GREAT WAR AND THE SHAPING OF THE 20TH CENTURY, THE: EPISODE TWO: STALEMATE (TV)
Summary
The second of eight episodes in this series examining World War I and its effect on the remainder of the twentieth century. The story is told through the use of archival film and photographs, commentary by writers and scholars, and the words of those directly involved in the war. Each episode is comprised of multiple segments that focus on different aspects of the war. This episode recounts the events of the war through Christmas day, 1914. The program begins with journalist Philip Gibbs writing of the misguided optimism that marks the start of the war. Germany mounts a strategy in which Russia is held at bay in the east as German forces flank Paris from the northwest, passing through the neutral Belgium. Kaiser Wilhelm II has confidence France and Russia will fall in short order, proclaiming "Paris for lunch, dinner in St. Petersburg." The segment titled "Poor Little Belgium" details Germany's brutal passage through the small, ill-defended country. Belgium chooses to fight the Germans rather than grant the invaders free access to France, and German forces decimate the Belgian army with a super-cannon named "Big Bertha." Belgian citizens hail sniper fire upon the German soldiers as they march through the defeated cities, resulting in harsh reprisals including the execution of hundreds of civilians. News of Germany's atrocities sweeps across Europe, and the German soldier takes on the image of a savage, bloodthirsty "hun." The segment "To Berlin!" concerns the mobilization of France's army and the anxiety of the swiftly advanced-upon French citizenry. French military commander Joseph Joffre confidently believes his soldiers' bayonets will prevail upon the battlefield and mistakes Germany's advance through Belgium for a diversionary tactic, sending the bulk of his soldiers east toward the regions of Alsace and Lorraine. France's armies are crushed due to their outmoded military tactics, and Paris prepares for a siege. The segment "The Emperor Trusted Me" shifts focus to the Eastern Front, where Russia invades Germany. Wilhelm refuses to recall his triumphant armies from France and appoints generals Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff to repel the much larger Russian army. Germany's modern tactics and technology again prove victorious, humiliating the incompetent Russian army with a resounding victory at Tannenberg. Russian general Alexander Samsonov shoots himself in shame, lamenting "the emperor trusted me." The segment "Call to Arms" considers the role of Great Britain, who, alone among the European nations involved, has a strictly volunteer army. A massive recruitment campaign is responsible for the enlistment of thousands of men, but British Minister of War Earl Kitchener fears defeat. The segment "My Dead Chums" recounts the establishment of trench warfare at the Western Front. Germany's exhausted forces stop twenty-five miles short of Paris. Their advance is halted in the Battle of the Marne, at terrible cost: the British forces are nearly wiped out, and casualties are staggering on both sides. The armies dig trenches to protect themselves against new advanced weaponry. The segment "Stalemate" describes the dismal life in the trenches, where thousands of men are killed with neither side able to advance. A strange courtesy begins to evolve between the hopelessly stuck combatants, which goes so far as to restrict bombing during mealtimes. The segment "Christmas 1914" reflects reflects on the unofficial truce that arises on that Christmas eve. Soldiers climb out of their trenches, singing carols and lighting candles. The dead are buried in peace. Over a million men have died at this point, and neither side is able to gain an inch of ground. At the signal of two gunshots into the air at the end of Christmas day, fighting resumes. This episode includes commentary by the following: Wolfgang Mommsen of the University of Dusseldorf; Jay M. Winter of Cambridge University; Trevor Wilson of the University of Adelaide; Orlando Figes of Cambridge University; Paul Fussell of the University of Pennsylvania; and Peter Simkins of the Imperial War Museum. This program is closed-captioned.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 1997.
Details
- NETWORK: KCET-TV (Los Angeles, CA) / PBS
- DATE: November 10, 1996 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:56:46
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:48946
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: World War, 1914-1918 -- Belgium; World War, 1914-1918 -- France; World War, 1914-1918 -- Great Britain; Public affairs/Documentaries; History
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1996
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Blaine Baggett … Executive Producer, Writer
- Isaac Mizrahi … Producer, Director
- Jay Winter … Co-Producer, Writer
- Adrienne Cooksey … Associate Producer
- Carl Byker … Series Producer
- Michelle Morgan … Series Associate Producer
- Alf Penn … Researcher
- Karen Wyatt … Researcher
- Jeffrey Verhey … Researcher
- Lili Francklyn … Researcher
- Michael O'Toole … Researcher
- David Orenstein … Researcher
- Mitch Wilson … Director
- Mason Daring … Music by
- Salome Jens … Narrator
- Orlando Figes … Guest
- Paul Fussell … Guest
- Wolfgang Mommsen … Guest
- Peter Simkins … Guest
- Trevor Wilson … Guest
- Jay M. Winter … Guest
- Peter Pigott-Smitop … Voice
- David Hayter … Voice
- Jurgen Prochnow … Voice
- Leslie Caron … Voice
- Michael York … Voice
- Ian Richardson … Voice
- Alan Hendrick … Voice
- Rupert Graves … Voice
- Liam Neeson … Voice
- Kai Wulff … Voice
- Malcolm McDowell … Voice
- Philip Gibbs … Voice
- Joseph Joffre
- Earl Kitchener
- Erich Ludendorff
- Alexander Samsonov
- von Hindenburg, Paul
- Wilhelm, Kaiser, II