0:00:08 > 0:00:12'We, for our part, were "military"
0:00:12 > 0:00:15'and bandaged little messenger boys in the park.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21'I do believe we all felt like...doing our bit.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26'The messenger boys' wounds were always conveniently placed,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29'and they never screamed and writhed or prayed for morphia
0:00:29 > 0:00:32'when they were being bandaged.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35'And shoulders were not shot away,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38'nor eyes blinded, nor men's faces mushed.'
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Papa! Papa!
0:01:12 > 0:01:15'On this day in August, I was looking for my father
0:01:15 > 0:01:17'out in the fields.'
0:01:17 > 0:01:18Papa!
0:01:18 > 0:01:20'The bells had been ringing for hours.'
0:01:20 > 0:01:23Pap! Papa!
0:01:23 > 0:01:26'When it is not a feast day, the bells chime only
0:01:26 > 0:01:30'when there is a fire, or something really bad has happened.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33'They were ringing not only in our village,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35'but also in the neighbouring town.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38'How different the bells sounded on that day,
0:01:38 > 0:01:42'as if they were a portent of things to come, calling for help.'
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Papa! Papa!
0:01:58 > 0:02:03'My father was a colonel of the Kuban Cossacks, a proud, hard man.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11'On this day, he hugged and kissed me without a word.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13'He had never done so before.'
0:02:17 > 0:02:21BELLS TOLL
0:02:45 > 0:02:48'On a certain radiant morning seven weeks ago,
0:02:48 > 0:02:52'we learned that a man and woman had been murdered in a distant country.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58'We felt deeply for the great family who had known many tragedies,
0:02:58 > 0:03:00'but the murder of the Grand Duke and Duchess of Austria
0:03:00 > 0:03:06'in the town of Sarajevo had nothing to do with us - so we thought.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08'We were wrong.
0:03:08 > 0:03:09'War had been declared.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14'The thing which we had talked of for years had happened.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18'And with the lifting of the veil of that peace, which concealed the hate
0:03:18 > 0:03:24'behind it, Germany stood revealed as England's old and implacable enemy.'
0:03:25 > 0:03:28And now, what would the gash of a sabre look like?
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Would it cut through the middle of the face?
0:03:32 > 0:03:34No, the face must surely be preserved.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Perhaps a slice through the shoulder?
0:03:38 > 0:03:42'We were not ready, we did not pretend to be ready,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45'but we meant to fight whether we were ready or not.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47'Also we meant to go on fighting till the end.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53'The war was a matter of national honour.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58'Even though Englishmen do not feel hate, they very often feel rage.'
0:03:58 > 0:03:59My, my, I'm terribly excited.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04We're going to take care of all these men. Bandage, wash...
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Most importantly, we must smile.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11All of you must maintain your smile.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16I call it the Patent Patriotic Smile. It looks somewhat like this.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23You must learn to carry it in all situations -
0:04:23 > 0:04:26it will keep up the men's courage.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28No doubt we should start there.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43'I, Sarah Macnaughtan, am Scottish and proud of it.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48'I was born in 1864 into a wealthy family.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52'To me, it has always been important to use my wealth to alleviate
0:04:52 > 0:04:54'the sufferings of others and to do good.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57'As a Red Cross volunteer,
0:04:57 > 0:05:01'I have lived through the wars in South Africa and the Balkans,
0:05:01 > 0:05:03'so it is only natural that I should
0:05:03 > 0:05:07'report for duty as an auxiliary nurse at the front in Belgium.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12'Travelling with me is a group of inexperienced young women,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15'who also want to assist the British Army in the most brutal conflict
0:05:15 > 0:05:17'it has ever faced.'
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Give me a hand here, would you, dear?
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Don't forget your jacket. Oh, your suitcase.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Allow me, ladies.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41I'm Dr Henry Beavis and you've been assigned to me.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47Sarah Macnaughtan, sir. Our outfit is complete.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49All the women of our group are prepared to partake
0:05:49 > 0:05:52in the toughest of tasks to aid the wounded.
0:05:52 > 0:05:53The wounded?
0:05:54 > 0:05:57My dear ladies, what do you expect you'll be doing?
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Forgive me, Doctor...Beavis.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04I can assure you that with my experience in the South African War...
0:06:04 > 0:06:05And I can assure YOU,
0:06:05 > 0:06:09this is no mere skirmish with a couple of natives.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Cooking, cleaning and food distribution are precisely
0:06:13 > 0:06:16the tough tasks you can look forward to. Shall we?
0:06:36 > 0:06:40'Karl argues against it with every reason he can think of.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43'I feel somewhat grateful that he should fight for him.'
