War Walks: Series 1

From DocuWiki

1 General Information
2 Cover
3 Information
4 Screenshots
5 Technical Specs
6 Links

[edit] General Information

War Documentary hosted by Richard Holmes, published by BBC in 1996 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

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.

[edit] Agincourt

The first of six journeys through six centuries of warfare in the company of Professor Richard Holmes. In 1415, Henry V won a remarkable victory against a French force that outnumbered his own by five to one. This epic victory has flashes of storybook heroism, set against a darker backdrop of horror and butchery. Richard Holmes retraces Henry's route to Agincourt, telling a story of both heroism and brutality during the Hundred Years War.

[edit] Waterloo

Professor Richard Holmes visits Waterloo battlefield. Wellington's victory against Napoleon in 1815 caused the fall of the most powerful European empire since that of Rome. Napoleon escapes from exile and once again announces himself Emperor of France. He raises an army and prepares to meet the British & Prussian forces under Wellington at Waterloo. Richard Holmes visits the farms and fields where history hung in the balance.

[edit] Mons

In August 1914, the war to end all wars blazed through Belgium and northern France. The British troops who marched against the Germans believed that the Great War would be over by Christmas. But at Mons, a small Belgian mining town, they learnt over the next few months that the old world of swords and bugles would be swept away by the machine gun and the howitzer, harsh new sounds of mechanised slaughter in the first battle of the war involving British troops. Richard Holmes follows in the soldiers' footsteps as, outnumbered by more than ten to one, they retreated south.

[edit] The Somme

In a desperate attempt to break the deadlock in the trenches on the Western Front, the British launch their first major offensive of the war with their volunteer army. The opening day of July 1916 became the blackest period in British Army history with 57,000 soldiers either killed or wounded in northern France in a matter of hours. Professor Richard Holmes walks through the fields where so many fell and continues the story until the end of the bloody campaign.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Goodwood

In July 1944, the British Army staged its biggest ever tank attack. Professor Richard Holmes visits Normandy and tells the story of Operation Goodwood during the Second World War. Goodwood was the name chosen forthe British armoured break-out from the Normandy bridgehead in 1944. The operation was later called the death ride of the armoured divisions. Richard Holmes follows in the tracks of the tanks, and interviews a tank crew member who tells of the horrors of "brewing up".

[edit] Screenshots

[edit] Technical Specs

Video Codec: x264 CABAC High@L4
Video Bitrate: 1 960 Kbps
Video Resolution: 720x544
Display Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Frames Per Second: 25.000 fps
Audio Codec: AC3
Audio Bitrate: 192 kb/s CBR 48000 Hz
Audio Streams: 2
Audio Languages: english
RunTime Per Part: 29 min
Number Of Parts: 6
Part Size: 448 MB
Source: WEB-DL
Encoded by: DocFreak08