World War One Documentaries
The Man Who Shot The Great War
In 1915, a soldier from Belfast took his camera along as he joined World War I. His exploits were to have a dramatic outcome many years later. Revealing for the first time what has been described as the ‘photographic discovery of the century’, this fascinating world war one documentary uncovers the remarkable story of George Hackney. Many of his incredible images are seen for the first time.
I Was There: The Great War Interviews
In the early 1960s, the BBC interviewed 280 eyewitnesses of the First World War for the series, The Great War. Using never-before-seen footage from these interviews, this groundbreaking history documentary illuminates the poignant human experience of the war through the eyes of those who fought, lived through, and survived it.
The Last Day Of World War One
Though the First World War ended on November 11th, 1918, soldiers continued to be killed in battle for many hours after the armistice had been signed. Recounting the events of the days and hours leading up to that last morning, Michael Palin travels to battlefields in France and Belgium and tells the personal stories of the last soldiers to die in the war to end all wars.
War's Secret Shame: Shell Shock
By the end of World War One, hundreds of thousands of servicemen were displaying symptoms with no obvious physical cause, including violent shaking, muteness and night terrors.
Using archive footage and interviews with combat veterans, this documentary delves into the story of one of the 20th century’s greatest mental health challenges, shell shock – also known as battle fatigue, combat stress and, more recently, PTSD – and asks why we are still unable to deal effectively with the trauma of war.
100 Days to Victory
It was the birth of modern warfare. In Spring 1918, the Germans launched a massive ‘shock and awe’ offensive to defeat the Allied forces. To survive, the Allies needed to coordinate and cooperate.
As this gripping history documentary on BBC Select reveals, this sudden need for a concerted defensive effort led to an Allied victory in World War I and changed the way that war was waged forever.