0:07:03 > 0:07:08'I am Kathe Kollwitz, mother, wife, Social Democrat
0:07:08 > 0:07:10'and above all, artist.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13'It is the suffering of the working class that drives me.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16'I must draw it, must show it to the world.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20'We, on the other hand, are doing very well.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24'I am called Germany's most important female artist.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26'Karl is a successful doctor
0:07:26 > 0:07:30'and we live with our son Peter in Berlin - where else?
0:07:32 > 0:07:36'Here, for all its modernity, power is still in the hands
0:07:36 > 0:07:40'of the arch-conservative Prussian nobility, and above all,
0:07:40 > 0:07:45'in the hands of the heel-clicking military that keeps them there.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48'At its head is Emperor Wilhelm II,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51'a ruler who seems unable to distinguish fantasy from reality.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57'Since the day I was born, Germany has won all the wars it fought.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00'We have forged a mighty empire through these victories,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04'but with it, fear, even hatred, from our neighbours.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08'We feel, in fact, surrounded by enemies.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14'A feeling of pressure, and inconsolability.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18'Of the impossibility of sacrificing Peter.'
0:08:46 > 0:08:48'One speaks in vain
0:08:48 > 0:08:52'because the boy's silence overwhelms my own inner feelings.'
0:08:56 > 0:09:00SINGING
0:09:10 > 0:09:16# It's a long way to Tipperary... #
0:09:16 > 0:09:20# Allons enfants de la Patrie... #
0:09:21 > 0:09:25PATRIOTIC NATIONAL SONGS
0:09:29 > 0:09:33PATRIOTIC NATIONAL SONGS
0:09:37 > 0:09:41PATRIOTIC NATIONAL SONGS
0:09:42 > 0:09:46'Our Cossacks were getting their horses ready to board the train.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49'The men showed off their courage and contempt of death,
0:09:49 > 0:09:53'as is required by tradition. They did not show their feelings.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00'I remembered an old war tradition, which my father had told me about.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02'The women follow the Cossacks as they go to war
0:10:02 > 0:10:06'and stay as close as possible to the army.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08'Why should it be any different this time?'
0:10:50 > 0:10:56'I had only one word ringing in my ears - war, war, war.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00'Against whom and why? The tsar had ordered it
0:11:00 > 0:11:02'and a Cossack never asks.'
0:11:08 > 0:11:12'I am Marina Yurlova and I'm 14 years old.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14'I live in the south of our mighty Russian Empire
0:11:14 > 0:11:16'in a small village by the river Kuban.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20'As the daughter of a Cossack colonel,
0:11:20 > 0:11:22'I'm always ready for adventure.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26'We Cossacks are feared warriors.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31'Because of this, we form the tsar's personal bodyguards.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35'Ordained by God, he rules over all Russians.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40'Nicholas II seems to me to be a very sad tsar.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43'Again and again, he has had to endure horrible news.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48'He has lost wars and even faced revolutions.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51'Now all of Russia seems to be losing its mind.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56'We Cossacks are the only ones he can always rely on...
0:11:58 > 0:11:59'..and he does.'
0:12:04 > 0:12:08'War. Everywhere, people on the streets.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10'And within me the feeling
0:12:10 > 0:12:14'we've endured long enough the pressure, the embrace of the enemy.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18'Now we are attacked and must defend ourselves.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21'Now we can live again.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25'It is as though we are awakened from an oppressive dream.'
0:13:20 > 0:13:22'And now it was all done.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26'That sacrifice my son drew me to and to which we drew Karl.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38'I must say something about my altered attitude towards the war.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42'For the first time, I felt the absolute togetherness of the people.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45'I felt I was beginning anew,
0:13:45 > 0:13:47'as though none of the old values were left,
0:13:47 > 0:13:49'as though everything had to be put to the test.'
0:13:58 > 0:14:00'I can't write, can't think connectedly,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03'can't get the idea of anything with any fullness.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09'I simply piffle through the whole of every day, thinking about what
0:14:09 > 0:14:12'I could do to hide my few years over the age limit.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16'I think I have an idea.'
0:14:21 > 0:14:25'I am Charles Edward Montague and at 48 years old, getting on a bit.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29'When I was a young man, I went up to Oxford,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32'where I became an ardent pacifist.
0:14:32 > 0:14:33'Today I live in London,
0:14:33 > 0:14:36'the capital city of the greatest empire the world has ever known.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38'At the moment, I am working as a journalist
0:14:38 > 0:14:40'for the Manchester Guardian.
0:14:40 > 0:14:46'But since the German attack on Belgium I am a pacifist no longer.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51'This injustice, this barbaric act of violence against a defenceless
0:14:51 > 0:14:53'people must be stopped.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55'And who can stop the Germans, if not us?
0:14:57 > 0:15:00'The wrath of the ordinary people is incredible.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02'German stores are ravaged.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05'Everything that is even remotely reminiscent of the hated Huns
0:15:05 > 0:15:06'is laid in ruins.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10'But for me, wrath alone is not enough.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13'I've decided to volunteer for the army,
0:15:13 > 0:15:17'even though I am some years over the age limit of 42.'
