0:00:05 > 0:00:09Our history has been shaped by centuries of war.
0:00:09 > 0:00:15From the armies of the Romans to the modern, global conflicts of today.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21I'm Saul David and I'm a military historian.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24And what history tells us again and again is that
0:00:24 > 0:00:27beyond the derring-do of military commanders, it's the nuts and bolts
0:00:27 > 0:00:30of how you house and feed your army, how you move it,
0:00:30 > 0:00:35and how you kit it ready for battle that's the real key to winning wars.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Today, military logistics dominates modern warfare,
0:00:39 > 0:00:44with entire branches of specialists dedicated to feeding, moving
0:00:44 > 0:00:49and kitting out frontline soldiers, ready for battle.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53This is the story of how this elaborate high-tech world came to be,
0:00:53 > 0:00:57because throughout history, the greatest challenges faced
0:00:57 > 0:01:00by any military commander have remained the same.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04If you don't keep your soldiers fed,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07they'll never even make it to the battlefield.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Think about it this way, that you're slaughtering, for 80,000 men,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13a minimum of 300 animals per day.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15If you can't move your men and fast,
0:01:15 > 0:01:19you'll never steal a march on the enemy.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23The US General George C Marshall once described the jeep
0:01:23 > 0:01:26as America's greatest contribution to modern warfare.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30And don't forget, America invented the atomic bomb.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35And any army that isn't equipped with the latest technology
0:01:35 > 0:01:37has literally been cut to shreds.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Some of the greatest failures and victories in history
0:01:45 > 0:01:48have come down to the detail of military logistics,
0:01:48 > 0:01:52the real story of how wars are won and lost.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21Of all the challenges faced by generals through history,
0:02:21 > 0:02:25moving armies has been one of the greatest.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29It's not just about individual battles,
0:02:29 > 0:02:32but about long overseas campaigns.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35And it's not only about shifting men,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38but it's about keeping them fed and watered as they go.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42The art of movement is one of the most complex and
0:02:42 > 0:02:46vital that any commander must master if he's going to win.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54This film is about how to steal a march and the kit generals have used
0:02:54 > 0:02:58to transport troops to battle as effectively as possible,
0:02:58 > 0:03:03how a light sprung cart helped the English outmanoeuvre the French...
0:03:03 > 0:03:07This little model here represents a revolution in warfare.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12..how Napoleon was brought to a devastating halt by making
0:03:12 > 0:03:13a tiny but crucial mistake...
0:03:13 > 0:03:17They wouldn't have got any grip going downhill any more than they would up.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21..and how a simple fuel container and its vital contents
0:03:21 > 0:03:26were at the heart of the fight for North Africa in World War II.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32Because as all generals know, a key to winning any battle lies
0:03:32 > 0:03:37in having the right kit, to be in the right place at the right time.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56Unlike today, most armies through history didn't have
0:03:56 > 0:03:59the benefit of modern transport kit.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Battles often followed gruelling marches.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10A thousand years ago, a warrior such as the Anglo-Saxon King Harold
0:04:10 > 0:04:12had to lead from the front.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19In 1066, he was put to the test,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22not only by William of Normandy,
0:04:22 > 0:04:26but weeks earlier, when a huge Viking army attacked York.
0:04:29 > 0:04:30I'm convinced that when Harold met William,
0:04:30 > 0:04:32he was already a beaten man,
0:04:32 > 0:04:37and the reason is because of what happened 20 miles to the east,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40which is where I'm headed.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Hearing of the Viking invasion,
0:04:48 > 0:04:52Harold marched thousands of men from London to Stamford Bridge,
0:04:52 > 0:04:57180 miles in just four days, and ready to fight.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Weapons expert Andy Deane has studied
0:05:02 > 0:05:05the kit the Anglo-Saxons carried.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Heavy mail shirt.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10This weighs about 30lbs.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12Thousands and thousands of interlinking rings.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Brilliant defence against slashing, cutting attacks.
0:05:16 > 0:05:17Huge kite shields.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20Now, this kite shield is going to be vital in your shield war.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22It's a great piece of equipment.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24You can carry it in a number of different ways,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28or sling it over your shoulder to be able to travel with it.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31And, of course, more weight but absolutely vital,
0:05:31 > 0:05:32the famous Danish fighting axe,
0:05:32 > 0:05:37for swinging and cutting, taking out poor old horses' legs,
0:05:37 > 0:05:39but taking out any man that comes within reach.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Another three or four pounds in weight.
0:05:42 > 0:05:48Then the weapon that so signifies the knight - his sword.
0:05:48 > 0:05:49Double-edged cutting sword,
0:05:49 > 0:05:54perfect for cutting and slashing, as well as thrusting.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56You've got your Spangenhelm.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Solid plate to be able to deflect sword cuts,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02so again, all of this stuff is vital
0:06:02 > 0:06:04and yet when you weigh it up,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07the three or four pounds of the helmet,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09the mail protecting the neck,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13the sword, the axe, the shield, the undergarments, the mail shirt,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17it's 70 extra pounds in weight for one soldier.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23Harold's men were made of stern stuff and,
0:06:23 > 0:06:27barely pausing for breath, they caught the Vikings off guard
0:06:27 > 0:06:31at Stamford Bridge and put them to the sword.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36But Harold's army was battle-scarred and exhausted and,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40just three days later, he receives the shocking news that
0:06:40 > 0:06:43William, Duke of Normandy, has landed on the south coast,
0:06:43 > 0:06:47the other end of the country, with 700 ships and 7,000 men.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50With no time to recuperate, he gathers up his army
0:06:50 > 0:06:52and heads for London.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57But keeping his army together through another long, forced march
0:06:57 > 0:07:02was beyond even Harold's ability as a leader.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06Moving thousands of tired men southwards is going to be horrendous,
0:07:06 > 0:07:07even at the best of times.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11They had to follow the old roads and some of those Roman roads, over 1,000 years old,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13so they're going to be in a fairly desperate state.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17You just had these simple boots, hand-stitched with leather soles.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19They're not very substantial.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22And you're going knee-deep in the mud after 2,000 people
0:07:22 > 0:07:24have already trod on the same path.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26Not the knights necessarily.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29They would have cracked on on their small, stout ponies,
0:07:29 > 0:07:30trotting mile after mile after mile.
