0:00:02 > 0:00:07This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find distressing.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13'It was the first time I put on the uniform
0:00:13 > 0:00:17'of the newly-formed Women Police and I thought I looked very smart
0:00:17 > 0:00:20'in this dapper uniform.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26- BREAKING GLASS WOMAN:- Oi, Miss Police Woman!
0:00:26 > 0:00:29Leave off before you get your nice uniform dirty!
0:00:29 > 0:00:31'The girls here are very rough.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35'So are the conditions.'
0:00:35 > 0:00:37WOMEN SHOUT
0:00:37 > 0:00:42'The government are employing Women Police inside munitions factories,
0:00:42 > 0:00:44'to control the women workers,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47'and it is for this work that they want me.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17'Endless rules are made and we have to enforce them -
0:01:17 > 0:01:23'searching incoming workers for matches, cigarettes, spirits.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26'Keeping guard at the gate and allowing no-one to enter
0:01:26 > 0:01:31'without a pass. Patrolling, to see there is no larking or slacking.'
0:01:33 > 0:01:35Show me your coat pockets, please.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40You'll have to take a look yourself, Missie.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Or are you worried you'll get your uniform dirty?
0:01:43 > 0:01:46It's a pity, Mary Morgan. I thought we were on friendly terms.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49None of my friends wears a uniform.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Look 'ere, Missie's tryin' to fondle me!
0:01:54 > 0:01:59- I ain't got time for all this. Duty calls and all that.- Stay there, Mary!
0:01:59 > 0:02:01If the factory were to go up in flames...
0:02:01 > 0:02:02Then I guess it'd go up in flames.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05You think anybody would care?
0:02:05 > 0:02:07WOMEN GIGGLE
0:02:08 > 0:02:13'I'm Gabrielle West and, although sometimes a bit overwhelmed,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16'I am proud to be a policewoman.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20'Yes - a female police officer.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23'That was unthinkable before the war.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26'But last year, conscription was introduced in Britain.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30'The war devours yet more and more soldiers.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34'So now, it's not just factory workers we women have to replace.
0:02:34 > 0:02:39'Even a female police force has had to be established
0:02:39 > 0:02:42'and I'm one of the first ones here.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49'1917 is turning out to be a terrible year.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56'German submarines attack in wave after wave,
0:02:56 > 0:02:57'in order to starve us out.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04'The Germans speak of revenge for our own naval blockade,
0:03:04 > 0:03:08'but for us, it is pure terror.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13'Hundreds of freighters have already been sunk and, with them,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16'the food and supplies destined for the Front.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21So, now the women in the factories have to work even harder than ever.'
0:03:25 > 0:03:28- What's going on here, Miss West? - Everything is in order, Sir.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Nonsense. Has this young lady refused to let you search her?
0:03:31 > 0:03:34This kind of behaviour calls for consequences.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37You know, Mr Anderson, it would be better for the girls to have
0:03:37 > 0:03:40a longer break, so as they might smoke in peace
0:03:40 > 0:03:42- outside the front gate. - A longer break?
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Shall we send that message to our men in the field
0:03:45 > 0:03:47when they run out of shells?
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Tell them we're sorry, but we had to take longer breaks
0:03:49 > 0:03:52- to go and smoke? - Sir, all I meant was that...- Enough.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58Now, you can leave, Miss, um... Just leave... Out!
0:04:00 > 0:04:02For heaven's sake, Miss West,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04you have an official role here.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Don't let them take advantage of you.
0:04:07 > 0:04:08Off you go.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10'The girls here are recruited in batches -
0:04:10 > 0:04:13'some from the Midlands, some from Yorkshire,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17'Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They are brought down here
0:04:17 > 0:04:21'and are put into very rough hostels or cheap lodgings.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23'Naturally, under these circumstances,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26'only the roughest of the rough will come.'
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Sir, I'm rather afraid it is the girls who won't let us
0:04:29 > 0:04:30take advantage of them.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33Now, now, Miss West.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35This isn't Russia.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39I can't see a revolution breaking out around here.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41Understood?
0:04:41 > 0:04:43I hope not, Sir.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47I hope not.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55'The gas has been cut off.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58'There are no candles to be had.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00'No petroleum, no spirit.
0:05:00 > 0:05:05'So, how one is to cook, let alone have a lighted room, I don't know.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10'The renowned German sense of organisation seems to fail terribly
0:05:10 > 0:05:14'when it comes to social rather than military matters.'
0:05:19 > 0:05:20Hello?
0:05:27 > 0:05:30'A new order about coals has appeared.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33'No-one is allowed to have more than a quarter of a ton.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36'Well, there are none to be had, anyway,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38'so the order does not do much harm.'
0:06:04 > 0:06:09'My name is Ethel Cooper and I'm an Australian living in Leipzig.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13'I came to this German "capital of music" as a piano teacher,
0:06:13 > 0:06:18'but since the war began, all of my German students have left,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21'because I am now considered the enemy.
0:06:21 > 0:06:26'So, here I am, stranded on the wrong side of the front that defines
0:06:26 > 0:06:31'this war, 10,000 miles from my family and my home town of Adelaide.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36'Part of the British Empire, half a million Australians fight
0:06:36 > 0:06:39'on the side of the Allies. As our naval blockade
0:06:39 > 0:06:43'brings increasing misery and hunger to the Germans,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46'we are all the object of their hatred.
0:06:46 > 0:06:52'Trapped, I do not know how to survive without money, without work
0:06:52 > 0:06:54'and without friends.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57'I need to escape.'
0:07:35 > 0:07:39'She came laden up to the eyes with eatables.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42'I couldn't believe my senses and then discovered,
0:07:42 > 0:07:47'to my mixed horror and amusement, that she is making
0:07:47 > 0:07:50'a small, private business out of buying food in Poland,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53'getting it smuggled in and then selling it in Germany,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55'at a very considerable profit.'
0:08:09 > 0:08:12'Any other people on Earth would rise against a government
0:08:12 > 0:08:16'that had reduced it to such misery, but these folks seemed to have
0:08:16 > 0:08:18'no spirit left.'
0:08:33 > 0:08:35'Oh! Bloody Krauts!
0:08:40 > 0:08:43'Collections have been organised at school -
0:08:43 > 0:08:44'copper, tin, lead,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47'zinc, brass and cast iron are all needed.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52'They are to be turned into rifle barrels, cannons,
0:08:52 > 0:08:54'cartridge casings and so on.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57'There is a competition to see which class can collect the most.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00'My class has collected a lot.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02'I turned my home inside out.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07'Grandmother was not pleased.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Sometimes, I don't think she understands that we all have to do
0:09:10 > 0:09:13'our bit for the war effort.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18'Maybe it's because, when she was young, wars didn't last so long.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23'What a Christmas.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28'I spend most of my spare time queuing outside the shops...
0:09:30 > 0:09:33'..either trying to get hold of a few groceries
0:09:33 > 0:09:36'or to give them anything that could be useful for the war.'
0:09:39 > 0:09:41'Because of the British blockade,
0:09:41 > 0:09:45'no food, no raw materials can get through to us in Germany.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49'I am afraid that, soon,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52'you won't be able to find any metal or food anywhere.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16'My name is Elfriede Kuhr.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19'I am 16 years old and a very poor student.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23'But what's the point of learning all these useless things
0:10:23 > 0:10:24'in mathematics or history
0:10:24 > 0:10:28'when the war is the most important thing in our life?
0:10:28 > 0:10:31'Luckily, lessons are cancelled more and more often.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35'Not because there are so many victories to be celebrated,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39'but because most teachers have long since been sent to the Front.
0:10:39 > 0:10:40'In this fifth year of the war,
0:10:40 > 0:10:44'we students have been appointed as "soldiers on the home front".
0:10:44 > 0:10:47'We help with the harvest, try to collect donations
0:10:47 > 0:10:50'or scrape together the last few raw materials.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55'At some point, surely all these efforts will have to bring the war
0:10:55 > 0:10:58'to an end and victory for us.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01'I can barely remember what peace was like.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03'It's just been too long now.'
0:11:03 > 0:11:07BABY CRIES
0:11:35 > 0:11:37BABY CRIES
0:12:10 > 0:12:14'His name was Gerhardchen, and I had immediately grown fond of him.'
0:12:17 > 0:12:18So...
0:12:20 > 0:12:22..what is it this time?
0:12:22 > 0:12:25They refuse to work, so long as Mary Morgan isn't reinstated.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31Who is this Mary Morgan?
0:12:31 > 0:12:33The girl from the entrance gate.
0:12:33 > 0:12:34The one you dismissed, sir.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40The one I had to dismiss, because of your quarrel with her!
0:12:42 > 0:12:48Right, ladies, our dear sweet Miss West simply made a mistake
0:12:48 > 0:12:50and will apologise to you for it.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Then you can all get back to work.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56No, sir, with all due respect, I will not apologise.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59And don't you ever dare call me "sweet" again.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Things would be far better around here if you would please ensure
0:13:02 > 0:13:04that the girls no longer need fear the rats
0:13:04 > 0:13:05when they visit the lavatories.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09That their overalls don't fall apart before they're even put on!
0:13:09 > 0:13:13That 20 or 30 girls do not end up fainting every day!
0:13:13 > 0:13:16THEY CHEER
0:13:49 > 0:13:50I see.
0:14:15 > 0:14:20'I, Vincenzo D'Aquila, am 24 years old.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22'As a volunteer, I had set out from New York
0:14:22 > 0:14:26'with thousands of other Italians to fight for the land of our birth.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31'We arrived full of ideals of freedom and democracy.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35'Also, in truth, Italy simply wanted to capture Trentino
0:14:35 > 0:14:37'and the port city of Trieste from Austria.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43'For three years now, our armies have been battling the Austrians.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47'And we have achieved nothing but millions of dead and maimed.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53'The wounded men who lost arms or legs are sent home.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58'But those like me, who just don't want to kill any more,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01'who just can't kill any more,
0:15:01 > 0:15:05'are regarded as malingerers, cowards and traitors.'
0:15:14 > 0:15:18'To be asked the question, "Are you the Christ?", point blank,
0:15:18 > 0:15:20'of course, disconcerted me.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23'"What is this?" said I. "Am I Christ?"
0:15:23 > 0:15:27'and is the Second Coming being accomplished via the insane asylum?'
0:15:36 > 0:15:39'I thought hard for a minute. What a fool this doctor was.'
0:16:07 > 0:16:12'We, supposedly heroic soldiers, suffered from panic attacks,
0:16:12 > 0:16:16'trembled with fear, and wake up at night screaming in terror.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20'All this is concealed from the world.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25'I am sent from one madhouse to another,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28'while they try to unmask me as a malingerer.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34'Like all the others here, I ought to be sent back to the Front,
0:16:34 > 0:16:36'which would be my death sentence.'
0:16:47 > 0:16:49Avanti!
0:16:50 > 0:16:53'There was a young man who was subject, at periodic intervals,
0:16:53 > 0:16:54'to an epileptic fit
0:16:54 > 0:16:57'in which he repeated, crawling across the hospital floor...'
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Avanti! Avanti Savoia!
0:17:00 > 0:17:03'As in his trench, communicating in the war cry,
0:17:03 > 0:17:05'"Avanti, Savoia."'
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Avanti. Avanti Savoia!
0:17:34 > 0:17:36Avanti!
0:17:36 > 0:17:37Avanti!
0:17:37 > 0:17:42Avanti! Avanti! Avanti Savoia!
0:17:51 > 0:17:54'I have been assigned to the night watch at the nursery.'
0:18:16 > 0:18:18'I'm afraid of being alone at night.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21'There is no-one else here, only the children and me.'
0:18:26 > 0:18:29BABIES CRY
0:18:34 > 0:18:37PIANO PLAYS
0:18:37 > 0:18:40'Feeling is running very high against England.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45'I loathe most of all this policy of hate-breeding
0:18:45 > 0:18:48'which is being followed everywhere.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52'How frightfully bitter the feeling of the whole nation is against us!'
0:18:52 > 0:18:55SHE COUGHS
0:18:57 > 0:19:00'The police forbad one to telephone in English
0:19:00 > 0:19:02'or to speak English in the streets.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06'At the concert hall,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09'all music and all musicians that are not German and Austrian
0:19:09 > 0:19:11'are now tabooed.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14'Only at home am I able to play.'
0:19:17 > 0:19:20SHE FINISHES PLAYING
0:19:20 > 0:19:22SHE COUGHS
0:19:24 > 0:19:27'I acclimatised myself to the place at once.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30'When one is looked upon as hallucinated,
0:19:30 > 0:19:32'the best thing to do is to behave accordingly
0:19:32 > 0:19:35'and begin to lead a life of make-believe.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37'I accustomed myself to a belief
0:19:37 > 0:19:41'that I was a member of a very select and exclusive club.'
0:20:02 > 0:20:05'I decided that the time had come to do something.'
0:20:32 > 0:20:35HE SHOUTS
0:20:37 > 0:20:39In times that are extremely out of joint,
0:20:39 > 0:20:44perhaps the madhouse was the sanest place to live after all.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46GLASS SMASHES
0:20:48 > 0:20:51'The great and terrible strike again.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53'More violent than the last,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56'and, as usual, for more pay and less work.
0:20:57 > 0:21:04'The girls stormed around, yelled, shrieked, threw stones and so on.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07'The strikers knocked down a policewoman who prevented them
0:21:07 > 0:21:09'from getting at the changing room.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11'Then they went to the main offices
0:21:11 > 0:21:14'and broke all the windows, demanding to see the manager.'
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Show your face, Anderson. Come out here!
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Get rid of the extra shifts. Show your face, Anderson!
0:21:25 > 0:21:26Get rid of those extra shifts!
0:22:27 > 0:22:28Avanti! Avanti!
0:23:04 > 0:23:07BANGING ON DOOR Well, now, Miss West, why don't you simply go outside...
0:23:07 > 0:23:10- Anderson! Get out here! - ..and do your police work?
0:23:10 > 0:23:13You know very well that this uniform is just a pretty facade.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15We've no rights or authority
0:23:15 > 0:23:18and no chance against 4,000 furious working girls.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21THEY ALL SHOUT
0:23:21 > 0:23:24- Well, perhaps you should have considered that earlier!- No, sir,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27perhaps you should have considered earlier whether you really ought
0:23:27 > 0:23:29to extend our working hours, despite all our warnings.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32Do you think I'm doing this for my own pleasure?!
0:23:32 > 0:23:34We won't hurt you! Promise!
0:23:34 > 0:23:36The army's planning a new offensive
0:23:36 > 0:23:39and wants twice as many shells as before!
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Has that ever crossed your sweet, little mind?
0:23:42 > 0:23:43THEY ALL SHOUT
0:23:43 > 0:23:47I told you before, I'm not your "sweet" young lady.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52Consider this my resignation.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54SHE COUGHS
0:23:55 > 0:23:56God sakes.
0:24:26 > 0:24:27HE PLAYS A FEW NOTES ON PIANO
0:25:47 > 0:25:48DOOR CREAKS
0:25:50 > 0:25:51DOOR SLAMS
0:25:53 > 0:25:55MUFFLED SHOUTS
0:26:13 > 0:26:14DOOR SLAMS
0:26:15 > 0:26:17KEY TURNS
0:26:19 > 0:26:23'I, Marina Yurlova, have been awarded the Order of Saint George,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27'and have fought in a Cossack unit in the Caucasus for four years.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30'I never thought that I would celebrate my 18th birthday
0:26:30 > 0:26:32'in prison.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34'But, for the new Russian government,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36'I am now an enemy of the people.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41'The Tsar, sacred to us Cossacks for centuries, is overthrown.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45'The new rulers are the revolutionary Bolsheviks.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49'Promising to end the war immediately,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52'the Bolsheviks have abolished the old order.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54'With the help of the masses,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57'they plan to build an entirely new form of society -
0:26:57 > 0:26:59'communism.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05'Everyone who stands in their way, faces their "revolutionary terror."'
0:27:14 > 0:27:15KEY TURNS
0:27:27 > 0:27:28GUNSHOT
0:27:30 > 0:27:32GUNFIRE
0:28:10 > 0:28:11BANGING AT DOOR
0:28:11 > 0:28:13SHOUTING IN GERMAN
0:28:25 > 0:28:26Madame...
0:28:37 > 0:28:40'The Boche's conduct in France has been shameful.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44'It is unbelievable how much plunder they are taking back to Germany.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48'They'll have enough to completely rebuild every one of their towns.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50'But soon, we'll go over there,
0:28:50 > 0:28:55'and then we'll be the ones stealing, setting fire and pillaging...'
0:28:55 > 0:28:56HE GIVES ORDER IN FRENCH
0:28:56 > 0:28:58Non! Non, non!
0:29:00 > 0:29:01Yves!
0:29:05 > 0:29:08'My name is Yves Congar and I am a French patriot.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12'I reached my 14th birthday this year -
0:29:12 > 0:29:15'but how miserable it was.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19'For four years we have languished here in Sedan under German rule -
0:29:19 > 0:29:24'although behind their backs we call them the Boche.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26'Like so many of our neighbours,
0:29:26 > 0:29:29'a few months ago my father was rounded up by the occupiers
0:29:29 > 0:29:32'and transported to a labour camp in Germany.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37'There they are forced to work in the munitions factories.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41'I've heard that the Germans are planning a new offensive.
0:29:41 > 0:29:46'There have never been so many of their soldiers staying with us.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48'They are everywhere.'
0:30:04 > 0:30:07'Boche, Boche, Boche, Boche, Boche, Boche, Boche, Boche.'
0:30:48 > 0:30:51'Sweet Jesus, I pray to you for France,
0:30:51 > 0:30:55'in your mercy grant us victory and bring peace in God's love.'
0:30:55 > 0:30:58ARTILLERY RUMBLES
0:31:09 > 0:31:12'There came the crash of heavy guns far away.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16'All day long, the bombardment increased in fury.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19'The thunder of the guns drummed across the night
0:31:19 > 0:31:22'like an endless parade, stealing away all sense of time.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29'And then... shots inside the courtyard.'
0:31:29 > 0:31:33EXPLOSIONS AND SHOUTING
0:31:39 > 0:31:41'It is exhilarating, in a way,
0:31:41 > 0:31:45'to feel that we truly are at the razor's edge of fortune.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48'This is not merely a fight in which the only question
0:31:48 > 0:31:50'is at what date we shall win.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55'In all our old wars - the wars in the colonies -
0:31:55 > 0:32:00'we were not really putting a fair stake on the table, so to speak,
0:32:00 > 0:32:04'because we could not possibly be destroyed by defeat,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07'but only mortified a little.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10'All the moral trial of the possibility of destruction
0:32:10 > 0:32:13'was left to the other side.
0:32:13 > 0:32:14'But now...'
0:32:14 > 0:32:16The enemy is at the gates.
0:32:16 > 0:32:1815 minutes to pack up and leave.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21I'm ready.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28'I am Charles Edward Montague,
0:32:28 > 0:32:30'chief censor for British Military Intelligence.
0:32:30 > 0:32:35'I am based at the elegant but otherwise utterly boring headquarters
0:32:35 > 0:32:37'at Chateau Rollencourt.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41'The desk job is all very well, but despite my 52 years,
0:32:41 > 0:32:45'I would far rather be in the trenches, fighting as a real soldier.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49'As befits high command,
0:32:49 > 0:32:52'the Chateau is located well behind the front line -
0:32:52 > 0:32:57'safely out of harm's way... at least until today.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01'A major German offensive was launched,
0:33:01 > 0:33:04'which caught us completely by surprise.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07'Our defences have been breached, our troops are fleeing.'
0:33:10 > 0:33:12EXPLOSION
0:33:12 > 0:33:14Sir, with all due respect,
0:33:14 > 0:33:17would now not be the time for me to resume active service?
0:33:17 > 0:33:20We must move more quickly - no more documents in the car.
0:33:20 > 0:33:21Yes, sir.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23- I mean at the Front, sir.- Do you know where the Front is, Montague?
0:33:23 > 0:33:26Because certainly nobody here can tell me that.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30Well, sir, we could wait here until they reach the gates and then fight.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33When was the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror?
0:33:33 > 0:33:34You're an old man.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36Oh, if you really must!
0:33:36 > 0:33:38Stay for a couple of hours,
0:33:38 > 0:33:40and ensure all the documents are duly destroyed.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43- With pleasure, sir.- Sir, we really should be leaving now.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46Don't stay too long, and don't let the Germans snap you up, old boy.
0:33:46 > 0:33:47Now, off.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54'It seems we are as men wrecked upon a sand...'
0:33:54 > 0:33:57Quick, quick, quick, get in, get in, get in.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00'..that looked to be washed off by the next tide.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05'It is the first time I have seen the rear of a retreating army,
0:34:05 > 0:34:08'or felt the curious tingle there is
0:34:08 > 0:34:12'in an atmosphere where the enemy may appear at any time.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14'If the Germans used all their strength now,
0:34:14 > 0:34:17'with all their generalship on this front,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20'not even our men could save our generals.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25'The asses would go down with the lions they had tried to lead.'
0:35:20 > 0:35:22SHELLFIRE
0:35:35 > 0:35:39'This time, I face battle with complete indifference.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42'Live or die, it means nothing to me.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45'If I have to leave this world,
0:35:45 > 0:35:49'I would be sorry for only two things - family and nature.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55'I am Ernst Junger, 23 years old,
0:35:55 > 0:35:57'and lieutenant in an elite storm trooper unit
0:35:57 > 0:35:59'on the Western Front.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04'Today, the 21st of March 1918,
0:36:04 > 0:36:07'we begin our great offensive against the Allies.'
0:36:08 > 0:36:12'Following the Russian Revolution and the collapse of Russia,
0:36:12 > 0:36:15'we have been able to transfer a million of our soldiers
0:36:15 > 0:36:18'from the Eastern to the Western Front.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20'For the first time in four years,
0:36:20 > 0:36:23'we outnumber and outgun their defences.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26'With America now in the war,
0:36:26 > 0:36:30'this attack is our last chance to make a decisive breakthrough
0:36:30 > 0:36:33'before they are able to muster their full strength.
0:36:38 > 0:36:43'Fuelled by a mixture of excitement, bloodthirstiness, rage and alcohol,
0:36:43 > 0:36:45'we attack the enemy lines.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50Open fire!
0:36:50 > 0:36:51GUNFIRE
0:36:52 > 0:36:55'I felt the overwhelming urge to destroy.'
0:36:59 > 0:37:01You English son of a bitch!
0:37:02 > 0:37:06'The Englishman is cowering, holding up a photograph.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09'It was a woman, and at least a half dozen children.'
0:37:19 > 0:37:22'I was glad that I eventually overcame my insane rage,
0:37:22 > 0:37:24'and walked past him.'
0:37:29 > 0:37:30HE SOBS
0:37:49 > 0:37:50GLASS SHATTERS
0:37:55 > 0:38:00Oh, sir, I didn't think there were any officers left here.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03You wouldn't happen to have a corkscrew on you, would you?
0:38:03 > 0:38:04A corkscrew?!
0:38:04 > 0:38:06Stand up straight, would you, man?
0:38:06 > 0:38:08- Oh, never mind. - What's all this then?
0:38:08 > 0:38:09HE CHUCKLES
0:38:09 > 0:38:11Well...
0:38:11 > 0:38:13Seems to me, you're one of those desk officers,
0:38:13 > 0:38:17ironed uniform and all.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19Don't think you've got much to say to me.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22I wouldn't take that chance if I were you, Private.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26Be careful, sir. You might hurt yourself.
0:38:26 > 0:38:27CORK POPS
0:38:27 > 0:38:29GUNSHOT
0:38:34 > 0:38:36Right, lads.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39THEY CHUCKLE
0:38:42 > 0:38:45Now, gentlemen, drink up your champagne,
0:38:45 > 0:38:50and then get a grip of yourselves - and start behaving like Englishmen.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52- Have some.- Thanks.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55'Nearly all the divisions which have been in battle are now mere shadows,
0:38:55 > 0:38:58'with a quarter to a half of their strength left,
0:38:58 > 0:39:01'and those - dead beat.'
0:39:01 > 0:39:03DOOR OPENS
0:39:25 > 0:39:26Dottore...
0:41:11 > 0:41:12SHE COUGHS
0:41:35 > 0:41:37SHE COUGHS
0:41:39 > 0:41:41SHELLFIRE AND GUNSHOTS
0:41:53 > 0:41:55THEY WHISPER IN GERMAN
0:41:59 > 0:42:01PRIEBKE LAUGHS
0:42:04 > 0:42:05Mm!
0:42:14 > 0:42:17'Not even for the high ranks in the German army
0:42:17 > 0:42:18'would you see such abundance.'
0:42:23 > 0:42:27'There were entire boxes filled with eggs, onions, tomatoes,
0:42:27 > 0:42:31'coffee, delicious sauces, jams -
0:42:31 > 0:42:34'in short, everything a gourmet could dream of.'
0:42:46 > 0:42:47Jawohl!
0:43:23 > 0:43:24BABY CRIES
0:43:30 > 0:43:31Ssh!
0:43:35 > 0:43:37'Oh, these babies!
0:43:37 > 0:43:41'Nothing but skin and bones. Tiny, starved bodies.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44'And their eyes are so big.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46'Some look like living mummies.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50'When they cry, they can barely make a sound.'
0:43:50 > 0:43:52BABY CRIES
0:44:00 > 0:44:02Ssh-ssh!
0:44:02 > 0:44:05ALL CRY
0:44:07 > 0:44:10'Seven-month-old Gerhard suddenly twists his whole body,
0:44:10 > 0:44:12'his arms shake.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15'He craned his neck, and suddenly lay still and stiff in my arms.'
0:44:27 > 0:44:30'I would happily die, if it would bring the war to an end.'
0:44:35 > 0:44:37MUSIC PLAYS ON RADIO
0:45:39 > 0:45:42'Little Gerhard looks frightening,
0:45:42 > 0:45:45'like an ancient dwarf, dead for a century.'
0:45:50 > 0:45:51Oh, nein...
0:45:53 > 0:45:54Nein!
0:45:56 > 0:45:57Nein...
0:46:02 > 0:46:03Komm.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05SHE SOBS
0:46:05 > 0:46:06Komm!
0:46:11 > 0:46:13'Little Gerhardchen's mother screamed
0:46:13 > 0:46:15'that it was the nursery that was responsible
0:46:15 > 0:46:17'for the death of her child.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20'That wasn't true.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23'He was just another victim of the war.'
0:46:24 > 0:46:26SHE COUGHS
0:46:27 > 0:46:30'The flat feels dreadfully empty and deserted.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34'I am more homesick than ever.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38'And I am beginning to loathe Leipzig.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42'All that made me care for it has gone.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49'The sordid, dogged despair of the place and the people
0:46:49 > 0:46:51'is getting on my nerves.'
0:47:09 > 0:47:12'Morale in my squad is pretty low, I have to say.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14'Our great offensive faltered
0:47:14 > 0:47:18'and now the British and American counter-attacks never cease.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22'Pretty much everyone has given up any hope of a German victory.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27'We all know that with their overwhelming firepower
0:47:27 > 0:47:31'and logistical support, they intend to crush us into submission.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33'And they probably will.'
0:47:40 > 0:47:42'I turned around and saw a strange sight.'
0:47:42 > 0:47:44Angriff!
0:47:45 > 0:47:49'Men were coming up from behind me with their hands up.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56'They were moving towards the enemy lines,
0:47:56 > 0:47:58'their hands held high.'
0:48:07 > 0:48:10'Unfortunately I didn't have a rifle in my hand
0:48:10 > 0:48:11'to gun down this riffraff.'
0:48:22 > 0:48:23EXPLOSION
0:48:23 > 0:48:25SCREAMS
0:48:28 > 0:48:31Gentlemen, as promised,
0:48:31 > 0:48:34here's your opportunity to photograph some German prisoners.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41Sorry, you're kind of in the way here.
0:48:44 > 0:48:45Hands Up, Fritz!
0:48:45 > 0:48:48Do you mind moving slightly to the left?
0:48:49 > 0:48:53'These Germans seem like frightened rabbits,
0:48:53 > 0:48:57'gathering up their courage just to peer out of their burrows.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01'We have now the most stirring opportunity
0:49:01 > 0:49:04'to show greatness in victory.'
0:49:04 > 0:49:08Come on - one more for the Kaiser!
0:49:08 > 0:49:10Hey, Montague, where did you get these guys?
0:49:10 > 0:49:12I mean, these are hardly the terrible Huns
0:49:12 > 0:49:14my readers are keen to see. You got anything else?
0:49:14 > 0:49:17A few weeks ago you'd have been running away from this lot.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19Believe me.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21'But there appears to be hard pressure
0:49:21 > 0:49:23'on the side of showing littleness,
0:49:23 > 0:49:26'and so poisoning the future of the world.'
0:49:29 > 0:49:32'I cried so much over poor little Gerhard.
0:49:32 > 0:49:37'Now I offer up myself to die, so that this war might end.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41'If a child - for is that not what I am? -
0:49:41 > 0:49:43'is willing to make this sacrifice,
0:49:43 > 0:49:46'then surely, God, you will not let this war go on.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55'Dear God, I am serious - as I pray you are.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04'Grandmother is at Frau Leonhard's for coffee
0:50:04 > 0:50:06'and won't be back for three hours.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08'Everything is quiet here.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21'Keep your word, dear God, for I am keeping mine.
0:50:23 > 0:50:24'This is my solemn vow.'
0:51:23 > 0:51:24Hey!
0:51:25 > 0:51:26Hey!
0:51:29 > 0:51:31MAN SOBS
0:51:37 > 0:51:39SOBBING CONTINUES
0:51:44 > 0:51:45HE SOBS
0:52:12 > 0:52:13HE SINGS:
0:52:27 > 0:52:29SHELL DETONATES
0:52:34 > 0:52:36SHE CHANTS
0:52:45 > 0:52:47SHE CONTINUES CHANTING
0:53:37 > 0:53:39'The rout goes on -
0:53:39 > 0:53:41'convoys come and go continuously,
0:53:41 > 0:53:43'through the night.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46'Groups of infantrymen, muddy, dirty,
0:53:46 > 0:53:48'their equipment gone,
0:53:48 > 0:53:52'without helmets, without guns, all in complete chaos.'
0:54:51 > 0:54:53GUNSHOTS
0:54:53 > 0:54:54MACHINE GUN FIRE
0:54:59 > 0:55:02So, tell me, Montague, how is the morale at the Front?
0:55:02 > 0:55:04The Germans are retreating day by day,
0:55:04 > 0:55:06but they're fighting on.
0:55:06 > 0:55:08Losses are still huge, even on our side.
0:55:10 > 0:55:11They're all good men,
0:55:11 > 0:55:14- but more than anything they hope it'll soon be over.- Mm.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16We must stick to our guns, mustn't we, hm?
0:55:16 > 0:55:18Shouldn't end the war too soon.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20Finish the Hun off once and for all.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23Can't be too harsh. Let them bleed out a little longer.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26It doesn't appear to be what the men think, sir.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28Well, that is exactly what the men shall be demanding.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30Tomorrow, in the papers.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33Cross, would you do the honours?
0:55:33 > 0:55:35- Yes, sir. - CORK POPS
0:55:39 > 0:55:42Gentlemen, a toast... to the honest Tommy
0:55:42 > 0:55:45and a resounding thrashing of the Hun.
0:55:47 > 0:55:49'I hope our greedy and bloodthirsty non-combatants
0:55:49 > 0:55:51'and profiteers will hold their tongues.'
0:55:51 > 0:55:54I think we've all done our bit in the face of enemy fire.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56'But there are signs of eager baseness
0:55:56 > 0:55:59'about demands for territory for ourselves,
0:55:59 > 0:56:01'for a share of what Germany can pay.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04'If the caterpillars of the Commonwealth had their way,
0:56:04 > 0:56:08'our part in this war, noble at first,
0:56:08 > 0:56:10'would end in meanness.'
0:56:10 > 0:56:12Mm. You were saying, Montague?
0:56:12 > 0:56:16It won't be worth one more drop of blood to pursue this war,
0:56:16 > 0:56:18if the enemy is already defeated.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46'No news, no newspapers, no gas, no electricity,
0:56:46 > 0:56:48'but no-one wants to leave Sedan now.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53'Better to die in our ruins than to be killed fleeing.
0:56:55 > 0:57:00'We can hear the cannons, very close, and to the west.
0:57:00 > 0:57:04'The moment we've been waiting for for four years
0:57:04 > 0:57:05'is approaching quickly now.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09'But we fear its arrival too -
0:57:09 > 0:57:14'the evacuation, poison gas, fire, perhaps even death.'
0:57:15 > 0:57:18EXPLOSION
0:57:18 > 0:57:19BELL TOLLS
0:57:19 > 0:57:21BIRDS SING
0:57:41 > 0:57:47'I crawled close to her and rested my head on her chest and cried.
0:57:47 > 0:57:51'Grandma pressed her head onto mine and cried as well.
0:57:51 > 0:57:53'We cried and cried,
0:57:53 > 0:57:57'and neither of us asking the other why we felt so miserable.'
0:58:07 > 0:58:12'Being cut off like this from the world was the worst part -
0:58:12 > 0:58:14'unsure if we were still slaves...
0:58:14 > 0:58:17'or free citizens of France again.'
0:58:19 > 0:58:21WIND HOWLS
0:58:44 > 0:58:47CROWS CAW