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Charles Edward Montague.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Mountaineer. Swimmer. Sporting fit.
0:15:34 > 0:15:3541 years old, sir.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Do you have a family?
0:15:42 > 0:15:44A wife and seven children, sir.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47And are things so bad at home that this will be your gift to your wife?
0:15:47 > 0:15:48Sir?
0:16:04 > 0:16:05Montague.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08How old are you?
0:16:09 > 0:16:10I mean, your real age,
0:16:10 > 0:16:12and don't you dare take me for a fool.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20'I just wanted to fight, like the rest of the country.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23'I felt an appetite for danger
0:16:23 > 0:16:27'and after all these years sitting behind a desk,
0:16:27 > 0:16:29'a passion for any fresh enterprise.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36'In a word, for more life.'
0:16:40 > 0:16:4248, sir, but only just.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47You know, it's rather scandalous, what you're doing here.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51If I hadn't seen that life-saving medal-ribbon on your jacket,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54I would have had you hauled off. Understood?
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Yes, sir!
0:16:56 > 0:17:01Montague. Out there, you won't be saving any lives. You'll be killing.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03Is that clear to you?
0:17:08 > 0:17:12'Peter and the others went to the barracks early for a medical examination.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14'They returned at six o'clock. They'd all been turned down.'
0:17:23 > 0:17:27'Hope...that we might be able to keep him at home.'
0:17:31 > 0:17:33PHONE RINGS
0:18:05 > 0:18:06'In times like these,
0:18:06 > 0:18:11'one realises how stupid it is that these children are going to war.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14'The whole thing is so desolate and mad.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18'This silly thought, that surely they will not take part in such
0:18:18 > 0:18:24'madness, and then, like a cold shower, you realise...they must.
0:18:26 > 0:18:27They must.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32A MAN SCREAMS
0:18:34 > 0:18:36'All my previous ideas of men marching to war had a touch
0:18:36 > 0:18:44'of heroism, crudely expressed by quick-step and smart uniforms.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46'Today I see men so broken
0:18:46 > 0:18:49'that their own mothers would hardly recognise them.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54'Their uniforms are stiff with blood and have to be cut off.'
0:18:58 > 0:19:00The wounded are collected in the courtyard.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05They carry labels with their names, regiment numbers,
0:19:05 > 0:19:07the types of wounds they have.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10You're here to ensure the men have something to drink.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Fetch yourselves a handcart.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16I want to see tea, coffee and water here at all times.
0:19:16 > 0:19:17Understood?
0:19:21 > 0:19:24EXPLOSION
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Oh, you'll get used to it.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30The Germans don't normally fire at us
0:19:30 > 0:19:34but we're so close to the front, you never know your luck.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Right, follow me.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42'The first sound of shells is unexpected and a little startling.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45'It is a curious sound of rending,
0:19:45 > 0:19:49'increasing in violence as the missile comes toward one,
0:19:49 > 0:19:53'giving one plenty of time to wonder whether it intends to hit one or not.'
0:19:53 > 0:19:55EXPLOSION
0:20:45 > 0:20:48'I saw French and Russian money in Peter's jacket.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52'then I take it all out again, because if he were taken prisoner,
0:20:52 > 0:20:56'he could be executed if French banknotes were found on him.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58'I'm only sewing in German gold for him now.'
0:21:31 > 0:21:35'We kiss goodbye. He thanks me. I thank him.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40'Suddenly, I sense something - my son will die.'
0:21:53 > 0:21:56'I bade farewell to my darling today.
0:21:56 > 0:22:02'Just as the train started to move, I was gripped by a sudden fear -
0:22:02 > 0:22:06'for now, I was letting go of everything that made life worth living.'
0:22:07 > 0:22:11'Dear mother, you will see I have left Aberystwyth as you feared.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14'My only two real friends have gone.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16'I have done nothing to dishonour you as my parents,
0:22:16 > 0:22:20'but on the contrary I believe that I will make you proud.'
0:22:21 > 0:22:23'Off to the front.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26'I asked my wife not to come with me to the station to say goodbye.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30'It would have taken away whatever little courage I have left.'
0:22:32 > 0:22:34'I kiss Nurya for the last time.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39'She calls out, "You promised not to cry!" I feel ashamed.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43'As my comrades sing, I cannot hold back the tears.'
0:23:16 > 0:23:20'I am not exaggerating when I say that I felt neither remorse nor fear.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23'I was a Cossack.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27'I was driven by a blind instinct to follow the men into war.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30'To be caught up in the tide was an adventure for me,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33'just as I had always dreamed it would be.'
0:23:35 > 0:23:41'"War", sang the iron wheels, "War, War" - a monotonous, contented song.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46'We passed many trains, all filled with men,
0:23:46 > 0:23:50'marching towards victory, or so we thought.'