0:07:30 > 0:07:36The problem comes with the retinue, the foot soldiers, the baggage train.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40I mean, imagine carrying all this paraphernalia for war
0:07:40 > 0:07:42through that mud and mire.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45It's obvious they're going to get left behind.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48So I think he did an astonishing job getting up there
0:07:48 > 0:07:51to Stamford Bridge, but it was too much to try and hope
0:07:51 > 0:07:53that he'd get it all back down south again in time.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Harold arrived here in London with a hopelessly depleted force.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08So the story goes, even his mother advised him
0:08:08 > 0:08:11to delay his showdown with William.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14And she was right to do so because, though large,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16William's force was many miles from home,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19and with every day that passed, it became increasingly vulnerable.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25At this point, Harold was definitely in the ascendancy.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27All he had to do was sit tight,
0:08:27 > 0:08:31pin William's army against the coast, starve it out and
0:08:31 > 0:08:34use the time gained to increase the size of his own army.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36But Harold wasn't a man to wait.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42He'd used bold action to defeat the Vikings at Stamford Bridge.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45Now, he could do the same with William.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52It was a decision that would cost Harold his kingdom and his life.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59In contrast to Harold's impetuosity,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03the Bayeux tapestry reveals William's painstaking planning.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08The building of a fleet,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12the provision of special boats for horses,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14even a flat-packed wooden castle,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17pre-cut to be ready for immediate defence.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Of course, we now have the benefit of hindsight
0:09:26 > 0:09:29and what we remember today is the battle,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32the Normans feigning their retreat,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35the Anglo-Saxons charging in disarray,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38and Harold falling with an arrow in his eye.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45But it wasn't that arrow that did for Harold or Anglo-Saxon England.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50It was the route march, a tactical move without sufficient preparation,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54ignoring the nuts and bolts of military logistics.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02From the era of King Harold a thousand years ago,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06right up to modern times, history has revealed that the
0:10:06 > 0:10:11challenges of moving armies and keeping them fit to fight are critical.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14But impatience to fight has caused many generals to overlook
0:10:14 > 0:10:18some basic rules of kit and logistics.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21History is littered with stories of gung-ho commanders who loved
0:10:21 > 0:10:25nothing more than the cut and thrust of battle.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28King Harold is just one of many and you can add to the list
0:10:28 > 0:10:31General Custer, notorious for his last stand,
0:10:31 > 0:10:35and that genius eccentric - George S Patton, of World War II fame.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37Their style might have been eye-catching,
0:10:37 > 0:10:41but it was also fantastically risky because in war,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44where the stakes are high, the price of failure can be heavy.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49The heroics of the Custers and Pattons make good stories, but
0:10:49 > 0:10:53the really great leaders are those who are a little less hot-headed.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58And it's the considered approach that more often leads to victory.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Look at this! Just look at the scale of this place.
0:11:15 > 0:11:16It's quite incredible.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21All this, and by this, I don't just mean this stunning 18th-century mansion,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25but also 2,000 acres of parkland was the result of
0:11:25 > 0:11:29a decisive logistical victory, a victory so important that this
0:11:29 > 0:11:33place was bestowed by a grateful nation on the general in charge,
0:11:33 > 0:11:35perhaps the greatest British general of all time,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38the Duke of Marlborough.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47In 1701, England went to war.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51The fear was that France and Spain were about to unite under
0:11:51 > 0:11:55a single monarch, creating a very unfriendly superpower.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59The omens didn't look good.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02England hadn't won a major victory on the Continent
0:12:02 > 0:12:05for almost 300 years and the French army, in particular,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07was considered to be utterly invincible.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10They hadn't been defeated in a generation.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Marlborough knew that to have any chance of winning
0:12:13 > 0:12:16what became known as the War of the Spanish Succession,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19he had to get every single detail right.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28The British Library holds original records which show
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Marlborough's meticulous attention to his army's equipment.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34This is one of Marlborough's actual letters
0:12:34 > 0:12:36and it was to see artefacts like these,
0:12:36 > 0:12:40to be able to touch them, that I became a historian in the first place.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42I've studied Marlborough for many years and
0:12:42 > 0:12:46to get inside his head, you need to read what he actually wrote,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50because for Marlborough, writing a letter like this was as important
0:12:50 > 0:12:55a preparation for war as sharpening swords and musket practice.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58So what actually does it say?
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Well, it was to his brother, General Charles Churchill,
0:13:02 > 0:13:07who was commanding his infantry, and dated 8th June, 1704.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11And in this letter, there's a particularly revealing section.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14It says, "The foot may soon be in want of shoes.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18"That they are to be had at Frankfurt at reasonable rates,
0:13:18 > 0:13:22"and that the contractors will send them forward to Nuremberg."
0:13:22 > 0:13:26So what does all this tell us about Marlborough the commander?
0:13:26 > 0:13:29I mean, here was a man with all the cares of the world on his shoulders.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33He was in daily communication with foreign rulers, diplomats
0:13:33 > 0:13:35and other field commanders.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38And yet he found the time to write about shoes.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Footwear was just one example
0:13:42 > 0:13:46of Marlborough's concern for his men's kit.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49He also embraced new technology and organisation,
0:13:49 > 0:13:53to give his army the edge in moving and fighting.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Here, we have a uniform that would have been worn by
0:13:56 > 0:13:58a soldier following the Duke of Marlborough.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00By this time, armies had
0:14:00 > 0:14:02increased greatly in size
0:14:02 > 0:14:03and it was necessary
0:14:03 > 0:14:05to organise them in a different way.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07Marlborough's men were organised into regiments.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Each regiment had its own distinguishing features
0:14:10 > 0:14:14and this uniform tells us several things about the man who would have worn it.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16We can tell by the turnbacks here.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19About ten regiments that followed the Duke had yellow facings.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23One of them was that commanded by Colonel Lee that later became
0:14:23 > 0:14:26the 33rd Regiment of Foot, the Duke of Wellington's regiment.
0:14:26 > 0:14:31The lace here on the front tells us this man was not an officer.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34He is of ordinary private soldier rank.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38And a further clue is the fact that his cap is a grenadier cap.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42By this time, again, the increasing size of armies has
0:14:42 > 0:14:44led to increasing specialisation.
