BBC - Western Front (1999) Part 5 Enduring the Front

For most British people, the First World War was the Western Front, the trench line stretching from the Swiss Frontier to the North Sea. It was there that the majority of nearly nine million British and Dominion soldiers who enlisted during the war served, and where most of the 947,000 who were killed met their deaths. This detailed series covers everything from how the front was created and the experiences of the British Army in France, how the First World War was fought in trenches, forts and bunkers to the battle of Verdun and the last hundred days of the war. Professor Richard Holmes, the military historian, skilfully clarifies the complexities of the Western Front, highlighting the political, military and human dilemmas of this the most bitter and bloody of wars.

Part 5: Enduring the Front

The story of the ill-fated Nivelle offensive of 1917, in which French commander Robert Nivelle galvanised 750,000 troops in a lightning attack on the German defences, only for the heavy losses inflicted on the French to lead to mutiny in the ranks. Meanwhile, the British found themselves under pressure at the third battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele, where the atrocious weather turned the battleground into a muddy hell. Richard Holmes also looks at the underground warfare waged during the battle.

History Channel - World War I The Great War (2009) (Serie)