0:23:54 > 0:23:58'Papa has told us that war has been declared between France and Germany.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02'Three regiments have already left for the border.
0:24:02 > 0:24:07'The soldiers are very happy. We can hear the cannons from here.'
0:24:17 > 0:24:20'The battle of Altkirch has happened.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22'Our soldiers took the town with their bayonets
0:24:22 > 0:24:25'and our cavalry went after the German rearguard.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33'The soldiers carry in triumph the border-posts they had uprooted.'
0:24:34 > 0:24:36'I am Yves Congar.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39'I am ten years old and I live in Sedan.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43'My father is too old now to go off with our regiments
0:24:43 > 0:24:44'and fight the Boche.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49'It's not the first time we have had to fight the Prussians -
0:24:49 > 0:24:51'both he and Grandpa remember only too well our last war -
0:24:51 > 0:24:56'the catastrophe of 1870-71.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59'To our shame, it was here, it was our city,
0:24:59 > 0:25:03'where we lost the decisive battle against Germany.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06'And after our defeat, we had to hand over Alsace and Lorraine,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09'two of our richest provinces, to Germany.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11'The whole nation is ashamed
0:25:11 > 0:25:15'and we never stop talking about it in school.'
0:25:15 > 0:25:17'We will never be able to live in peace
0:25:17 > 0:25:20'with such bloodthirsty neighbours,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22'everyone knows that.
0:25:22 > 0:25:27'But we had to be clever, we need allies to take on this monster.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30'Russia, and even England, our old enemy.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34'Together, united, we will defeat the Germans.'
0:26:16 > 0:26:18'The great battle has not begun yet.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21'Whenever German planes come to bomb us,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24'we shoot them down with cannon fire.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27EXPLOSION
0:26:30 > 0:26:34'We have already shot some down between Florenville and Carignan.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36'Today, the German planes flew overhead,
0:26:36 > 0:26:38'but then they turned away.'
0:26:40 > 0:26:43EXPLOSION
0:26:43 > 0:26:44SCREAMING
0:26:53 > 0:26:57'I had the rotten luck to be blown up while instructing our company in bombing.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01'There was not a great report, but a strong flame.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05'I was pushed back by the explosion.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08'When I looked round, I saw half a dozen men in great pain.'
0:27:16 > 0:27:20'To make a million volunteers into soldiers is a difficult undertaking.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24'I, at my age and with no experience at all, am now a plodding
0:27:24 > 0:27:27'grenadier sergeant, or ringleader of bomb-throwers.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30'Accidents are bound to happen.'
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Montague? Montague!
0:27:44 > 0:27:47You, you were lucky, my old friend.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59Luck? Call this luck?
0:28:00 > 0:28:05My moustache is gone. I suppose my wife never liked it anyway.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12But the hair? All that trouble.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14When can I go back to the men?
0:28:14 > 0:28:16You'll have to be patient.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29'On the eastern front, the battle has been raging for days.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33'If you are quiet and pay close attention,
0:28:33 > 0:28:35'you can feel the ground shake softly.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38'It is an ominous feeling.'
0:29:03 > 0:29:08'My name is Elfriede Kuhr and I am just a girl, worse luck.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10'Even worse, I am only 12 years old.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14'If only I was older - and a man - I could fight!
0:29:14 > 0:29:17'But here I am, stuck in this backwater with Grandmother,
0:29:17 > 0:29:19'who looks after me.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22'We live in Schneidemuhl, in the province of Posen,
0:29:22 > 0:29:25'where our great German Empire borders Russia.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28'And here, nothing ever happens at all.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32'But now, we are at war, and the Russians are advancing.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34'So like almost all girls in my class,
0:29:34 > 0:29:36'I have begun to write a war diary.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41'This is "to capture this glorious time", as our teacher puts it.'
0:29:47 > 0:29:49'At school, the teachers have told us
0:29:49 > 0:29:53'it is a duty towards our fatherland not to use foreign words.
0:29:53 > 0:29:55'At first, I didn't know what they meant by that.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04'Now I understand. We shouldn't use the word "Adieu" - it's French.'
0:30:32 > 0:30:34'From now on, I am to call Mama "Mutter",
0:30:34 > 0:30:38'but "Mutter" isn't gentle enough. I think I'll say "Muttchen".'
0:30:54 > 0:30:57'I've just arrived here in the slums of Woolwich,
0:30:57 > 0:30:59'in the outskirts of London.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03'The roads here are vile, cut to bits and thick with mud.'
0:31:05 > 0:31:07You lost your way?
0:31:07 > 0:31:10Excuse me, could you please point me in the right direction?
0:31:10 > 0:31:12I'm looking for hall number two of the munitions factory.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16SHE MIMICS
0:31:16 > 0:31:17Such a fine lady!
