In an omnibus edition of selected programmes from the final series, Dan Snow looks at some of the key events of 1918, from the German Spring Offensive in March, to the impact that the arrival of massed American troops had on the war. In interviews recorded by the BBC and the Imperial War Museums, those who were there recall the devastation caused by the Spanish Flu epidemic from May onwards, and the rapid advances made in the autumn as the Germans retreated. Finally Dan looks at the closing moments of the war on 11th November 1918, when the armistice took effect. When 11 o'clock came, alongside relief, disbelief, and celebrations, veterans recall that there was also an empty feeling, and a looming question that seemed to trouble many of them: what were they going to do now? Presented by Dan Snow Produced by Megan Jones for BBC Wales, and then

Voices of the First World War

25/12/2018

Dan Snow presents the final episode of Voices of the First World War, veterans recall what they were doing when the armistice took effect at 11 o'clock on 11th November 1918, and how they felt now the end of the war had at last arrived. Alongside relief, disbelief, and celebrations, there was also an empty feeling, and a looming question that seemed to trouble many of them: what were they going to do now? Presented by Dan Snow Produced by Megan Jones for BBC Wales

11 o'clock

Dan Snow hears accounts of those who witnessed the restlessness, disorder and eventual mutiny of the sailors of the German High Seas Fleet in early November 1918, and recollections of one of the most remarkable sights in British Naval history, 10 days after the Armistice. The German Fleet, as a condition of the Armistice, surrendered to the Allies, and arrived in the Firth of Forth on the 21st. Members of the British Grand Fleet, some privileged to be above deck, some peeking through port holes, remembered a stunning sight as both fleets met off the coast of Scotland, against the backdrop of a large, red setting sun. Presented by Dan Snow Produced by Megan Jones for BBC Wales

Mutiny in the High Seas Fleet

'Green fields, no barbed wire, nothing…'. Those who were there recall what it felt like to be advancing at last in the autumn of 1918, after years of stalemate. After a series of assaults on the Hindenburg line, the vast system of German trenches, many remember excitement as they advanced so far they lost contact with their command. But there were pockets of fierce resistance, and an eerie feeling as they set about reclaiming abandoned villages where snipers and booby traps might lie in waiting for them. Presented by Dan Snow Produced by Megan Jones for BBC Wales

Open Country

In August 1918 after years of disappointment, bloodshed and stalemate, Allied troops launched a surprise overwhelming attack on the German Army - a short, four day battle in which the Allied forces advanced 12 miles, more than the total advance of the Somme and Passchendaele offensives combined. Veterans recall how they did it. Presented by Dan Snow Produced by Megan Jones for BBC Wales

Amiens

Across 50 programmes, in a major series throughout the commemorative period, Voices of the First World War has been tracking the story of the war through archive interviews with those who experienced it, year by year. Presented by Dan Snow, the programmes have featured recollections recorded by the BBC for the Great War series in 1964, and by the Imperial War Museums for their oral history collection in the 1970s and 80s. Speakers recall in great detail, as though it were yesterday, the conditions of the trenches, the brutality of the battlefield, the experience of seeing their first casualty and hearing their first shell, their daily and nightly routines as soldiers, pilots or navy members of all ranks, and their psychological state in the face of so much trauma. In the final series of five programmes, presented by Dan Snow, we hear from those who experienced the closing stages of the war, including those present at one of its most significant turning points, the Battle of Amiens. At last breaking the deadlock of trench warfare, veterans recall the excitement of advancing rapidly though open country, and the eerie feeling of reclaiming abandoned villages where snipers and booby traps might lie waiting for them. We also hear from German officers recalling the collapse in morale from October onwards, and those present at the mutiny of the German High Seas Fleet. Finally, in ’11 o’clock’, soldiers recall how they felt at the news of the Armistice. While there were celebrations and relief, the men report that there was also disbelief, an empty feeling, and a looming question that seemed to trouble many of them: what were they going to do now? In the first episode, Brian de Courcy-Ireland recalls a torpedo strike - the prolonged, terrifying ordeal that had led to the deaths of thousands of sailors during the war: the steel hull buckled and twisted by the blast, passageways blocked, hatches jammed, lights dimmed, and the slow, unstoppable ingress of seawater... He survived without injury, but the psychological impact would reveal itself soon after, and remain with him for many years. Presented by Dan Snow Produced by Megan Jones for BBC Wales

Torpedo

Dan Snow hears the recollections of US soldiers who were sent to fight in France in 1918, and looks at the reactions of British and German soldiers to their arrival. They had received formidable physical training, but were naturally regarded as naïve by the battle-hardened 'old sweats' who'd served on the front for several years. But at the Battle of Bellau Wood, the Americans fought as tenaciously as any veteran unit, and helped to turn the tide of the war.

Enter America

It was a tragedy beyond comprehension. Soldiers who had survived the trenches, civilians who had weathered shortages and bombardment, now faced a new enemy: influenza. The virus tore through societies already weakened by war in 1918. According to one British nurse who recorded an interview with the Imperial War Museum, 'the mortuaries were so full we had the patients lying one on top of the other'. Dan Snow hears the accounts of those who survived it, from those in the front line and Prisoner of War camps, to those who were schoolchildren at the time in Britain, and were forced to look after their families and neighbours.

