Its the end of nine hundred fifteen. Somewhere in the region of out on some french soldiers are to destruct themselves projecting some films on the wall. True for a year now theyve been at war with germany. This is how they were caricaturing the german Emperor Wilhelm the second and the german soldiers with their pointy helmets and their superman cult just look at this image inbred the german army positions in the middle the town of had done the river moise are running through it and the hills all around. The french have built thirty or more forts here to protect themselves from invasion from the east. Mythical names soon all the world will have heard of them. Soon via. Vo. To almost. The end. Of. The else lets take a look at the other side of the front the german side. On this day the german Emperor Wilhelm the second has come to meet his military staff as well as his own son the crown prince the one with the house on deaths head on his hat. Last. Here in the greatest secrecy the germans are getting ready to launch a major offensive by unexpectedly attacking the strongest position on the whole front. They reckon the french wont give up the town of their done without throwing everything theyve got into the battle and that they can crush them before turning their sights on the british and winning the war. The behalf. The emperor has entrusted the task of leading the battle to his own son. And this is him addressing his officers. His majesty calls us to the attack he saying we must see that the sons of germanys will to win is as hard as steel. The end. At the beginning of one nine hundred sixteen. Thousands of germans are converging on vent on. The air was. The in just a few days after the heaviest bombardment in military history this Massive Force will throw itself at the french positions. Its going to be a fight the like of which the world has never known a rifle man called rudi writes to his parents. The german troops have dug what they called shell and tunnels under the hill for cover. In one of these pros twenty year old clemens buck in a huff writes ive got my rifle and three thousand cartridges by the door that you get the french on the run. Was. The end. Was. Last. The french are still completely unaware. They believe their forts are invulnerable especially this one dual mall. Its a state of the art underground city Strong Enough to repel any attack. Was feb twenty first one thousand nine hundred sixteen. The german crown prince. His guns unleashing hurricane on the french lines. Plant or. French spotter pilots say that twelve hundred german guns look like a blazing yellow line across the landscape. We dont have many pictures of those first hours. But take a look at this recovered footage. It was a reconstruction filmed with the survivors at the same spot ten years later. We were deafened one of them says bugging out alone upside down. To. The germans fire off a million shells that day. This is tommy foil carpet shelling. Its like the end of the world. One lieutenant tells how both officers and their men are beginning to lose hope. All we are doing is trying to save face he says before it all goes to hell. Back in paris the politicians are in shock. The commander of the French Forces general joseph is always saying that verdana is too well protected for the germans to attack it hes even started to strip the forts of their guns and send them north to the somme where hes preparing an assault with the british. Prime minister. The one in the bowler hat worn out of that he cant afford to lose any french territory. If you have vacuum way to bed down and so on the retreat he says will be dismissed immediately along with all of your chiefs of staff. Within hours an order from those chiefs of staff has fired off to the troops at vet on. Your to fight to the death that says while awaiting reinforcements. But it comes too late in just five days the german steamroller crushes all the villages around vad on all the way up to do a mo right below the fort. Its here that a certain shia to go it twenty five years old is wounded and taken prisoner. But for the french the nightmare has only just begun. Its the twenty fifth of february four days after the beginning of the assault. Now the germans are right up against the enormous fortress of doom only two hundred yards away from the supposedly impregnable summit. A handful of soldiers from brandenburg spurred on by the speed of the advance decides to have a go without telling their commanders. There without to carry out one of the greatest feats of arms of the First World War one that will live on for many years in germany memory. At their head and hed loss of danger captain you hakim helped slips through the barbed wire and jumps into the fortress as moat. To. The real danger is friendly fire the german troops havent been told about this raid so theyre firing on their own men. To edit it but that doesnt stop the troops from brandenburg. Getting into the strongest fortress in france right through the front door because the place is almost deserted and all the panicked a french general has left it on manned. To try outs as news of the fall of doom or reaches germany and all the church bells start to ring out a young mother in feibel expresses the delight of her country man. What joy to read this news she writes to her husband