0:14:44 > 0:14:45It has the stylised grenade,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48indicating this soldier's status as a grenadier.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52Grenadiers were specialist soldiers, trained in
0:14:52 > 0:14:57the most modern technology of the day, to use the hand grenade.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00The spherical grenade was hollow, containing explosives.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03This would be lit and then cast towards the enemy.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07As a sign of specialisation, he carried not only the grenade,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11but the standard infantry weapon of the day,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15what became known as the Brown Bess firelock.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18This early pattern has the flintlock.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22It has a sling, which shows the man's a grenadier. Only grenadiers wore slings.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26It allowed them to sling the weapon over their shoulder while using the grenade.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29And it was this weapon that enabled the regiments to function
0:15:29 > 0:15:33in close order and inflict heavy casualties upon their opponents.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42But Marlborough had yet one more piece of kit up his sleeve
0:15:42 > 0:15:46that transformed the speed at which his army could move.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51Come and have a look at this, because inside this room
0:15:51 > 0:15:53are the famous Blenheim tapestries.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57And the one most people come to see is this one, featuring the great man himself,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00in red, on his charger, at the battle, taking the surrender from
0:16:00 > 0:16:04the French commander Marshal Tallard, who's there doffing his hat.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06That's the famous one,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09but the one I really want to show you is over here.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14And in particular, the detail in the centre,
0:16:14 > 0:16:16this two-wheeled sprung cart.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Now, it doesn't seem much, does it?
0:16:18 > 0:16:22But actually, it played a vital role in not only this campaign, but in others.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Now, this was a relatively recent invention,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28introduced into the army by Marlborough himself.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32It increased the speed of his supply train to 12 miles a day,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35which was double that of his opponent.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40Traditional wagons like these farm carts
0:16:40 > 0:16:42were slow, heavy and cumbersome.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46Marlborough wanted something lighter and more versatile.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Andy Robertshaw has studied one of the greatest
0:16:49 > 0:16:52single innovations in military history.
0:16:54 > 0:16:55It doesn't look very dramatic,
0:16:55 > 0:17:00but it represents a revolution in the way that you conduct war.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02The thing about it is that
0:17:02 > 0:17:05it has an innovation.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08The innovation are the springs.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Each side, front to back leaf springs, fastened to the axle.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14And then, in the centre,
0:17:14 > 0:17:18there's actually a spring that at the moment's not doing anything.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21It's sat there in the very middle of the body,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24resting when there's a load in it on the axle.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27That means that the whole thing steadied front to back,
0:17:27 > 0:17:29but also side to side.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33The big advantage of the cart is simple.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Marlborough has something which means
0:17:35 > 0:17:38he's not limited to the road network.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40These things have to go on the roads,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43and as they run down the roads, they churn them up, making
0:17:43 > 0:17:47them almost impassable, making the army slower and slower and slower.
0:17:47 > 0:17:53Marlborough can go off-road, and even off-road, these things can go across
0:17:53 > 0:17:57ploughed fields relatively easily, which means that Marlborough's men
0:17:57 > 0:18:02can go further and faster, and therefore, it gives him far more
0:18:02 > 0:18:06opportunities to put distance between him and his enemies or,
0:18:06 > 0:18:08if needs be, just to get round them,
0:18:08 > 0:18:10to be able to outmanoeuvre them.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15This little model here represents a revolution in warfare.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19It demonstrates that now, you are able to be far more mobile,
0:18:19 > 0:18:23to be able to not be tied to depots you've built up
0:18:23 > 0:18:27before the campaign begins and, very importantly, when your men go
0:18:27 > 0:18:30into battle, they're fit and healthy
0:18:30 > 0:18:32and can out-fight their opponents.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34It seems so simple, doesn't it?
0:18:34 > 0:18:37But as well as his tactical nous, it was his ability to
0:18:37 > 0:18:42move his army swiftly that was the key to his military success.
0:18:47 > 0:18:48In the summer of 1704,
0:18:48 > 0:18:52Marlborough marched south from Bedburg near Cologne,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55drawing part of the French army from Holland.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00The French followed on behind,
0:19:00 > 0:19:04thinking he was planning to attack along the Moselle river.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06Then they guessed Strasbourg.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11But Marlborough continued south at speed,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13finally joining Austrian forces.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Together, they destroyed an alliance of
0:19:16 > 0:19:20French and Bavarian troops who were still working out how to react.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24It was near the village of Blindheim,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27immortalised in Britain as Blenheim.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Marlborough had scored a decisive victory.
0:19:34 > 0:19:39The seemingly invincible French had been routed.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42The key to his success was not his battlefield prowess,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45but the fact that he was a great innovator,
0:19:45 > 0:19:49and he redefined not how to fight, but how to move an army.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57The Duke of Marlborough set the standard for the 18th-century
0:19:57 > 0:19:59generals that were to follow.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06But close attention to fine details of movement and kits became ever
0:20:06 > 0:20:10more challenging as armies became more massive than ever before.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19It's hard to imagine, let alone feel, the scale of
0:20:19 > 0:20:20some of the great historic armies,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23though history has a tendency to exaggerate their numbers.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26But we're not talking about a few hundred.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28We're not even talking about a few thousand.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31We're talking about armies the size of modern cities.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33We're talking about hundreds of thousands.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39Whereas Marlborough led a force of 56,000 men,
0:20:39 > 0:20:44by 1812, Napoleon's grand army stood at half a million.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49It was an utterly devastating force.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55Seeing himself as a spiritual
0:20:55 > 0:20:57successor to Julius Caesar,
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Napoleon styled his army
0:20:59 > 0:21:01on that of ancient Rome.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Just like Caesar, he used an eagle standard,
0:21:14 > 0:21:19carried into battle as a rallying point for troops.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24This would've been presented to its commanding officer by Napoleon himself,
0:21:24 > 0:21:26and it held huge symbolic value.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31It's incredibly beautiful in design, quite heavy,
0:21:31 > 0:21:36and the real significance of the eagle is that it embodied
0:21:36 > 0:21:40the pride of the regiment, a regiment of, say, 2,000 men.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44It would've been carried at the head of the regiment,
0:21:44 > 0:21:46used as a rallying point.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49It would have been fought over ferociously, both the enemy -
0:21:49 > 0:21:51in particular, the British, trying to get their hands on it -
0:21:51 > 0:21:54and the French, of course, trying to protect it.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59Napoleon's vast army swept all before it.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04But for all its size and power, even it was not invincible.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11And its undoing came down to a failure in how it could move...