0:31:18 > 0:31:21What's your business here?
0:31:21 > 0:31:22Another volunteer, I suppose?
0:31:25 > 0:31:26It's over there.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34Won't be seein' that one 'ere again!
0:31:34 > 0:31:36Want to make a bet?
0:31:39 > 0:31:41Show me your papers!
0:31:44 > 0:31:46Oh... Oh, God.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48Oh, God!
0:31:57 > 0:31:59'I am Gabrielle West.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05'Papa, who chose my somewhat unusual name, has always tried to
0:32:05 > 0:32:09'protect me from the unpleasantries of the outside world.
0:32:09 > 0:32:15'So for 24 years I have lived a sheltered and carefree life...
0:32:15 > 0:32:17'but no longer.
0:32:17 > 0:32:22'We are at war and as a patriot I feel I must do my bit, too...
0:32:24 > 0:32:26'..so I have set about looking for a job.
0:32:27 > 0:32:32'It's not about the money, of course, but about serving my country.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34'With the men gone to war,
0:32:34 > 0:32:38'we women are desperately needed to work in the factories that
0:32:38 > 0:32:42'make the bombs and grenades, which supply the front line.'
0:32:44 > 0:32:48I've a good deal of experience, having worked with the Red Cross.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50Would you like to see my references?
0:32:50 > 0:32:53And are you familiar with THIS kind of environment?
0:32:55 > 0:32:58What on earth is that?
0:32:58 > 0:33:00Sulphuric and nitric acid.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02Together, they're important in producing dynamite
0:33:02 > 0:33:06and the explosives our men out there in France need.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08A couple of hundred tonnes of this stuff a day.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15'The particles of acid land on your face and make you nearly mad,
0:33:15 > 0:33:19'like pins and needles, only much more so.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21'They get up your nose and down your throat
0:33:21 > 0:33:24'and into your eyes, so that you are blind
0:33:24 > 0:33:28'and speechless by the time you make your escape.'
0:33:28 > 0:33:31Did the Red Cross teach you how to handle the um...
0:33:31 > 0:33:35the effect of this stuff, in case of an emergency?
0:33:36 > 0:33:39Well, the procedure is relatively simple -
0:33:39 > 0:33:41if conscious, give an emetic.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44If blue in the face, apply artificial respiration.
0:33:44 > 0:33:49If very blue - oxygen - but perhaps that's obvious to you.
0:33:49 > 0:33:53I'm afraid the Red Cross simply had me running a large kitchen.
0:33:53 > 0:33:58Really? In our kitchen, we have two nieces of the Duchess of Wellington.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01And sadly, they couldn't tell the difference between a turnip
0:34:01 > 0:34:03and a boiled egg.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05There's some room here by me, if you like.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17'The people are restless.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21'I have heard that some families have already left Schneidemuhl.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24'Trenches are being dug just a few kilometres outside the city.'
0:34:58 > 0:35:00EXPLOSION
0:35:30 > 0:35:33EXPLOSION
0:36:02 > 0:36:04EXPLOSION
0:36:10 > 0:36:12'My papa was right.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15'We could hear the endless thump of the cannons from here...'
0:36:15 > 0:36:17EXPLOSION
0:36:17 > 0:36:19'..and also the sound of firearms and machine guns.
0:36:19 > 0:36:24'Grandpapa, who always talks of the war of 1870, wonders if
0:36:24 > 0:36:26'the whole town won't explode.'
0:36:32 > 0:36:36'In my heart, a sort of cease-fire had set in.
0:36:36 > 0:36:41'I did not need to cry any more, sometimes I was quite happy.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45'As long as the boy is still alive, the feeling creeps over me
0:36:45 > 0:36:48that everything will perhaps not be so bad.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51'Moreover, there are good reports of the war in France.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54'It might all be over in a few weeks' time.'
0:36:58 > 0:37:02'Now and then artillery fire, some German snipers.'
0:37:03 > 0:37:07- Good morning, Sir.- Excuse me, Sir.
0:37:07 > 0:37:08'Mainly we have been waiting.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14'One can hardly imagine the ubiquitous muckiness,
0:37:14 > 0:37:16'mud and stench of the whole front.
0:37:18 > 0:37:19'That is the real enemy.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31'I have had a little dose of trench fever
0:37:31 > 0:37:33'and it isn't getting any better.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37'Rather worse in these conditions.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43'Should I really have insisted on serving in the trenches?
0:37:49 > 0:37:51'The one thing of which no description given in England
0:37:51 > 0:37:56'has given any true measure is the universal misery of it all.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59'After the heavy losses of the first battles,
0:37:59 > 0:38:03'our soldiers invented out of pure instinct of self preservation
0:38:03 > 0:38:05'a new kind of warfare -
0:38:05 > 0:38:07'the trench.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13'Entire labyrinths spring up behind the front lines.