at the front may god grant us peace and let the music of the cannons hail our future happiness. But france is badly shaken its a disaster above all its a humiliation for the troops. All are picturing the germans rolling across the country as they done half a century earlier in eight hundred seventy. If they had done false friends does too. Thats what people are thinking. But now a new character arrives on the scene phillipa turn a complete unknown a defense strategist. Hes handed the job of defending van down. Here hes arriving at his h. Q. For now hes just another bit player urging on the troops soon there will be the nations biggest stars. What matters now for france is to get men to the front to block the german advance. It already seems like a lost cause. The french have been taken by surprise theyre just more ready. Theres only one road that links fed on to the rear alongside it a single small train line its a harsh contrast to the german front with its network of fourteen railway systems. Once the new general arrives this country road becomes veterans on pillock accord. The sacred way as they begin to call it. Its handsets a relentless pace six thousand. True change is a day. The lorries roll day and night. And the road has to be maintained day and night by thousands of laborers if its cut the battle is lost. A sacred way straight into a battle thats become a sacred cause. And one of those trucks is a young lawyer lieutenant jubera. The very blood of francis here he writes in a stiring. Over the next ten months two thirds of the french army will pass through here two million five hundred thousand men many of whose names will be inscribed on the monuments to the dead. Theyre defending their wives and their children their homes. And among these men marching to their fate a rallying cry has been. Shall not pass. In the running media. To. Be dug in within the walls of dual mode to the germans have any idea whats coming. If these german reconstructions filmed after the war are to be believed the morale is sky high. In reality though theyve suffered enormous losses. Their advance has become much more difficult than it was to start with and theyre exhausted especially these fragile young eighteen year olds. Among the first to die as fans mark one of the greatest german painters of the Twentieth Century he was hit by a shell. Hes realized right from the start that this is a totally few told battle a lie see he writes to his wife shortly before his death is the most frightful spectacle the human brain could ever imagine. The crown prince sent his father the kaiser are well aware of all the misgivings the germans have only advanced ten kilometers and two weeks and theres no breakthrough in sight. They just keep going. They cant lose face. Heres how the battlefield looks to them. To the right doom all held by the germans. The artillery to turn has placed on the west bank of the noisome and in the forts of mob and rochelle via this pinning the germans down on the east bank. If the germans want to take their dump theyll have to destroy those guns. But to do that theyll have to take the two hills that stand in their way cote three or four and more tom Dead Mans Hill. Dead mans hill acquired its name after a body was found there in the nineteenth century. Every square foot of it the scene fighting to violent to even contemplate. Today at its summit theres a terrible monument. A skeletal figure crying victory. On the sixth of march the crown prince launches his troops at Dead Mans Hill. Before their eyes the hill explodes. The assault will go down in history as the hell of a don it is. It it is. It expects anteroom and april one thousand nine hundred sixteen is where the battle grinds to a standstill. The two armies are dug in face to face theyll spend months trying to destroy each other. But this is already a victory for the french as to turn promised the germans cannot pass. Its time for him to speak the words that will make him famous throughout the world. Courage. Will get them. What. His words hit home. The new general will become a symbol of all france the man who stood up to the germans. And the french will remember this twenty five years later when the country falls to nazi germany in one thousand nine hundred forty. On Deadmans Hill now however the boot is on the other foot. As the french put out more flags the germans grow increasingly uneasy. Especially the ones whove been captured by the french. Weve been gravely deceived by our officers rights young god not to his mother and other demands we would like on those gentleman responsible for the war to come and fight at our side if theyd done so we would have had peace long ago. In fact although the french dont suspect it germany is in crisis. With the war seemingly endless some politicians are starting to question the sense of it peace demonstrations are spreading. This is one in berlin on the first of may in the middle of the battle of ed on. The far left politician car leak nestas haranguing the crowd down with the government he says down with the war. Right after he speaks hes jailed. Was meanwhile the mood in the french capital was completely different. One of the troops have been holding out on Dead Mans Hill life is almost returned to normal here almost as if the battle was actually being won. The civilians