0:22:12 > 0:22:16..a failure that involved one of the most humble pieces of kit,
0:22:16 > 0:22:18its horses' shoes.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26In June 1812, Napoleon attacked Russia
0:22:26 > 0:22:30when France's former ally defied a ban on trading with Britain.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36With half a million men, and a quarter of a million horses,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Napoleon planned on a quick and decisive victory,
0:22:39 > 0:22:41but it didn't come.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Instead of taking on Napoleon's advancing army,
0:22:46 > 0:22:51the Russians led him a dance, retreating east towards Smolensk.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56Napoleon marched on towards the Russian capital,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00his supply lines growing longer and his soldiers tiring.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06The Russians finally stopped to fight
0:23:06 > 0:23:10the weakened French at Borodino, before retreating once again.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16On the 14th of September, they finally entered Moscow.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20Napoleon assumed the Russians would sue for peace, so imagine
0:23:20 > 0:23:24his horror when he discovered that the whole city had been abandoned.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Much worse was to come.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33The locals had burnt Moscow to the ground and any supplies with it.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Napoleon found nothing but scorched earth
0:23:38 > 0:23:41and the Russian winter was beginning to bite.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48His army was only kitted for a summer campaign,
0:23:48 > 0:23:53and that didn't just mean his soldiers, but his horses too.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02Bernie Tidmarsh comes from a long line of farriers.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06Now, the idea of this is to get a nice seat on the foot.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15- You're almost burning in a little platform for it to sit on.- Yes.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22This is a summer shoe going on here.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24For the winter shoe, like down there,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27with hooks on the end to give them grip,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30that shoe actually comes from the 18th century.
0:24:30 > 0:24:35That would have been used in winter time to give them grip on icy ground.
0:24:35 > 0:24:36OK, so it's sitting like this.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40The hooks are going into the ground and, obviously,
0:24:40 > 0:24:43they're allowing it to gain traction.
0:24:43 > 0:24:44Yes.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50So you've got Napoleon's army dragging all kinds of artillery,
0:24:50 > 0:24:52carriages and wagons full of supplies,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55and they're not wearing these shoes.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57What would've happened?
0:24:57 > 0:25:00They would have just fell down and probably went down underneath
0:25:00 > 0:25:02whatever it was they were pulling.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05They wouldn't have got any grip going downhill any more than they would up,
0:25:05 > 0:25:07and that would have been even more dangerous,
0:25:07 > 0:25:11because the vehicle they were towing would have come down on top of them.
0:25:11 > 0:25:12So the end result is what for the horses?
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Well, ultimately, death, isn't it?
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Broken legs and mutilated limbs.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35It might still have been a fiasco if he'd had shoes like these,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38but by not having them, he made it absolutely certain.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42Without adequate horse transport, 1,500 miles from home,
0:25:42 > 0:25:44his army had no chance.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48In the end, thanks to a brutal Russian winter,
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Napoleon's grand army of half a million men had
0:25:52 > 0:25:57dwindled in just a few months to a thin, staggering line.
0:25:57 > 0:26:02Fewer than one in 20 of Napoleon's soldiers would see their homes again.
0:26:17 > 0:26:22The British Army today employs kit to move its troops that's a far cry
0:26:22 > 0:26:28from that used by King Harold, the Duke of Marlborough or Napoleon.
0:26:28 > 0:26:34Long, grim route marches have been replaced by technology.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38Extraordinary machines have replaced human muscle.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45The C17 transport plane carries 134 soldiers,
0:26:45 > 0:26:50flying up to 2,500 miles before refuelling.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56All this technology is the culmination of a revolution
0:26:56 > 0:27:00in military movement that first began 150 years ago,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03in the midst of the Industrial Revolution.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08And at the heart of it all was the train.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18It was a Prussian military leader who first recognised that
0:27:18 > 0:27:21trains could change wars.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30This is Helmuth von Moltke.
0:27:30 > 0:27:31To military historians like me,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34he's one of the great commanders in history.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37He wasn't a brilliant battlefield commander like a Julius Caesar
0:27:37 > 0:27:39or an Alexander the Great.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43Instead, his talents lay in meticulous planning.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46He did most of his best work before a shot was even fired.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49Moltke's particular genius was to recognise the opportunities
0:27:49 > 0:27:52presented by this brand-new network of railways
0:27:52 > 0:27:55that was spreading across Europe.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59Moltke spent years poring over timetables and inventories
0:27:59 > 0:28:02and studying lists of rolling stock, so that when war eventually
0:28:02 > 0:28:07came with France, as it did in July 1870, his well-oiled machine
0:28:07 > 0:28:11was ready to be put into action at the touch of a button.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17From across Germany, soldiers were mobilised
0:28:17 > 0:28:19and massed on the French border.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23It was the first time trains had ever been used
0:28:23 > 0:28:25with this level of planning.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29In a masterpiece of military logistics,
0:28:29 > 0:28:33Prussian troops arrived at border railway stations like this
0:28:33 > 0:28:36one here in Landau in just a matter of days.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39While France was still preparing her army,
0:28:39 > 0:28:43Prussia had 85,000 men concentrated and ready for action.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51It had taken less than three weeks.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57And within months, the Prussians had defeated the French
0:28:57 > 0:29:00and paved the way for the unification of Germany.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05That's what a railway timetable could do for you.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13But trains really came into their own in the next great
0:29:13 > 0:29:16European conflict, World War I.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18In Europe alone,
0:29:18 > 0:29:22the amount of rail track tripled from 105,000 kilometres in 1870
0:29:22 > 0:29:28to 300,000 by the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32And this made possible the greatest mass mobilisation in history.
0:29:38 > 0:29:43In September 1914, Germany invaded France with 1.5 million men,
0:29:43 > 0:29:46the largest army ever deployed.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55It marched through Belgium, skirting the French defences,
0:29:55 > 0:29:56towards its target, Paris.
