A detailed account of one of the bloodiest battles of World War I. Between February and December 1916, the French and German armies relentlessly fought in the devastated camps around the village of Verdun.
With 38 forts at stake, Verdun was highly strategic during WWI. Through rare archives, 3D animations and interviews with historians and scientists, we plunge inside the walls of these coveted fortifications.
A century ago, from February to December 1916, the French and Germans provided a superhuman effort to control a few hills in eastern France, located in front of Verdun . A frontal confrontation, conducted without the help of their allies, army against army, nation against nation. Today, this battle seems absurd to us. Because it has caused almost as many casualties in each camp and its strategic utility has never really been demonstrated. But in 1916, soldiers on both sides did not consider it absurd: they agreed to fight. Why ?
By reliving the rare Herculean confrontation of our ancestors, using reconstructions made in the 1920s, using a large number of animated computer-generated images that recreate the topography of the battlefield, this documentary returns, with the help of the historical adviser Paul Jankowski , on the last great victory won alone by France against Germany.
The wife of a former general in the German army received a letter in witch she was informed that her husband has to enlist in the German army and fight on the frontline. Affected by this news, she opposed the commanders who brought the letter, which shot her on the site. Her husband, in an act of revenge, starts being a hero on the frontline, violating orders and deciding the fate of the battle of Verdun.
This lost WWI documentary appears to be about the German zeppelin attacks on Londonon September 2nd, 1916.
Documentary concerning the battle of Verdun which, with its weapons of mass destruction, marked the beginning of modern warfare in what is considered to be the most gruesome military confrontation of World War I. The programme conveys the horror of this military inferno, illustrating the similar experiences of the French and German soldiers and their struggle for survival. It also provides the unknown soldier with a face through various letters, diaries and private photographs.