BBC - War Walks Series 1 (1996) Part 5 Arras

A series of six journeys through six centuries of warfare in the company of military historian Professor Richard Holmes. Dates such as 1066 and names such as Dunkirk often strike a chord of nostalgia, but the details of the historic events associated with them are forgotten. In the War Walks 1-2 Richard Holmes takes us on fascinating journey through time to visit twelve battlefields throughout Britain, Northern France and Belgium that mark crucial moments in Britain's bloody and turbulent history. From Hastings to Dunkirk, Agincourt to The Somme, Richard vividly recreates the atmosphere of these key battles in our history. This series 1 focuses on a selection of battles which six are set in a few hundred square miles of northern France and southern Belgium, a space so confined that a single day's drive could take us across all our battlefields. Choosing the battles from a long list of potential candidates was far from easy, but a certain logic prevails. Battles that had far-reaching consequences, historically and politically, were brought to the forefront of the possible choices. In some cases, because of a battle's importance, it entered part of an enduring mythology that demands attention. For hundreds of years battle has raged over the area of northern France and Belgium known as “the fatal avenue”. This series goes on a journey through the terrain as it is today, seeking to recreate on each walk the atmosphere of the battles through the stories of the men who fought them. This is a guide to six battlefields of northern France and Belgium Agincourt, Waterloo, Mons and Le Cateau, the Somme, Arras, and Operation Goodwood.

Part 5 Arras

In 1940, the German army launched one of history's most dynamic invasions, unleashing a lightning war that simply overwhelmed Allied forces. Professor Richard Holmes visits Arras in France, scene of a major Second World War engagement. In May 1940 the Germans staged a lightning invasion of Belgium and France, in a new kind of armoured warfare called blitzkrieg. Richard Holmes traces their route to the French city of Arras, where a small British force launched a counter-attack that gave the Allies a vital breathing space.

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