First Ypres 1914 and the Race to the Sea
1h 20min
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- Synopsis:
With the Battle of the Aisne grinding to a halt as trench warfare gradually set in, both the German and Allied commanders realized the dominance of the defensive, established by quick firing artillery and the machine-gun, meaning that casualties in frontal attacks on a dug-in enemy were enormously heavy. Consequently, the armies sought to outflank the opposition by heading north in a set of maneuvers known as the Race to the Sea. During this phase Field Marshal French insisted on redeploying the British Expeditionary Force to the Allied left, nearer the Chanel ports. They came into action, division after division, from the La Basse north towards the city of Ypres in a series of bitterly fought meeting engagements, in which both the British infantry and cavalry continued to outperform their opposite numbers, but neither side could obtain a decisive result. Finally, on 21 October 1914, with General Haig’s I Corps coming into the line north of Langemark a solid line of trenches that stretched from the North Sea to the Swiss Jura was being established. The German Schlieffen Plan had failed back in August and now they concentrated as much of their force as possible to break through the ragged British and French Lines around the Belgian city of Ypres. Blow after blow fell but the line held but only just. The BHTV team of military historians and battlefield guides take us to the muddy fields of the emerging Salient. - Studio:
- Pen & Sword
- Genres:
- Documentary, Special Interest