0:00:16 > 0:00:20When you think about World War I, is this what you think of?
0:00:21 > 0:00:25A British Tommy in a trench probably somewhere in France.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Much of what you know is not as it seems.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34So, what do you think you know about World War I?
0:00:47 > 0:00:49EXPLOSIONS
0:00:49 > 0:00:51It was violent and it was vicious.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54But it's got plenty of competitors for bloodiness.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00It wasn't the bloodiest in terms of outright numbers killed.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05And it wasn't the bloodiest in terms of proportion either.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11At least for Britain.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21An entire generation was affected.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24But it wasn't wiped out.
0:01:24 > 0:01:2789% of British soldiers survived the war.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33But that's not to say World War I was in any way insignificant.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35It was big.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41There was fighting in Europe, Africa and Asia.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47There are Commonwealth War Graves in 96 different countries
0:01:47 > 0:01:49on every continent bar Antarctica.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52This was a truly global conflict.
0:01:52 > 0:01:53MUSIC: "Black Out Days" by Phantogram
0:02:20 > 0:02:22So, what else do you know?
0:02:32 > 0:02:34Not necessarily.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37The privileged classes weren't protected from the slaughter.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41In fact, a greater proportion of public schoolboys were killed
0:02:41 > 0:02:44or injured than their working-class contemporaries.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48MUSIC: "And The Boys" by Angus and Julia Stone
0:03:02 > 0:03:07Eton alone lost 1,000 former pupils, 20% of those who served.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10This was because one of the deadliest roles on the front line
0:03:10 > 0:03:12was that of a junior officer.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25They were first into the firing line as they led their men over the top.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28It was said that during the fiercest fighting on the Somme, an ordinary
0:03:28 > 0:03:32soldier could expect to last three months before becoming a casualty.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35A junior officer, just six weeks.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45And even if you were older and didn't serve as a junior officer yourself,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47you could still be affected.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59The war touched everyone.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Officers and privates, posh and poor alike.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Trenches were a central feature of the First World War.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35There were trenches on every front in every terrain.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39In the Italian Alps, there were even trenches dug into the ice.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44But soldiers didn't live in them full-time.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47British soldiers didn't even live in them the majority of the time.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55Behind the lines, troops dug trenches and latrines,
0:04:55 > 0:04:57trained and played sports.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Some even put on plays or wrote and published their own newspapers.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08But this wasn't about fun and games. It was about morale.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11The top brass knew that you couldn't keep men in conditions
0:05:11 > 0:05:15like this continually and expect them to be an effective fighting force.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24And so soldiers busied themselves whilst waiting for their turn.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26All within hearing distance of the artillery.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Finally, what about one of the war's most enduring stories?
0:05:46 > 0:05:49There's little evidence that it actually happened.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53SHOUTING AND CHEERING
0:05:56 > 0:05:59There was an unofficial truce in 1914
0:05:59 > 0:06:02across large sections of the Western Front.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05The guns stopped for one day.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07In some places, up to a week.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12And newspapers back home had a field day.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15But the story of the football match is contentious.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18Contemporary news reports revolve around hearsay.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23Many did want to play, some tried to arrange a match,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26but fighting resumed and got in the way.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28If some battalions did manage to play,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31it was the odd kickabout with a makeshift ball.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35But that shouldn't diminish the true story of the Christmas truce.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37What we know for definite is that many German
0:06:37 > 0:06:39and British soldiers met in no-man's land,
0:06:39 > 0:06:43swapped gifts and photos of their families, even cut each other's hair.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47They sang carols and helped to bury each other's dead.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51And, in many cases, it seemed to be the Germans who started it.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53They lit their decorations on Christmas Eve
0:06:53 > 0:06:56and called out to the British not to shoot.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Nothing on this scale was to happen the following year.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06By then, both sides were under strict orders not to fraternise.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08To answer any advances with lead.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14The Germans sang Christmas carols again, but in many places
0:07:14 > 0:07:17they were drowned out by the sound of British machine guns.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25So, what do you know now about World War I?