0:29:58 > 0:29:59Within two weeks,
0:29:59 > 0:30:04the Germans had advanced to within 23 miles of the French capital.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12They were so close that the city's terrified inhabitants
0:30:12 > 0:30:15could hear the sound of artillery.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22In response, France had countered by mobilising an extraordinary
0:30:22 > 0:30:283.5 million men to defend their country and their homes.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34And it used 7,000 trains to do this, many of them
0:30:34 > 0:30:38taking soldiers from this station straight to the front.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41The Gare de l'Est in Paris
0:30:41 > 0:30:44is home to a vast painting that depicts this event.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50It shows just one train out of 7,000.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54There's one particularly moving, arresting scene right in the centre,
0:30:54 > 0:30:57with a young poilu kissing his wife,
0:30:57 > 0:31:01and holding onto her skirt is his son,
0:31:01 > 0:31:06eyes looking up towards heaven, anxious for the fate of his father.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16Many, many, many of the soldiers depicted in this chaotic
0:31:16 > 0:31:20but moving scene would never have come back to France.
0:31:20 > 0:31:25And because they'd come through this station, there was a famous saying.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28French women, when asked what had happened to their sons, they said,
0:31:28 > 0:31:32"Il a ete mange par la Gare de l'Est."
0:31:32 > 0:31:34He was eaten by the East Station.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41With massed reinforcements,
0:31:41 > 0:31:45the advance was at last stopped at the Battle of the Marne...
0:31:46 > 0:31:50..and a swift war became entrenched.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54Moltke's clever use of the railways for military ends changed
0:31:54 > 0:31:56the course of history.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59Without it, there may have been no German unification
0:31:59 > 0:32:02and no world conflicts in the 20th century.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06But he'd also revolutionised the way military commanders
0:32:06 > 0:32:09thought about moving their armies.
0:32:09 > 0:32:14The train was the start of the idea that troops could be moved rapidly
0:32:14 > 0:32:18across the globe in their tens and even hundreds of thousands.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21World War II, Korea, Vietnam,
0:32:21 > 0:32:24both Gulf Wars, Afghanistan,
0:32:24 > 0:32:27it all started here with the train.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36What started with railways in the 1870s was the idea that
0:32:36 > 0:32:41technology could be used to move soldiers and their kit anywhere,
0:32:41 > 0:32:42fast.
0:32:42 > 0:32:47And through the course of the 20th century, this idea spread
0:32:47 > 0:32:51far beyond the wildest dreams of the Prussian planner von Moltke.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59Seas and skies, as well as land,
0:32:59 > 0:33:03all became highways upon which
0:33:03 > 0:33:06generals could move armies across the globe...
0:33:08 > 0:33:11..employing ever more incredible pieces of kit.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24But one thing hadn't changed.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29Since antiquity, armies had relied on horses
0:33:29 > 0:33:32to provide both speed and muscle.
0:33:32 > 0:33:37Despite the mass movements of troops by train, the armies
0:33:37 > 0:33:42of World War I still relied heavily on route marches and horsepower.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49Between 1914 and 1918, a total of eight million horses and mules
0:33:49 > 0:33:53were used to shift equipment and people.
0:33:53 > 0:33:58More hay and oats were shipped from Britain to France than
0:33:58 > 0:34:02even ammunition, over 6,000 tonnes a day in 1917.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09Even in World War II, horses were still crucial.
0:34:09 > 0:34:11In fact, Germany employed more horses
0:34:11 > 0:34:14than it had in the First World War.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18But for the first time, there was, at last,
0:34:18 > 0:34:22an alternative to the flexibility of the horse.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34Isn't it brilliant?
0:34:44 > 0:34:48Until the jeep, the fastest way to cover rough ground was the horse,
0:34:48 > 0:34:50as it had been since ancient times,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53but this thing's in a different class.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59And they can be used for anything - towing, cable-laying,
0:34:59 > 0:35:02transporting casualties, and, with the right wheels,
0:35:02 > 0:35:05they could even be used on railway tracks.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10About one in five of all the wheeled vehicles built
0:35:10 > 0:35:13in the US during World War II were jeeps.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18That's well over half a million jeeps built in just four years,
0:35:18 > 0:35:21from 1941 to 1945.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29The US General George C Marshall once described the jeep as
0:35:29 > 0:35:32America's greatest contribution to modern warfare.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36And don't forget, America invented the atomic bomb.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44Jeeps revolutionised the way troops could move.
0:35:44 > 0:35:49But World War II also saw a much heavier beast,
0:35:49 > 0:35:50the tank.
0:36:05 > 0:36:10Tanks brought a new speed and manoeuvrability to the battlefield.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13But it came at a price.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35It was German engineers who first addressed
0:36:35 > 0:36:38the importance of radio communication.
0:36:40 > 0:36:45Blitzkrieg, lightning war, relied on rapid movement, which
0:36:45 > 0:36:49itself depended on a level of coordination between all arms,
0:36:49 > 0:36:52planes, artillery and tanks.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59And that could only be provided by mobile radio hubs
0:36:59 > 0:37:01and command vehicles.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04Now, the only difference between this tank
0:37:04 > 0:37:06and a standard Panzer I is the aerial,
0:37:06 > 0:37:10for its radio communications, and this raised superstructure, inside
0:37:10 > 0:37:14which it kept all its sophisticated radio communication equipment.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16It would use this equipment on
0:37:16 > 0:37:18a number of different frequencies,
0:37:18 > 0:37:19not only to contact other armour,
0:37:19 > 0:37:21but also artillery and planes,
0:37:21 > 0:37:23so that the tank commander had
0:37:23 > 0:37:25a very clear view of the battlefield
0:37:25 > 0:37:27and was able to respond at a moment's notice
0:37:27 > 0:37:28to reconnaissance reports.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31But there was another problem.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35It was no good being able to talk when you couldn't move.
0:37:35 > 0:37:40And just like horses, tanks needed feeding.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44Supplying petrol was vital.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47And Germany invented a new piece of kit
0:37:47 > 0:37:49the British called the jerry can.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52It's made of pressed steel, strong and robust,
0:37:52 > 0:37:54with lots of clever pieces of design.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57This nozzle, meaning you don't need a funnel to pour it.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01But perhaps the best innovation of all is these three handles.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05If it's empty, a single man can carry it, using the centre one.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09And if it's full of 20 litres of fuel, one man on each side.
