Canada was led to war by a bigoted, ignorant, self-obsessed Minister of Militia, who may well have been clinically insane, but the importance of Canada's contribution in that war owes a great deal to him. The man of course, was Colonel - later made Lieutenant General by his own hand - Sam Hughes. Sam's Army is a compelling portrait of a complex man and the formidable military he built. Sam Hughes was not your standard-issue military leader. Canada's World War I Minister of Militia and Defence concentrated power in his own hands, insisted that the Canadian military use the ill-conceived Ross rifle and liberally promoted his cronies. But there was no denying Hughes was a visionary. He assembled the world's largest-ever volunteer army and bucked superiors to keep his ferocious fighting force together in one Canadian Corps.
A two-hour documentary which recreates for the viewer one of the greatest battles in Canadian military history. The film was made to show that Canadian character at its best, forging an identity for a country that before the First World War had been seen only as a British colony - an identity and a character that became recognized and respected throughout Europe.
Canadian military accomplishments in the last hundred days of World War I, when the German Army was destroyed, surpassed those of any other army. The Canadian success was, in no small measure, due to Arthur Currie, whom a recent British historian describes as "the most successful Allied General and one of the least well known."
Professor Niall Ferguson argues that Britain's decision to enter the First World War was a catastrophic error that unleashed an era of totalitarianism and genocide.
The adventures and exploits of Jean-Baptiste Charcot (1867-1936), an intrepid scientist and explorer who laid the foundations of modern oceanography.
Heroic Struggle in Snow and Ice is a 1917 Austro-Hungarian propaganda newsreel film produced by Sascha-Film for the Imperial and Royal War Press Headquarters. The film is hand-colored and presented in two parts. It depicts the fighting on the Alpine Front between Italy and Austria-Hungary.
Filmed in the skies above France and the United States, The Lafayette Escadrille tells the story of the American volunteers who flew and fought for France in World War 1, becoming the founding squadron of American combat aviation.
The movie depicts the events from July until September of 1914 which led to the defeat of the German troops at the Marne. While Sebastian Haffner explains and comments on operations and decisions on the basis of situation maps, key scenes are depicted by actors. A main focus is thereby placed by Haffner onto the controversial mission of lieutenant-colonel Richard Hentsch who is said to have, during a war patrol to the various army high commands, contributed to the abortion of the operations significantly.
Russia, 1917. After the abdication of Czar Nicholas II Romanov, the struggle for power confronts allies, enemies, factions and ideas; a ruthless battle between democracy and authoritarianism that will end with the takeover of the government by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks.
The race to save the world's only dedicated Māori World War One Memorial from collapse reveals an unknown soldier's heroic story to the community he was once part of.
Winston Churchill, one of the most revered men of the twentieth century. Adolf Hitler, one of the most hated leaders in contemporary history. Between 1940 and 1945, these two enormously contradictory personalities faced each other in both politics and war. A clash of giants whose story begins in the trenches of the World War I and ends with the debacle of the World War II.
CBC News Newfoundland Labrador's documentary entitled “Trail of the Caribou” traces the journey of the brave men of the Newfoundland Regiment. Created to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel, the movie gives a detailed account of the role the Regiment played in the First World War, putting faces to the story. Since the War, Caribou statutes were constructed in Europe to memorialize the significant places the Newfoundland Regiment fought. Trail of the Caribou transports the viewers to these places to trace the footsteps of the Newfoundland soldiers.
100 years ago Mata Hari faced the firing squad as a convicted Dutch spy. It was at this moment that the legend of Mata Hari, the seductive spy, was born. Newly-discovered documents cast doubt on her guilt and reveal startling truths about her life. Mata Hari was a self-made woman whose boldness and sexuality threatened the male establishment. Most of what we've known about her until now has largely been myth. Mata Hari's challenges as an abused wife, single mother and a creative independent woman are familiar to women around the world. At the turn of the century, her struggles to attain sexual freedom, artistic expression, and liberation from the constraints of conventional society are the same ones women face today. She graced the cover of Vogue, performed all over Europe and left a coterie of smitten admirers in her wake.
Gallipoli from Above: The Untold Story is the true story of how a team of Australian officers used aerial intelligence, emerging technology and innovative tactics to plan the landing at Anzac Cove. It is now nearly 100 years since the landing and hundreds of books, movies and documentaries have failed to grasp the significance of the ANZAC achievement. Instead, the mythology has clouded the real story of how these two influential Australian officers took control of the landing using every innovation they could muster to safely land their men on Z beach.
A documentary about the First Yale Unit, a group of Yale students who trained for World War I.
To help prevent the unthinkable from ever coming true, it is important to know what could really happen....the most awesome and deadly display of warfare that the world has ever seen.
Between 1930 and 1945, Eastern Europe experienced mass violence on an unprecedented scale. Hitler and Stalin exploited the vast region for their respective expansionist plans. It is estimated that around 14 million civilians were murdered—primarily Jews, Poles, Balts, Belarusians, and Ukrainians.
The story of WWI Pilot Gervais Raoul Lufbery, a triple confirmed WWI ace, mechanic and world traveler. Explores the Lafayette Escadrille squadron, a formation of volunteer pilots serving in France on behalf of the United States whose service marked the early origins of the U.S. Air Force.
Samuel Wilder King, a descendant of Scottish sailors and Hawaiian royalty, served as a distinguished Naval officer in both World Wars before becoming Governor of the Hawaii Territory. This short film delves into King’s fearless leadership—from navigating the high seas during WWI to fighting against the internment of Japanese Americans in Hawaii during WWII—ultimately championing Hawaii's path to statehood as the 50th star on the American flag.
John Henry Balch was a Pharmacist's Mate attached to the 3rd Battalion 6th Marine Regiment when his unit entered the Belleau Wood. His dedication to the Marines under his care earned him the Medal of Honor.