0:38:13 > 0:38:18'Digging trenches soon fills up most of our daily lives.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21'The devastating effects of shells and bullets
0:38:21 > 0:38:23'are only survivable underground.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28'But still the Germans are advancing.
0:38:28 > 0:38:33'We are able to hold them back here in the very last corner of Belgium,
0:38:33 > 0:38:35'but I fear that further south in France
0:38:35 > 0:38:39'the situation daily grows more and more ominous.'
0:38:40 > 0:38:42SHOUTING BEHIND DOOR
0:38:44 > 0:38:48'Tuesday, terrible Tuesday! They are here!
0:38:48 > 0:38:50'The barbarians are walking past our windows.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52'I hear a soldier bark out an order.'
0:38:52 > 0:38:54BANG ON DOOR
0:38:54 > 0:38:55Achtung!
0:38:55 > 0:38:58'It sounds something like "aa-rr-n-charr!"
0:39:00 > 0:39:04'The Germans are at Monsieur Benoit's front door.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07'They make sure that no soldiers are hiding there.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16TWO GUNSHOTS
0:39:16 > 0:39:18WOMEN CRY
0:39:18 > 0:39:21'They shot his dog to stop his barking from alerting
0:39:21 > 0:39:23'the French about the German patrols.'
0:39:25 > 0:39:28BANGING ON DOOR
0:39:39 > 0:39:42'I'm sure I will never experience anything
0:39:42 > 0:39:44'so horrible for the rest of my life.'
0:39:47 > 0:39:50'I think I have seen too much pain lately.
0:39:51 > 0:39:57'I now live from five o'clock in an atmosphere of bandages and blood.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00'Blood-stained mattresses and pillows
0:40:00 > 0:40:02'are carried out into the courtyard.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08'There is always a pile of bandages and rags being burnt,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11'and a youth stirs the horrible pile with a stick.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15'A queer smell permeates everything...
0:40:17 > 0:40:18'..and the guns never cease.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25'The guns were so close now that the air began to shake with them
0:40:25 > 0:40:29'and some houses around our hospital were hit by shells and took fire.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35'The roads are lined and filled with people, walking or in carts
0:40:35 > 0:40:37'and carriages, all trying to get away.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42'These poor people are doomed to leave behind everything
0:40:42 > 0:40:46'that only a few weeks ago seemed so permanent.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51'Now their whole world lies scattered in ruins.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56'One hears this is not just in Belgium, but all over Europe.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58'The continent has not faced such horrors
0:40:58 > 0:41:00'for more than 100 years.'
0:41:02 > 0:41:05'We walk all day. There is no water anywhere,
0:41:05 > 0:41:09'only in the hoof-prints of horses.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13'With a spoon, we scoop up tiny mouthfuls of the foul liquid.'
0:41:14 > 0:41:18'This place is worse than a wasteland, with nothing
0:41:18 > 0:41:20'but ashes ahead of us,
0:41:20 > 0:41:24'and in the middle of the ashes, human souls, freezing and hungry.'
0:41:24 > 0:41:27'Emiel went away with one pair of shoes
0:41:27 > 0:41:31'and after that I haven't seen the poor boy again.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35'I often remember him, together with my other brothers and sisters,
0:41:35 > 0:41:37'but Emiel I remember most of all.'
0:41:38 > 0:41:41'We only had time to take what we could fit into a suitcase.
0:41:41 > 0:41:45'I had only one thought in my head - "Where should we go?"
0:41:45 > 0:41:48'Where in heavens name COULD we go?'
0:41:49 > 0:41:52'Those fleeing were running into each other,
0:41:52 > 0:41:55'as though they were escaping a burning theatre.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00'Friendliness, humanity - it was all swept away.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12I don't know what you're bringing, Miss Macnaughtan,
0:42:12 > 0:42:14but it certainly isn't coffee.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18No, Doctor Beavis, this is good Scotch whisky.
0:42:18 > 0:42:19I bought it myself.
0:42:21 > 0:42:22It's for the men.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26I thought that, mixed with water, it might help soothe them,
0:42:26 > 0:42:30strengthen their organism, and most importantly help them sleep.
0:42:30 > 0:42:35What can I say? Can't do any harm. Poor buggers.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39As a Scot, I can assure you that a little whisky always helps.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50Time for some tea?
0:42:53 > 0:42:54Thank you.
0:43:02 > 0:43:03Two pieces of sugar for me!
0:43:03 > 0:43:05Only one each, I'm afraid.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07We're wastin' away 'ere
0:43:07 > 0:43:10and you won't even give us enough sugar for our tea?
0:43:10 > 0:43:14The sugar is rationed, I assure you. It isn't my decision.
0:43:18 > 0:43:19I'm feeling dizzy.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22Please don't make a scene over a piece of sugar!