0:38:09 > 0:38:10You can easily move this around.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12So that was the German version.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16What did the British use to move their fuel in the Second World War?
0:38:16 > 0:38:18They used this, nicknamed the flimsy,
0:38:18 > 0:38:22and well nicknamed, because it was thin, easily punctured,
0:38:22 > 0:38:26and if the fuel came out, it was a serious fire hazard.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29This one, the German version, is the one that proved
0:38:29 > 0:38:31its worth and is still used today.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34But in the Second World War, fuel was critical to
0:38:34 > 0:38:38one of the greatest conflicts of all, the battle for North Africa.
0:38:40 > 0:38:45The war in North Africa was taking place over vast distances.
0:38:45 > 0:38:49And the biggest problem for both sides was how to supply
0:38:49 > 0:38:54their vehicles with enough fuel to keep them running.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57This tank ahead of us is a Panzer Mark III and it would play an
0:38:57 > 0:39:01absolutely key role in the outcome of the fighting in North Africa.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04Its problem was its fuel consumption,
0:39:04 > 0:39:07just 1.3 miles to the gallon.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10Of course, the distances it had to cover in Africa were
0:39:10 > 0:39:13absolutely huge, much more than Napoleon had to deal with in Russia.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17And what all this added up to was an absolutely massive
0:39:17 > 0:39:18demand for petrol.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24By 1942, German tanks had pushed British forces back
0:39:24 > 0:39:27to within 60 miles of Alexandria.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31But Germany had a problem.
0:39:31 > 0:39:36Its fuel had to be brought all the way from Italy, before being
0:39:36 > 0:39:40transported across a blanket of open desert, vulnerable to RAF attack.
0:39:50 > 0:39:55The British, by contrast, had access to the oilfields of the Middle East.
0:39:55 > 0:40:00In the battle for North Africa, this difference became a critical factor.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10For the swashbuckling German commander Erwin Rommel,
0:40:10 > 0:40:13fuel wasn't exactly at the top of his agenda.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18Rommel was more concerned with his grand plan for Africa than
0:40:18 > 0:40:22the day-to-day logistics of fuel supply.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25The scheme was to use his tank divisions to drive east and
0:40:25 > 0:40:31take the strategically vital Suez Canal and the oilfields beyond.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34All that stood in his way was the British Eighth Army,
0:40:34 > 0:40:37based at the Egyptian town of El Alamein
0:40:37 > 0:40:41and commanded by the recently appointed Bernard Montgomery.
0:40:41 > 0:40:46Now, these were two very different generals, almost chalk and cheese.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49On the one hand, you had Rommel, a tactically brilliant risk-taker
0:40:49 > 0:40:53who left, on the whole, logistics to his subordinates.
0:40:53 > 0:40:58And on the other hand, Montgomery - slow, cautious, methodical.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01A man who, like Marlborough and Wellington before him,
0:41:01 > 0:41:03knew the importance of preparation.
0:41:03 > 0:41:09And I think you can guess where this is going because, by August 1942,
0:41:09 > 0:41:13Rommel's supply lines stretched back over a thousand miles of desert.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15And the problem he faced was that he had to
0:41:15 > 0:41:19use up 50% of his petrol just moving his fuel and other supplies
0:41:19 > 0:41:24up to the frontline, which left precious little for his tanks.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27Montgomery, on the other hand, only needs to bring his supplies over
0:41:27 > 0:41:29a couple of hundred miles of desert.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33And yet he still has to repel repeated demands by Churchill
0:41:33 > 0:41:34to attack before he is ready.
0:41:34 > 0:41:41By late October 1942, he knew he had a huge advantage in men,
0:41:41 > 0:41:45armour, and crucially, petrol.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48And the rest, as they say, is history.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52Montgomery wins the battle of El Alamein and ultimately
0:41:52 > 0:41:53wins North Africa.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58Had the Germans succeeded in capturing
0:41:58 > 0:42:03the Middle Eastern oilfields, the war could, some say would,
0:42:03 > 0:42:06have taken a very different course.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29World War II was the first conflict fought with massive transport kit,
0:42:29 > 0:42:31right across the globe.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35On land,
0:42:35 > 0:42:38in the air,
0:42:38 > 0:42:40and on the ocean.
0:42:42 > 0:42:47But it wasn't all about machines of war.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51British passenger ships, like the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth,
0:42:51 > 0:42:54carried over a million American soldiers over to Europe.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59But ships were also vulnerable.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06In 1940, the troop ship Lancastria came under attack
0:43:06 > 0:43:10and sank, with the loss of over 4,000 lives.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16It was the biggest single disaster in British maritime history.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23And ships had another disadvantage.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28They needed ports in which to dock,
0:43:28 > 0:43:32many of which were heavily fortified strategic linchpins.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37But sometimes, by thinking really big,
0:43:37 > 0:43:39a general can make a decisive move.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45More soldiers have been defeated by nature than by any army,
0:43:45 > 0:43:49but that can sometimes provide an opportunity for generals
0:43:49 > 0:43:51trying to outwit each other.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55The best, I think, always take the harder route, the difficult option,
0:43:55 > 0:43:58because it's unexpected, because it's counterintuitive,
0:43:58 > 0:44:00like Hannibal crossing the Alps.
0:44:00 > 0:44:05One of the most audacious plans in the whole of military history,
0:44:05 > 0:44:09perhaps the greatest military feat of all time,
0:44:09 > 0:44:14didn't take place in the distant past, but less than 70 years ago.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22D-Day, June 6th, 1944,
0:44:22 > 0:44:25the greatest seaborne invasion in history.
0:44:27 > 0:44:31More than 150,000 British, Canadian and American troops
0:44:31 > 0:44:34landed on five beaches in Normandy.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40But the landings were just the beginning.
0:44:40 > 0:44:45Allied troops could only carry enough rations to last two days.
0:44:47 > 0:44:52To push forward into France, a huge supply operation was needed,
0:44:52 > 0:44:56and that required an incredible new piece of kit.
