Passchendaele
The Battle of Passchendaele
Transcript
Big gun firing.
Passchendaele.Muddy terrain and crater holes.
Hand drwing of maps
The third battle of Ypres. The ‘Race to the Sea’ left the Allies in possession of the city of Ypres; a provocative finger pointing into German conquered territory.Roughs seas, waves rolling
They tried cutting off that finger,Soldier on duty wearing gas mask
suffocating allied troops with chlorine gas…Soldiers assembling equipment
but they failed. After fighting steadily onSoldiers running across rough terrain
Blasts of enemy fire, explosions, soldiers getting hit by enemy fire
Two soliders laying down in muddy terrain
other fronts, the Allies were exhausted. So were the Germans.Hand sketching of map
The fields in Flanders are low and swampy,Soldiers preparing gear in low and swampy field
made habitable by drainage ditches. Not ideal for battle…Swampy terrain with brush and mud puddles
Sir Douglas Haig wanted to takePhoto of Sir Douglas Haig; soldiers on horses in background
advantage of the enemy’s fatigueSoldiers marching together with equipment on back
to push north, take the basesSubmarine surfacing in ocean
Men working on submarine equipment in engine room
Depth charges set off in water
Ships in ocean, sending huge clouds of black smoke
used by German submarines,Ship hit in ocean, huge blasts of black smoke
and prevent further attacks on trans-Atlantic shipping lines.Ship sinking in ocean
Soldiers digging trenches and tunnels
The Allied sappers dug tunnels under the German lines for eighteen months.Two soldiers in trenches detonating explosives towards the enemy
In June, they detonated a million pounds of amatol right under their feet.Explosion of amatol, huge blast of smoke
I was told that the concussion blew many men to the ground.German soldiers on horses, women scurrying around in disarray
The Germans defences were in disarray. The Allies could have moved forward, but no.Soldiers running through the street
The New-Zealanders took Messines, that’s all. With hindsight,Soldiers marching through the streets, Red Cross jeeps travelling in other direction
it seems like a waste…Blasts of fire, soldiers dug in trenches
Group of soldiers standing together
It took 6 weeks before pushing forward. And it started raining, endlessly.Soldier shoveling and using their pics working through the muddy terrain, puddles of rain
Many soldiers working together to pull equipment through the mud
The battlegrounds became a quagmire,Horses travelling through the mud
swallowing everything: vehicles, horses,Soldier walking through rough terrain while other soldiers lay dead
and men. Everyone was cold.SIght of mud and deep craters of water, soldiers amongst the cold and wet conditions
The Allied artillery barrage was incessant.Soldiers preparing artillery behind a brick wall
Cannon firing, huge blasts of smoke, consistent artillery being fired from the cannon
When I arrived at the front,Soldiers marching with equipment on back
I found a German soldier’s diary dating back a couple of weeks...…Soldier lying dead on ground, helmet off, rifle by his side
Darkness alternates with light as bright as day.Silhouette of body slumped over fence of barb wire
The earth shakes…men hear nothing but drum-fire…Grassy landscape with smoke fire in the sky
Clouds of blast smoke blasts over the rough terrain
Blasts of artillery fire hitting the water
groaning of wounded comrades…Tow soldiers carrying a comrade on stretcher through rough conditions, a murky landscape
screaming of fallen horses…Fallen and dead horses
Soldiers crouched down while blasts of artillery go off
Soldier protected by trenches crouched down with gun in hand
the wild beating of their own hearts… They have no way of escape…Sight of dead bodies laying in the trenches
Soldiers battling on, running together with weapons in hand
The battle started three months ago.Soldiers standing in the swampy and muddy terrain; huge amounts of rain
They tell me the rain hasn’t stopped since.Soldiers carrying sticks of wood over the muddy terrain
How many times have I stepped onTwo soldiers in trenches looking over the wounded and dead comrades
a dead comrade so as not to beSoldiers marching past as their fellow comrade lays dead on the muddy ground
sucked in by the mud?A wounded soldier is assisted through the trenches by a fellow soldier
The other morning, wounded who had beenTwo soldiers helping the wounded walk through the rough terrain
crying for hours, some for days finally stopped…Soldier carrying a wounded comrade on his back through the trenches, other soldiers look on and follow
Dead soldiers lay dead on their back in the mud
they drowned in their trenches.Soldiers lays face down on the side of the trench, debris all around him
We Canadians were asked to take whatGroup of soldiers huddled together, smoking and smiling
remained of Passchendaele; not a village but a pile of rubble.Soldiers marching towards a village
We did it. But it ended there. Really. 250 thousand allied dead and wounded,Soldiers marching with wooden casts on their shoulders
200 thousand Germans…Blasts of grey smoke, soldiers amongst the rubble, destruction everywhere
For a pile of rubble! Today,some historians say thatSoldier stands over a dead soldier's body on the ground
Passchendaele symbolizes the futilityDead bodies lay in the trenches
of trench warfare. I’d say it was even worse…Dead soldier lays face down on the ground, equipment all around him
it made me believe in hell.Description
Narration on archival images that evoke the Battle of Passchendaele during the First World War.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Recorded:
- November 2, 2015
- Duration:
- 3:07
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