July 1, 1916 was the worst day in the history of the British army. It was the opening day of the Battle of the Somme. On this day, 20,000 British soldiers died and another 37,000 were wounded. An attack that was supposed to bring about the long-awaited breakthrough on the Western Front, instead became a battle of attrition that went on for 141 days. At the end of the battle, the British were just 6 miles closer to Berlin. The battle became an exemplar of the mindless slaughter associated with the Great War. The battle was the subject of the first feature-length war documentary. Amazingly, “The Battle of the Somme” was in British theaters before the battle was over. The film was seen by 20 million Brits. It gave them the first chance to see the war up close, including the realities of death. The documentarians used actual footage and staged action. It was a propaganda film, so it did not truthfully make clear the disaster the battle became. However, paired with the 20,000 telegrams sent to loved ones, the British public got a eye-opening reality check about the war. “Line of Fire: The Somme” is a modern documentary on the battle. Watching the two documentaries will give you an idea of how far war documentaries have come.
“Line of Fire: The Somme” was produced by the BBC. It is another outstanding effort of docudrama by the television network. I have never seen a BBC docudrama that has not been well done. They feature actors portraying historical individuals as well as archival footage (when available). A narrator is used to bridge scenes. The movie follows several characters who are portrayed by actors. Some of the characters are German soldiers and there is an American nurse. Much of the dialogue comes directly from diaries and letters. The film eschews outlining the war going into July, 1916. It’s enough to know there is a stalemate on the Western Front. British Gen. Henry Rawlinson has an idea for a breakout near the river Somme. A week-long artillery bombardment will soften the German trenches so the Brits can literally walk into and beyond them. The movie takes us into a German dugout as the German soldiers withstand the bombardment. It is clear that although seriously discomfited by the barrage, the Germans will be able to defend their trenches. On the other side, we meet a variety of British soldiers who await the order to go over the top. Some are officers, others are regular soldiers, including a 15-year-old. The movie does a good job depicting the shaky confidence of the men. No one questions the order to walk across no man’s land in tidy lines. The whistling of machine gun bullets before they even leave their trenches is an ominous portend of what awaits them. The randomness of death is hammered into the audience as men fall left and right. Some of the featured soldiers do not survive. We hear their last letters home or their last diary entries. It’s more poignant than the 1916 documentary because we get to empathize with actual soldiers. The movie also intercuts to headquarters so we can see Rawlinson deal with battle reports. Ironically, the initial reports are positive, giving the general false optimism. By the end of the day, he will be disabused of his dream of a great breakthrough. The documentary ends with the first day and only post-scripts the rest of the battle, which ended with little territorial gain and over a million total casualties.
“Line of Fire: The Somme” could not have been better. The blending of footage with reenactment works very well as entertainment. In the case of this film, since the reenactments are in color, you don’t have to wonder what is footage and what is staged, unlike the 1916 film. Another advantage of the film over the 1916 documentary is we have almost a hundred years of historical research available. With that said, the movie does not take a stand on whether the attack should have been launched, although the viewer will certainly come away thinking it was a mistake. The film does not flay the generals and commanding general Douglas Haig is not mentioned. It is mainly a look at what the soldiers went through. It is very good at putting you in the soldiers’ boots. You can imagine what bravery it took to funnel through the few gaps in the barbed wire. Gaps that were targeted by German machine guns. The actors do a fine job and some of them are recognizable British television actors. The trenches are recreated realistically, but the budget apparently did not cover an appropriately scarred no man’s land. The soundtrack is excellent.
The film is very informative and is the best place to get a good idea of what happened on the first day of the battle. Maps are used as well as an airplane-eyed views of the front. There are some nice details that will please any WWI buffs. There is a scene where two British officers censor letters home. A soldier complains about getting only three hours of sleep every night. We learn that German reconnaissance aircraft warned the Germans of the British preparations for the attack. At the same time, British air recon is used to prepare for the offensive. And yet, Rawlinson never makes the connection that if we can spy on them, they can spy on us. It is clear that the attack was doomed from the start.
In 2018, Peter Jackson released an acclaimed documentary on WWI called “They Shall Not Grow Old”. He used archival footage with post-war interviews. It was well-done and won the BAFTA for Best Documentary. In my opinion, “Line of Fire: The Somme” is better because instead of just blending interviews and footage, it portrays the soldiers along with their words. These types of docudramas are more entertaining than traditional documentaries. Especially those that cover events before there was footage. The goal of documentaries is to inform their audiences. You can reach more viewers if the documentary looks like a movie. “Line of Fire: The Somme” is a good example of that fact.
GRADE = A
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