seen getting on with their lives and even having fun have no idea that sixty thousand men have already died at fed done. And more are dying there at the rate of one every two minutes. By the spring of one thousand nine hundred sixteen the germans are desperate for a rapid end to the battle for the french dream of glorious revenge and head on. I. Still get their wish. After three months of shelling we have done has been virtually destroyed. But the german still havent broken through and the town itself emptied now of all its inhabitants is still in the hands of the french. Its clearly a success for the french in any war of attrition a stalemate represents a victory for the defending side. And while soldiers are still being blown to smithereens delegations are arriving from all over the world to celebrate the resistance of a nation. This is the future king of serbia an ally of france being welcomed by the president of the republic. The journalists have been invited to an english correspondent writes that video one feels an intense satisfaction it would seem a masterpiece has been achieved. The best. Friendship stood alone against germany. Everyone knows it the germans shall never pass. The battle is ground to a halt and is of no further strategic importance. But it will still carry on for another eight months. This statue by ogu store done that stands on the face of the more as it is an idea of the mood at the time. It speaks of frances need to wipe away the insult and punish germany. Playing. The french counterattack comes on the twenty second of may the troops hurl themselves at dual mode the fourth theyd abandoned only three months earlier. But their objective is a dubious one their generals know getting the fort back wont help them break through the german lines the whole area is locked down by artillery. But they still want a victory. And for a few hours its. Seems within reach the french rushed the front line and get a foothold on the fort before being decimated by the german artillery. Its a disaster five thousand dead wounded or taken prisoner. And all for nothing. The survivors limp back to their positions among them no hes not a shot who writes. Do more has been taken last retake and. The wounded look ghastly. One of them is crying mommy and my little girl or its madness were all mad. To think. It is. In truth its the battle itself thats gone and. Its about pride ego and prestige. And industrial war where Technology Counts for more than all the lives lost and the slaughter is starting to run amuck. The odds on either side of the front are roughly equal two hundred thousand french against two hundred thousand germans all are dug in well to hide from the observation balloons that make them sitting targets. Return has his troops on a rotation system ten days on the front line ten days on the second line then a rest back at the rear. And back to the front line again and thats where captain del valle is when he writes you feel like an animal being herded into the. Sixty million shells. Almost a ton of explosives per square meter. At a fair done at the pump argument never stops. The enemy mustnt be allowed to breed. Men are dying all the time often with nobody even noticing theres no glory in the slaughter. May when nature is starting to bloom again and other places the troops that vet done are still waiting through a landscape of mud blood excrement and human flesh. Some men even drown in the shell craters. What keeps them holding on are their loved ones theyre coming out of. And ill call the bird. To the last any sense of patriotism is long gone. The soldiers continue to fight out of routine and of a sense of duty and because they have no choice. It is. At the beginning of june general evers from fica nine head of the german army orders his men to have another go at that don. He wants to ken down the french and stop them from supporting the british further north on the somme. No one is really committed to the attack though not even the crown prince for him the battle node longer makes sense. In my heart the kaisers son will write i was totally opposed to this offensive but i had to abate orders so i forced myself to appear completely confident. Between the four to do more still in german hands and the fourth had vote still held by the french once more the landscape burns. This reconstruction based on an aerial scan of the battlefield shows the network of trenches and the thousands of show craters dotting the landscape. The germans descend into the ravines climb back up the hills and eventually encircled the fort a vo. And sighted or four hundred french. Theyve had no water or munitions for several days now. And every day eight thousand shells rained down on them. They are completely cut off but i know that all of france is watching. Its here on the fourth of june that one of the most famous episodes of the battle of it done takes place when the germans managed to breach the fort through a tunnel or. A trench ravers attack with grenades flame throwers and hand to hand with knobs. Both sides fighting for glory and survival. It was. The end of sensually the exhausted french surrender and the germans theyve just been trying to kill record them full military honors. The end it could all just end here thats not what happens. Im. For having taken vocal the germans