0:43:22 > 0:43:25SHE BREATHES HEAVILY
0:43:25 > 0:43:26She's falling, catch her!
0:43:28 > 0:43:32'The ether in the cordite affects the girls.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36'It gives some headaches, hysteria and sometimes fits.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39'If a worker has the least tendency to epilepsy,
0:43:39 > 0:43:42'even if she has never shown it before,
0:43:42 > 0:43:45'the ether will bring it out.
0:43:45 > 0:43:49'Some of the girls have 12 fits or more, one after the other.'
0:43:50 > 0:43:53SCREAMING IN THE DISTANCE
0:43:54 > 0:43:56'We dosed the men.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59'It seemed to do them a wonderful lot of good.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04'Also, it pulled them together,
0:44:04 > 0:44:06'and they got some sleep afterwards.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08MEN COUGHING AND MOANING
0:44:30 > 0:44:37'100 beds filled with men in pain give one something to think about,
0:44:37 > 0:44:42'and it's during pain that these attitudes of suffering
0:44:42 > 0:44:43'strike one most.
0:44:43 > 0:44:50'Some of them bury their heads in their pillows, like shot partridges
0:44:50 > 0:44:53'seek to bury theirs in autumn leaves.'
0:44:58 > 0:45:02Still, you should be glad you weren't caught by a bullet.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04Not even a scratch, Sir.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11Bronchitis. Temperature of 103. Measles rash.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16Let that be enough, Montague.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23'I can't dispute the justice of it.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31'For though I felt wholly young till I was burnt,
0:45:31 > 0:45:33'I begin to feel an old crock...
0:45:33 > 0:45:35HE SIGHS IN PAIN
0:45:35 > 0:45:38..out of place among the boys.
0:45:49 > 0:45:53'The Kaiser has ordered that after so many victories,
0:45:53 > 0:45:54'school is to be cancelled.'
0:45:59 > 0:46:00'The news came so late,
0:46:00 > 0:46:03'that we still had to have maths and geography.
0:46:03 > 0:46:04'Worst luck.'
0:46:21 > 0:46:24'Tannenberg, what a victory!
0:46:24 > 0:46:28'Not only in school, throughout the city euphoria prevails.
0:46:30 > 0:46:32'The Russians are defeated.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34'We have taken over 60,000 prisoners.
0:46:38 > 0:46:43'The Russians flee and are forced back into the lakes and swamps
0:46:43 > 0:46:46'where they must surely perish miserably.'
0:47:37 > 0:47:40'We are lucky still to be alive.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44'Everything feels unreal, but we have to get used to it.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46'The town is filled with Germans.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50'Captain Nemnick, a German officer, is living with us.'
0:47:57 > 0:48:01'This morning, he had four chickens cooked.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04'His ordinance officer ate a whole one to himself.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29'In history class, I read, "The Huns came to France
0:48:29 > 0:48:32'and burned everything that stood in their way."
0:48:32 > 0:48:37'How is it possible that after 1,400 years, we have such a barbaric
0:48:37 > 0:48:40'and destructive race once again in Europe?'
0:48:46 > 0:48:48'Peter's birthday.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52'Antwerp has fallen, and the sky is once again blue.'
0:49:13 > 0:49:17'For the first time in our lives, today, on October 10th, we,
0:49:17 > 0:49:21'dedicated Social-Democrats, we are hanging out
0:49:21 > 0:49:23'the Kaiser's black, white and red flag.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27'From the boy's room. For both Peter and Antwerp.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29'Above all, though, for Peter.'
0:49:30 > 0:49:33LOUD EXPLOSION, MEN SCREAMING
0:49:33 > 0:49:35They should have been back hours ago to pick us up.
0:49:36 > 0:49:40It looks like they have forgotten us, my dear.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44But the severe cases are still here...and us.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49'Here we found the wounded all yelling like mad things,
0:49:49 > 0:49:52'thinking they were going to be left behind.'
0:49:54 > 0:49:56We shan't be able to leave now.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59Let us take all the wounded down to the coal cellar.
0:50:02 > 0:50:04Lads, surely we're not going to run away
0:50:04 > 0:50:08from these ghastly German shells, now, are we?
0:50:08 > 0:50:10'This assurance that we did not mean to desert them
0:50:10 > 0:50:14'seemed to bring a curious sense of safety to the men,
0:50:14 > 0:50:18'as if a handful of women could protect them from bursting shells!'
0:50:22 > 0:50:24'I've been assigned the night shift,
0:50:24 > 0:50:30'which means 24 hours without a bed...and without sleeping.
0:50:30 > 0:50:31'What rotten luck!'
0:50:37 > 0:50:41I thought I could manage, do my bit,
0:50:41 > 0:50:45but I just don't have what it takes for this kind of work.