0:07:26 > 0:07:29World War I wasn't unique in its bloodiness.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32It wasn't simply a protected upper-class
0:07:32 > 0:07:35sending a generation of workers to their deaths.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Trenches weren't the sum total of a soldier's life.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48And Christmas 1914 was much more than a football match.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50If there even was a football match.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53SHOUTING
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Myths are incredibly powerful.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58But they rarely reveal the full picture.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01The truth is that history is never as straightforward
0:08:01 > 0:08:04or as convenient as the myth would have us believe.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11EXPLOSION
0:08:27 > 0:08:31In World War I, the commanders faced a challenge on a scale that
0:08:31 > 0:08:32no-one had ever faced before.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37They had to coordinate vast numbers of men across a huge battlefield
0:08:37 > 0:08:38with very primitive communications.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41And I'm going to get a sense of that challenge today,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44and my battlefield is London.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47MUSIC: "London Calling" by The Clash
0:08:47 > 0:08:50We set up a game with an army of volunteers.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Our base is HMS President.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58This ship served in World War I, and is now moored on the Thames.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00I have a team of 26.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04But my team aren't allowed to use any modern communications.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Just like the armies of World War I.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11The other team is led by fellow historian Suzannah Lipscomb.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13OK, first up, let me learn everybody's names.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19'She has a team of just eight, but her team have a huge advantage.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21'They can use mobile phones.'
0:09:21 > 0:09:22David...
0:09:22 > 0:09:25'We're going to compete in a strategic challenge.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28'And we're about to be given our instructions.'
0:09:28 > 0:09:30HORN BLOWS
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Let's do it! Come on, team. Let's find out what's going on here.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38OK, so there's the horn. Let's see what we've got...
0:09:38 > 0:09:43Your task, find the targets wearing red with the following symbol.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Give each of them a playing card.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Diamonds. Nice.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Take those.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53'So, somewhere in central London,
0:09:53 > 0:09:55'there are people wearing these T-shirts.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58'We have to find them and get the cards to them.'
0:09:58 > 0:10:01I've no idea how we're going to do this. But let's have a think. Right.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03This is London.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Um, the search area is pretty big.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08From Waterloo down to Southwark
0:10:08 > 0:10:12and right up here. almost to King's Cross it looks like.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15So let's all spread out along here.
0:10:15 > 0:10:21And simply push north, trying to stay broadly speaking in a line,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25so we all get to this road at about the same point.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27If one person sees someone in red, shout and hopefully visually,
0:10:27 > 0:10:28because that's all we have.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31We should have a code word. That's what they had in the First World War.
0:10:31 > 0:10:32Just go boo-wop!
0:10:32 > 0:10:36OK. Come on. Let's try.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39- Team... - ALL: Boo-wop!
0:10:39 > 0:10:41'Suzannah's team have no need
0:10:41 > 0:10:44'for silly noises. They can just get out there and search.'
0:10:44 > 0:10:48You've got the number. Keep in touch and I will send you instructions.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50If I need you to do something specifically, I'll call you.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52Feeling strong. We're going to win. OK.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54Go. Right.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56DAN: 'The battle is on.'
0:10:56 > 0:10:58If everything goes wrong, which it probably will,
0:10:58 > 0:11:00I'll see you back here at 11:45am.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04At least they're not shooting at us, everyone.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06It really is a little bit like World War I.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08In fact, it's a bit like the first day of the Somme,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11where you send out guys in long lines because that's the only way
0:11:11 > 0:11:15that I can see of organising everyone, keeping everyone focused on
0:11:15 > 0:11:19the task, because if you let everyone break up, you lose all control.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24- Right... What are you doing here? - Because I'm in command.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26You're just leaving that vacant, are you?
0:11:26 > 0:11:27I believe in leading from the front.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30- See you later. - Good luck!
0:11:30 > 0:11:34MUSIC: "LDN" by Lily Allen
0:11:36 > 0:11:39- Morning, team! - There he is.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42So we will put the people who've got the playing cards
0:11:42 > 0:11:46strategically to be, like, one person with no playing card...
0:11:46 > 0:11:48Brilliant. She's in charge now. Perfect!
0:11:51 > 0:11:53We've been playing this game now for about five minutes
0:11:53 > 0:11:56and I've learned several very important lessons.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59One is that every single plan you make completely collapses
0:11:59 > 0:12:01the minute you try and implement it in the field.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04We were meant to all be in a big line and start together,
0:12:04 > 0:12:06that's just not happening. I can't see anyone else.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08I've got no contact with the people with the cards.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11The other thing I've learned is, if you're in a position
0:12:11 > 0:12:14of leadership, which I am, I've completely isolated myself here.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16I've got no cards, I've got no phone,
0:12:16 > 0:12:18I've got no way of being in touch with anyone.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20I've no idea how the rest of the team is doing.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23It's 12 minutes past 11.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25We're at Somerset House. I've got my card.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28I'm completely separated from my team.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32There's no communication and I can't check out all the sidestreets.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34DAN: 'Whilst I'm attempting to lead from the front,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37'Suzannah is coordinating her search teams from base.'