have cleared the way to the next hill and the next fort over there on the horizon. Sylvia. Was. Home from this rocky prominent story which they scale a month later on the eleventh of july began began to feel that victory is within reach and the distance they can see their done and its cathedral their ultimate goal. To in the end. Theyll never get there their final offensive will fail in a village now wiped off the map flew he was taken and then retaken a dozen times in just two weeks. Its the very image of the whole battle heroic and pointless. The to say. Sides have been fighting for six months over one hundred thousand men are dead. Like many of his comrades on notes fire a young writer feels hes been sacrificed by his emperor and his generals. The war has been going on too lawn he writes to his wife just one more push they keep telling us in march they said it in april in may in june. Reinforcements arrived even younger man. The infantry struck at the very heart of the french. They told them they were defending their country and they believed it. Then they saw it wasnt working. Whose fault is all this. Many people blame fuckin highness chief of the german army the man who was sent an entire generation of the countrys young men to die. At the end of august the kaiser has fuckin hine replaced. The end. The generals plan has been a total failure the allies have been advancing on the somme since early july the minute vet done are needed elsewhere and now romania has declared war on germany so fuckin highness backed off they are as a punishment. Hes replaced by two generals from the Eastern Front every student off and polish fun hinton blog. Hinton book on the left will become president of germany after the war. Hes the figure who in one thousand nine hundred thirty three will appoint at all for hitler chancellor of germany for the time being though hes here to put an end to a battle that was supposed to be decisive for germany but instead awoke french patriotism like no other action and the war. But this is very done so it never ends. For the french its no longer a battle its already become a legend an existential struggle for their country survival. Things are different on the somme where a murderous british and french offensive spin going on since the first of july but thats just a joint operation with the british so its having a little impact on Public Opinion in france or the countrys collective memory. No its here in the mud if theyre done that the french want their prevent. They say they want to secure the region. But what they really want is glory. Between september and december of one thousand nine hundred sixteen it will cost the lives of forty seven thousand more frenchmen general ted turner has brought in the big guns they fire one ton shells the size of an eight year old child as they like to say. Good. Bit. On the twenty fourth of october the french make one last assault on dual mode the latest icon of their national myth. And nine months after the fords capture by the germans the french finally managed to retake it. This time for good. Luck. The old the. Crown princes troops surrender in droves. One hundred forty thousand germans have died of red on and another one hundred ninety thousand have been wounded. All in a battle that did nothing to affect the course of the war. The french losses were even heavier. One hundred sixty thousand dead and two hundred ten thousand wounded. But the french got their victory and the end. The tactical errors the humiliations all behind them now. Who. And when the snows come december of one thousand nine hundred sixteen the battle is officially over. Three hundred days of fighting. It would take another eight months to win back the forest of core and Dead Mans Hill and another two years for the war to end. These soldiers these husbands these fathers who had taken bravery to the very limit. They left behind thousands of orphans and they would ask was a glorious this battle. Or was it just absurd. Or all that was a century ago. The trauma of the great wars longest battle reminds us how far weve come. And above all perhaps. How much we ourselves have changed. To champion. The fasten your seatbelts. Her gums. Look at this. Week. Travel guide. In thirty minutes w. You can tell a lot about a society by its garbage. Just a few trust for the rich but for many poor people it offers their own chance of survival. And i could be on for today just like that. Our reporters travel to nairobi and york and meet people who know the true value of garbage. It has created a thriving callow economy. But much of this mean for economic inequality around the world you guys are starting class warfare the response to that statement should be yes we are starting class walk again. The rich get the trash exclusive report starts november seventeenth on g. W. This is you know whos live from berlin maximum pressure and a message of defiance from iran the u. S. Toughest sanctions yet come into force the countrys president says tehran will bypass the measures and calls on the country to resist but what will the fallout be for ordinary iranians were in tehran also coming up u. S. Voters gear up to cast their ballots and midterm elections the vote is being seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump could a surge in female and minority