0:50:45 > 0:50:50The country might in fact do rather better without the likes of me.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52- My dear Miss West... - EXPLOSION
0:50:52 > 0:50:55- We're under attack! - Now, now, calm down!
0:50:55 > 0:50:57Calm down, ladies.
0:50:57 > 0:50:58Hurry to the shelter!
0:50:58 > 0:51:01Go on. Calmly. That's it.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Hurry, please. And keep calm!
0:51:06 > 0:51:08ALARM BLARES
0:51:13 > 0:51:14'The Zeppelin.
0:51:14 > 0:51:18'Before the war, admired as a marvel of German technology.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22'Now, turned into an indiscriminate killing machine.
0:51:22 > 0:51:27'Night after night, their airships cross the Channel, dropping bombs
0:51:27 > 0:51:32'on London, our port cities in the south, and even over Scotland.
0:51:32 > 0:51:38'The damage they cause is usually not great, more it is the feeling
0:51:38 > 0:51:43'that England is no longer an island, safe from enemy attack.'
0:51:43 > 0:51:46EXPLOSIONS
0:51:57 > 0:51:59Where is Mary Morgan?
0:52:07 > 0:52:09Where is Mary Morgan?
0:52:15 > 0:52:16Mary?
0:52:18 > 0:52:20ALARM BLARES
0:52:25 > 0:52:30'This airplane was high up, like a small sausage in the sky.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33'Three search lights were playing on it
0:52:33 > 0:52:34'and then all the guns began.'
0:52:36 > 0:52:38Mary?
0:52:45 > 0:52:47Mary!
0:52:51 > 0:52:53It's OK, I'm here.
0:52:55 > 0:52:59EXPLOSIONS, GUNFIRE
0:53:07 > 0:53:11MEN MOANING
0:53:11 > 0:53:13'Not a man remained with us.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17'Our staff consisted solely of women.
0:53:20 > 0:53:26'I did not fancy this small coal cellar gave any protection whatever,
0:53:26 > 0:53:28'and there was always the chance that the building above
0:53:28 > 0:53:30'might collapse and fall on top of us.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34'But that was one of the chances which had to be accepted.
0:53:34 > 0:53:36'And the fact of being in any sort of a cellar had a certain
0:53:36 > 0:53:39'pretention of safety about it, which satisfied the men.'
0:54:02 > 0:54:04Two sugars for you, was it?
0:54:14 > 0:54:16Thank you.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23LOUD EXPLOSION
0:54:23 > 0:54:26'We sat in the cellar with one night-light burning,
0:54:26 > 0:54:29'and with 70 wounded men to take care of,
0:54:29 > 0:54:32'two of them were dying.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36'There was only one line of bricks between us and the shells.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38'Now they came over at a rate of four a minute.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41'Still we all smiled and made little jokes.'
0:54:41 > 0:54:47Well, now, who can still give me a patent patriotic smile?
0:54:49 > 0:54:53Well, what with all the men I had on top of me today...
0:54:53 > 0:54:55SHE LAUGHS
0:54:55 > 0:54:59'I found myself wishing that for me a shot would come
0:54:59 > 0:55:01'and finish the horrible thing.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04LOUD EXPLOSIONS CONTINUE
0:55:06 > 0:55:08'We sat there all night.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16'We ourselves got away only by chance the next morning.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21'This very day the Germans captured the city of Antwerp.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26'But elsewhere they were being defeated.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29'Paris held on and the Germans had to withdraw.
0:55:30 > 0:55:32'But as summer turned to winter,
0:55:32 > 0:55:36'our own counterattacks got bogged down in the mud and rain.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44'Everywhere lay destruction and death,
0:55:44 > 0:55:48'nowhere was there to be found a decisive victory.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56'After a mere three months of this terrible war,
0:55:56 > 0:55:59'a million men have fallen.'
0:56:01 > 0:56:05'It is my sad duty to inform you that your son,
0:56:05 > 0:56:09'in the accomplishment of his duties towards King and country...'
0:56:09 > 0:56:12- IN FRENCH ACCENT:- '..has given his greatest sacrifice to the republic,
0:56:12 > 0:56:15'for the glory and honour of France...'
0:56:15 > 0:56:18IN GERMAN ACCENT: '..may you and your family accept the eternal
0:56:18 > 0:56:21'gratitude of the Great Habsburg dynasty and of all its members.
0:56:21 > 0:56:23'Rest assured that this death...'
0:56:23 > 0:56:26- IN RUSSIAN ACCENT:- '..was neither in vain, nor will it ever be forgotten.
0:56:26 > 0:56:28'It was during our most recent attack
0:56:28 > 0:56:32'that your son bravely rushed into the fray, and was killed...'
0:56:32 > 0:56:35- IN BELGIAN ACCENT:- '..we, the officers, share your grief
0:56:35 > 0:56:38'at the death of this wonderful comrade and kind-hearted man.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41'We buried him where he fell.'