0:12:38 > 0:12:42"We're walking along the Strand," says Lauren. OK, so she's here.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Queen Street, gone north, now heading east.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Laura's telling me she's going east of Blackfriars Bridge.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Laura, please head west.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55'Predictably enough, I haven't found any targets.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57'What about the rest of my team?'
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Did you find any people?
0:12:59 > 0:13:00- No! - Oh, my God!
0:13:00 > 0:13:03- I think your plan sucks. - I know it sucks!
0:13:03 > 0:13:05- Did you give any cards to anyone? - We lost one.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08We lost a guy and we didn't give any cards.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12We've lost someone? We've lost a member of the team.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14We've handed out no cards.
0:13:14 > 0:13:15We are way behind schedule
0:13:15 > 0:13:20and I've got no idea what anyone else on the wider team is doing.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22That's the situation.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27We've got our first one. We've got a card. Brilliant.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29That's Mel. Congratulations!
0:13:29 > 0:13:32DAN: 'So, my first plan has ended in chaos.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35'But at least I had told everyone to be back at the boat which
0:13:35 > 0:13:38'might just give me a second chance.'
0:13:39 > 0:13:40OK, everyone. How did we do?
0:13:40 > 0:13:44- How many cards did we give away? - ALL: None!
0:13:44 > 0:13:47None. Right. Plan B. Time for Plan B.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Gather round, everybody.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52I'm going to stay here with some cards.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Each team can have an HQ somewhere.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57I suggest here, so that they can signal me and I can signal them.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00And then you just conduct mini-patrols like that.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05If I need to find you, I will send a runner or I will come and find you.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08No, we just need people out. We can't afford for me to have a runner there.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10- I'll come and find you. - North-west over here.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12North-west over there, north-east over here.
0:14:14 > 0:14:19'My team are off, leaving me with nothing to do but wait...nervously.'
0:14:20 > 0:14:22I'm here at headquarters in my big chateaux,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25like the World War I generals. And it's pretty isolated.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28But, at least here I am in visual contact with
0:14:28 > 0:14:30a couple of the teams and they know where they can find me.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33So that if they need more cards I've got them in my pocket.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36- I've taken one down. - You've got one?
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Near Charing Cross station.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41Nice work, man. Put it here. That's awesome.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43There you go. I've got that. That's my only card.
0:14:43 > 0:14:48- OK, I'm going to make it count. - OK, good luck. See you in a bit.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50I'd love to say that was part of the planning,
0:14:50 > 0:14:52but that was just a happy accident.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54He just happened to bump into one.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57MUSIC: "London Calling" by The Clash
0:14:59 > 0:15:01'But my luck doesn't last long.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04'I'm about to receive some very bad news.'
0:15:04 > 0:15:06I've got some new orders for you, Sir.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10New orders? What do you mean? New orders? That's a disaster.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13You can't change the mission.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21New... Oh, my goodness.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24New information.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27The targets are now wearing blue and have the following symbol.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34That is a complete disaster.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37First thing to do, summon back that team with the red flag.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42'Foolishly, I didn't keep back any messengers. But I do have a flag.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45'Visual signals were used in World War I.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48'Though they had a tendency to draw enemy fire.'
0:15:49 > 0:15:50I can't believe it.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55'As for changes of plan, they're a feature of any battle.'
0:15:56 > 0:15:59In the First World War, of course,
0:15:59 > 0:16:02people were dying on a titanic scale because of changes
0:16:02 > 0:16:04and confusions exactly like this.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06You might have given the artillery a signal
0:16:06 > 0:16:08and a time to attack one particular target,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11a piece of information could come in saying, "Well, that target's
0:16:11 > 0:16:15"now occupied by friendly forces," so you're shelling your own guys.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17Right, I'm going to have to leave them a note
0:16:17 > 0:16:20and I'm going to have to find that group over there.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25'No such problem for Suzannah.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28'Just a few texts and her team is up-to-date.'