Spanish Flu

Oral History tells a very different story to the propaganda of contemporary accounts when it comes to the state of morale in 1918. On the British side, the army that had sailed to Europe with a roar in 1914 now moved through a shattered landscape with a whisper. Across Europe, units, armies, even societies were under intolerable strain. But the front line needed reinforcements, so the system continued: young men were given new uniforms and rifles and sent to training depots. Dan Snow hears the recollections of those who were still serving in 1918, including Officer Charles Carrington, who was training up new drafts. He turned sickly adolescents into warriors, and then sent them off to die.

Morale and Manpower

Dan Snow looks at the war in the air in the first months of 1918, when a pilot's expertise began to matter less than an aircraft's bombing capabilities. Airmen recall that most of the great flying aces had been lost by this point. In April, the most feared of them was shot down: the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen. There's a tone of respect which runs through the officers' testimonies, whether German or British. The return of the major series tracking the development of the First World War, presented by Dan Snow. After 40 episodes looking at the war through interviews in the sound archives of the Imperial War Museums and the BBC with those who experienced it, this week's five programmes explore the beginning of the end: the first months of 1918.

The Last of the Great Aces

The return of the major series tracking the development of the First World War, presented by Dan Snow. After 40 episodes looking at the war through interviews in the sound archives of the IWM and the BBC with those who experienced it, this week's five programmes explore the beginning of the end: the first months of 1918. The year didn't begin well for the British. After a few months of relative quiet over the winter, British soldiers experienced the massive onslaught of the first German Spring Offensive in March 1918. In the first programme, in interviews recorded by the BBC in 1964 and the Imperial War Museums in the 1980s, men recall their devastating experiences of shelling, retreat, serious injury and imprisonment in the wastelands of the Somme during Operation Michael. Programme 2 captures airmen's recollections of the loss of the last of the great flying aces at this point in the war. In April 1918 the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen, was shot down, and there's a tone of respect, of fair play even, which runs through the British officers' testimonies. The third programme looks at the state of British morale at this point in the war, and it's on issues like this that oral history reveals quite a different picture to contemporary accounts. The men talk openly and honestly about how they felt about their reluctance to serve as new drafts, or to return to the front if they'd been wounded: they now knew what they were up against. Programme 4 explores the impact of Spanish Flu through the recollections of both soldiers and the nurses that tended to them, and in the final programme, 'Enter America', Dan looks at the varied reactions to the long-awaited arrival of US troops in large numbers in the summer - from the French women throwing flowers at the men on parade, to the war-weary and unimpressed British soldiers. For German soldiers who talked to the BBC in 1964, it could mean only one thing: the end was coming.

Operation Michael

An omnibus edition of five episodes of Voices of the First World War, spanning the course of the war from 1914 to 1917. Narrated by Dan Snow, this edition begins with the Christmas Truce of 1914, when German and British troops mingled and played football in No Man's Land on the Western Front. Veterans recall the war as they remember it - from how they survived the nights in the trenches, to what they got up to behind the lines. Conscientious objectors and family members speak about their experiences from 1916 onwards. And William Towers describes his medical treatment and journey home after being injured at Passchendaele in 1917. There are now no living veterans of WW1, but it is still possible to go back to the First World War through the memories of those who actually took part. In a unique partnership between the Imperial War Museums and the BBC, two sound archive collections featuring survivors of the war are brought together for the first time. The Imperial War Museums' holdings include a major oral history resource of remarkable recordings made in the 1980s and early 1990s with the remaining survivors of the conflict. The interviews were done not for immediate use or broadcast, but because it was felt that this diminishing resource that could never be replenished, and would be of unique value in the future. Among the BBC's extensive collection of archive featuring first hand recollections of the conflict a century ago, are the interviews recorded for the 1964 TV series 'The Great War', which vividly bring to life the human experience of those fighting and living through the war. Voices of the First World War is broadcast in short seasons throughout the commemorative period.

The Christmas Truce

William Towers describes his experiences as a seriously wounded soldier in the autumn of 1917, when his life was threatened as much by the primitive medical practices of the Western Front, as by the shrapnel that hit him. From his injury, to his treatment in an underground hospital and at the Etaples military camp, to his eventual recovery after evacuation to Britain, Towers speaks movingly of the role of resilience, love and luck in his journey back home, and back to health.

Out of It

Members of the Tank Corps describe the excitement and rapid gains of the first day of the Battle of Cambrai, where new tactics and new technology helped the British to achieve that most elusive of advantages: surprise. After the mud-choked misery of Passchendaele, Cambrai was the first sign that an end to the stalemate of trench warfare was possible, and proved that the British could break through the strongest of defences - the German Hindenburg line. With Dan Snow.

The Battle of Cambrai

Among the recordings made for the BBC's landmark series 'The Great War' in the early 1960s, one in particular stands out. John Palmer, a British Gunner who served as a signaller from 1914 onwards on the Western Front, admitted to being at his lowest ebb by November 1917. Towards the end of his time in Flanders fields, he admitted considering a self-inflicted wound to get out of Passchendaele, and the apocalyptic landscape he was crawling around in night after night. Finally, on his last night in the front line, sheer exhaustion left him unable to react as he heard a shell coming towards him. According to the historian Peter Hart, who recorded many of the interviews with First World War veterans for the Imperial War Museums' collection, John Palmer is the voice of the British soldier of 1917: suffering, drained, and almost broken.

Passchendaele: John Palmer

Dan Snow brings together the sound archive collections of the Imperial War Museums and the BBC to tell the story of World War I through the voices of those who were.

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Voices of the First World War

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