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