0:44:58 > 0:45:03Outside the village of Garlieston, on the west coast of Scotland,
0:45:03 > 0:45:07evidence remains of one of World War II's greatest inventions.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11I suppose this is why they sited it here,
0:45:11 > 0:45:14because it's very difficult to find.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17Little piece down there.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21Here's some more over here.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23That's the chunk of it.
0:45:24 > 0:45:26Here's the edge, here.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31And it would have swept all the way down into the sea like this.
0:45:31 > 0:45:33And this is the main bit,
0:45:33 > 0:45:35reinforced concrete.
0:45:37 > 0:45:39This, believe it or not, was actually a roadway.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41It doesn't look like much now,
0:45:41 > 0:45:45but it's extraordinary it's still here and in such obvious condition,
0:45:45 > 0:45:50you know, almost looking like it would have done almost 65 years ago.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53This, believe it or not, was one of the key elements of
0:45:53 > 0:45:56the greatest logistical enterprises of the Second World War.
0:45:57 > 0:46:01Hitler and his generals knew an invasion was coming,
0:46:01 > 0:46:05but also that the Allies would need a harbour to land their supplies.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08And all the harbours along the coast of France were
0:46:08 > 0:46:11German-held and heavily fortified.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15But Churchill had a plan.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18If the Allies couldn't capture an enemy port,
0:46:18 > 0:46:20they would have to bring one.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25British military engineers worked for two years on
0:46:25 > 0:46:28a secret project codenamed Mulberry.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33Not far from the crumbling concrete roadway,
0:46:33 > 0:46:37there are still remains of an innovation without which
0:46:37 > 0:46:41the D-Day invasions might never have succeeded.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44Oh, my God! There it is.
0:46:44 > 0:46:49This most unlikely-looking shape is one of the key elements to
0:46:49 > 0:46:51the success of D-Day.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54This was a floating pontoon.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57You've just got to multiply in your mind this one
0:46:57 > 0:47:01floating pontoon by 150 times to get an idea of what
0:47:01 > 0:47:04they were trying to do on D-Day,
0:47:04 > 0:47:09and that is create a huge, artificial floating harbour.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12They didn't have a harbour to use, so they took one with them,
0:47:12 > 0:47:15and this was just one piece of the jigsaw.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19We're talking a massive, massive, massive operation,
0:47:19 > 0:47:23ten miles of roadways and ultimately, a port -
0:47:23 > 0:47:26when it was all in place - the size of Dover.
0:47:31 > 0:47:35The reason this pontoon was tested in this remote part of Scotland
0:47:35 > 0:47:39was partly because the tides were similar to those of Normandy,
0:47:39 > 0:47:43but more importantly, to keep the preparations from the Germans.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49Mulberry was one of the most secret operations of the whole war.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55In shipyards and factories around Britain, workers built
0:47:55 > 0:47:59parts of the plan without ever knowing quite what they were making.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06What emerged were 146 floating breakwaters
0:48:06 > 0:48:11made from a staggering two million tonnes of steel and concrete,
0:48:11 > 0:48:16designed to protect a series of floating quays and pontoon roadways.
0:48:19 > 0:48:23Once the assault troops had cleared the beaches of German guns,
0:48:23 > 0:48:26the components were towed across the Channel
0:48:26 > 0:48:29and assembled on the Normandy coast.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33Roy Walter is a local historian
0:48:33 > 0:48:36who has studied how the Mulberry harbours were used.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41Wow! That's pretty impressive.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44This is it, model of an artificial harbour,
0:48:44 > 0:48:47as it would have been off the coast of France, shortly after D-Day.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51This is an artificial breakwater, which was the first thing to go in
0:48:51 > 0:48:54to provide sheltered water for everything that came behind it.
0:48:54 > 0:48:58This is the floating pier head and then, attached to that,
0:48:58 > 0:49:02you've got this roadway that sits on top of these floating pontoons.
0:49:02 > 0:49:06Ah! So now, I'm beginning to see what I was actually looking at.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09I was just looking at one of these, obviously in deteriorated condition,
0:49:09 > 0:49:12- but that is the pontoon, and there would have been many of them.- Many.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15There were 26 of these floating pier heads,
0:49:15 > 0:49:17all along the D-Day beaches.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19Mm-hm. It's astonishing, isn't it,
0:49:19 > 0:49:22to think that they built this whole harbour in secrecy,
0:49:22 > 0:49:26assembled it in practice so that it could work on the day, and then
0:49:26 > 0:49:30towed it across, actually during the greatest invasion in history?
0:49:30 > 0:49:32And built it under the noses of the Germans.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35What's interesting about Churchill is, he's often thought of as
0:49:35 > 0:49:37a maverick, particularly in military terms,
0:49:37 > 0:49:40but this was clearly one maverick idea that worked.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43It was a tremendously maverick idea, but he had the vision
0:49:43 > 0:49:46to see it through, and the results speak for themselves.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52Without these amazing floating harbours,
0:49:52 > 0:49:55the invasion might well have foundered.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58They were designed to last for nine weeks.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01They actually survived for nine months, and over them
0:50:01 > 0:50:07passed half a million men and half a million guns, trucks and tanks.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11They were the difference between success and failure.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13They were, quite simply,
0:50:13 > 0:50:16the greatest engineering feat in military history.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26Today, the ability to move armies has moved into
0:50:26 > 0:50:28new realms of technology...
0:50:31 > 0:50:35..as air transport has changed the geography of war forever.
0:50:40 > 0:50:45The desert metropolis of Camp Bastion has an airport busier than
0:50:45 > 0:50:51Stansted, handling up to 600 flights a day of troops and supplies.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55And once on the ground,
0:50:55 > 0:50:58convoys of armoured vehicles can stretch for miles across
0:50:58 > 0:51:03the Afghan desert, carrying supplies to the forward operating bases.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11But for all today's cutting-edge kit, when it comes to
0:51:11 > 0:51:14the frontline itself, it's surprising how little has changed
0:51:14 > 0:51:20since the days of Harold and his Anglo-Saxon army 1,000 years ago.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50As a historian of war, I'm constantly struck by how armies face
0:51:50 > 0:51:53the same challenges again and again.
