened to their Mothers, there would be no Wars.
And no warmongering
Politicians and elitists to fight their Wars by proxy.
To keep their status,
their property.
Psycho-Sociopathic...
....'. and cowards.
Absolutely
Tragic 😥
Would have saved millions of lives if they were told that we are going to give away the country anyway.
I wonder what they would think, if they saw the country they fought and died for today!
Yes sir how are we all