0:16:28 > 0:16:31MUSIC: "Out of Control" by The Chemical Brothers
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Hello, Nicky? So, we're looking for people in blue now.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41You got that message? Yeah. OK, great. Thanks. Bye.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50'Fortunately, my eastern squad has left someone at the meeting point
0:16:50 > 0:16:53'just where they're supposed to be.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55'I've wasted valuable time,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58'but at least some of my team now have the right information.'
0:16:58 > 0:17:03So it turns out that were supposed to be looking for blue pigeons.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07Of which I've seen two earlier and thought, "Ooh, that's a little odd!"
0:17:07 > 0:17:11I'm not going to blame our fearless leader, but it doesn't look good.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17'If I can just get the message to the north-west squad,
0:17:17 > 0:17:19'I might still have a chance.'
0:17:22 > 0:17:25How's it going? You're on a bike, right?
0:17:25 > 0:17:28- And you're with this team up here? - Yeah.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31You are going to single-handedly save this entire thing
0:17:31 > 0:17:33if you deliver that message successfully.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35- OK. - Thank you!
0:17:35 > 0:17:37We might be able to save the situation,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40and the reason we might save it is because luckily one or two people
0:17:40 > 0:17:42have stuck to what they were told to do.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Now, that might seem ridiculous to them out there,
0:17:45 > 0:17:46but there's a reason for it.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49As the commander, I need to know that there is someone
0:17:49 > 0:17:51at that crossroads and at that crossroads there.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55First World War generals have taken a lot of criticism for rigidity.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58They would make these plans and then force people to stick to them,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00even when circumstances and the facts change.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02But what this demonstrates is you need that rigidity,
0:18:02 > 0:18:04otherwise you've got nothing. Otherwise it's total anarchy.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07'Suzannah, on the other hand, can be flexible.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10'Moving resources to where they're needed.'
0:18:10 > 0:18:13These guys are slightly marooned over here, but I've asked them to head
0:18:13 > 0:18:17west because this is where we found everybody so far, in a certain area.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Ooh, hold on a second. David!
0:18:20 > 0:18:23DAN: 'Her strategy is soon paying off.'
0:18:23 > 0:18:25Fantastic! Well done.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27Well done. That's brilliant.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29OK, goodbye.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31And another!
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Congratulations!
0:18:33 > 0:18:35She's just found another one!
0:18:35 > 0:18:38DAN: 'And because she can let the rest of her team know about
0:18:38 > 0:18:41'every success, morale is high...
0:18:41 > 0:18:42'Unlike my team.'
0:18:44 > 0:18:46We haven't found anybody and we've had enough.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49These are our "had enough" faces.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Targets found, zero.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Time, 1:38.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Mood, dejected.
0:18:58 > 0:18:59I'm lost, my team's missing,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02I put this failure down to leadership at the highest level.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05I've learnt a huge amount about what not to do.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08And I think that's what the generals spent the first two years
0:19:08 > 0:19:11doing as well. World War I came at pretty much the worst possible time
0:19:11 > 0:19:12it could come at in history.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15The size of the battlefield and the scale and the range
0:19:15 > 0:19:19of the killing weapons had massively expanded, but the generals' ability
0:19:19 > 0:19:23to control events was the same it had been 1,000 years earlier.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26And by the end of the First World War or into the Second World War,
0:19:26 > 0:19:27the technology of communication
0:19:27 > 0:19:29had caught up with the technology of killing.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33So generals are able to actively control a battle,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36even though they're miles away from it.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39And that process has accelerated to the present day where now
0:19:39 > 0:19:42President Obama can be in the White House, watching helmet cams
0:19:42 > 0:19:46of real-time special forces guys going and getting Osama Bin Laden.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48That's how much it's changed.
0:19:49 > 0:19:50Hi, team. Hey! Well done.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52DAN: 'It's 2pm. Time is up
0:19:52 > 0:19:56'and everyone has gathered back at base for the final score.'
0:19:57 > 0:19:59So I now have the official results,
0:19:59 > 0:20:04that the number of cards received by Dan's team...
0:20:05 > 0:20:07..was one.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14DAN: That's woeful.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18However, the total number of cards given out by Suzannah's team
0:20:18 > 0:20:21was seven.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24I hereby declare the team with communications the winner.