0:51:54 > 0:51:58The political circumstances change and technology changes,
0:51:58 > 0:52:00but people don't.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02They still need to be fed in the same way
0:52:02 > 0:52:04and they still die in the same way.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09And despite the jeeps and jets of modern warfare,
0:52:09 > 0:52:13the ability to march quickly into battle is still a vital ingredient
0:52:13 > 0:52:17of military success, as it had been in Marlborough's day.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24When Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982,
0:52:24 > 0:52:29British troops were sent across 8,000 miles of ocean to recapture them.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38With helicopters lost to enemy action, the army went back to basics
0:52:38 > 0:52:43and a new term became familiar back home - yomping,
0:52:43 > 0:52:46commando slang for a long, fully-loaded route march.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56British commandos undertook a three-week yomp across marsh
0:52:56 > 0:53:01and heath, carrying backbreaking amounts of supplies and ammunition.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13Major George Wiseman was one of a thousand soldiers
0:53:13 > 0:53:15who undertook the epic march.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17So what have you got here?
0:53:17 > 0:53:21The average weight that marines in my commando unit were carrying
0:53:21 > 0:53:22was about 120lbs, eight-and-a-half stone.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25Given that my own bodyweight at that time, as a 17-year-old,
0:53:25 > 0:53:27was only nine-and-a-half stone anyway,
0:53:27 > 0:53:30a lot of young guys were almost carrying their own bodyweight.
0:53:30 > 0:53:32That's extraordinary.
0:53:32 > 0:53:34- So shall we go for it? - Yep, let's go for it.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40- Ooh!- Now, straightaway, you can probably feel that biting into your
0:53:40 > 0:53:43shoulders and the weight going straight through your spine
0:53:43 > 0:53:44down to your feet.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46- And this is, what, 45lbs?- Yeah.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51I've got double this to come!
0:53:57 > 0:53:59Already, Saul, you're bent over.
0:53:59 > 0:54:03Yeah, yeah. It seems to be the only way I can take this weight.
0:54:03 > 0:54:08It's unbelievable, just gravity forcing me down to the ground,
0:54:08 > 0:54:11and frankly, the expression packhorse comes to mind,
0:54:11 > 0:54:15because that's surely what you are when you're lugging this!
0:54:15 > 0:54:17It's an unbelievable weight.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22The pack weighs eight-and-a-half stone.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25George, I've just come a few hundred metres now
0:54:25 > 0:54:28and I'm feeling pretty exhausted.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32You had to cross the Falklands. How far, actually, did you go?
0:54:32 > 0:54:35Well, my particular unit, 45 Commando,
0:54:35 > 0:54:38yomped - they were the only unit, actually, to yomp -
0:54:38 > 0:54:41from San Carlos all the way to Port Stanley,
0:54:41 > 0:54:44which is approximately 110 kilometres.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48We did that over about a two-and-a-half-week period.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51That's a hell of an ordeal, isn't it? I mean, how tough was it?
0:54:51 > 0:54:53Extremely.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57I mean, we're walking across fairly benign ground at the moment.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00But you can imagine with this weight on your back,
0:55:00 > 0:55:03going up steep slopes, the boggy ground,
0:55:03 > 0:55:07the tough grass which would twist your ankle.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10You've got the added elements of an enemy that's out there,
0:55:10 > 0:55:12trying to kill you, let's face it.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16And finally, you know that there's going to be one hell of a battle
0:55:16 > 0:55:18when you get to the end of this yomp as well.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30And see how you're now allowing the blood to go back!
0:55:30 > 0:55:31Just having a little break.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35It's a few seconds of relief exactly as you've done there, Saul.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38You've taken that weight just a little bit off your shoulders
0:55:38 > 0:55:41to let the blood go back in, but I think if your physiotherapist saw you
0:55:41 > 0:55:43at the moment, he'd probably be horrified,
0:55:43 > 0:55:46with the weight that's going through the small of your back at the moment!
0:55:52 > 0:55:56Just a short taste of a fully-loaded march makes me realise what it
0:55:56 > 0:55:59must have been like to be one of Napoleon's grand army
0:55:59 > 0:56:03struggling through the murderous Russian winter,
0:56:03 > 0:56:08or one of King Harold's exhausted warriors marching south in 1066.
0:56:10 > 0:56:15And just like them, the commandos of 1982 had a battle to fight
0:56:15 > 0:56:18once they finally reached their destination.
0:56:18 > 0:56:21It's extraordinary to think, George, isn't it,
0:56:21 > 0:56:23at a time when the military had
0:56:23 > 0:56:27the capability to fly jets, shoot missiles, tracked vehicles,
0:56:27 > 0:56:29that this yomp across the island
0:56:29 > 0:56:32really did make a difference in this battle?
0:56:32 > 0:56:35That boots on the ground really changed the course of history.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37I think that was, at the time,
0:56:37 > 0:56:41recognised that the Argentinians had defended positions.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44They were going to remain in those positions, so somebody,
0:56:44 > 0:56:47at some stage, has to clear those positions.
0:56:47 > 0:56:50And you're absolutely right, it boils down to the rifleman,
0:56:50 > 0:56:54the single rifleman, that eventually has to do the face-to-face fighting.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59Despite huge technological advances,
0:56:59 > 0:57:03many of the challenges facing armies remain constant.
0:57:03 > 0:57:08In the end, just as in the time of King Harold,
0:57:08 > 0:57:11to win at war, you need soldiers on the ground.
0:57:12 > 0:57:16It may be the ultra-modern spy drones that catch the eye,
0:57:16 > 0:57:21but the fate of nations still often depends on nervous young men
0:57:21 > 0:57:27carrying heavy packs, complaining, as ever, about their boots.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35Next time, how to kit an army for battle.
0:57:38 > 0:57:40Saul, what you're equipped with now
0:57:40 > 0:57:43is the cutting edge in technology that is available today.
0:57:43 > 0:57:46The new firearms that changed war forever.
0:57:48 > 0:57:53This projectile was effective at 1,000 yards.
0:57:53 > 0:57:57Why World War I was almost brought to a halt
0:57:57 > 0:57:59when the ammunition began to run out.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02This gun fires 600 rounds a minute.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04That's ten a second.
0:58:04 > 0:58:09And how changing weapons fuelled the technological arms race of today.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd