World War I Expert Rates 6 WWI Battles in Movies | How Real Is It? | Insider
Insider・14 minutes read
Alexander Watson, a history professor, discusses inaccuracies in First World War movies, such as missing barbed wire and inaccurately depicted weaponry, gas attacks, and troop tactics. The portrayal of historical events, including Indian troops' involvement and aerial attacks, is critiqued for inaccuracies and exaggerations in the films.
Insights
- Germans in the First World War had advanced weaponry such as light machine guns and mortars by 1918, showcasing their technological advancements in combat strategies.
- Indian troops, particularly Sikh soldiers from the Lahore Division, played a significant role on the Western Front in World War I, led by a subedar-major, highlighting the diverse and crucial contributions of non-European forces in the conflict.
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Recent questions
What weaponry did Germans have in 1918?
Advanced weaponry like light machine guns and mortars.
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Summary
00:00
"German Tactics in First World War Movies"
- Alexander Watson, a history professor, is an expert on the First World War and has written three books.
- Germans in First World War movies have well-defended trenches but lack barbed wire in no-man's-land.
- Germans in 1918 had advanced weaponry like light machine guns and mortars to combat threats.
- Tracer and incendiary bullets were used in the First World War but not by frontline machine guns due to exposure risks and war crime implications.
- Churches near the front lines were targeted by heavy artillery for observation purposes.
- A scene in a movie depicts an officer leading troops, a detail often overlooked in war portrayals.
- Gas attacks in the First World War were offensive weapons, heavier than air, and used to target defending troops in trenches.
- French tanks in the movie are realistically depicted with smoke barrages for cover against artillery.
- German defenses against tanks included anti-tank weapons and tactics like signaling for artillery support.
- Flamethrowers were used in the First World War but not in the manner shown in the movie, and their portrayal is inaccurate for the time period.
13:31
Indian Sikh Troops in WWI & Aerial Attacks
- Indian troops were called to increase British manpower during World War I, with Sikh troops from the Lahore Division notably serving on the Western Front in 1914 and 1915, led by a subedar-major, the highest-ranking Indian soldier in a battalion.
- Aerial attacks on ground troops by biplanes dropping bombs in 1915 were unlikely due to the vulnerability of aircraft to gunfire, with the Germans depicted using British weaponry like the Lewis gun, which wasn't present on the front at that time.
- The portrayal of the Australian troops storming Anzac Beach at Gallipoli in 1915 in a film exaggerates the bloodiness of the landing, inaccurately showing the Turks waiting to fire until the soldiers were off the boats, and featuring machine guns in the bows of landing craft, which would have hit their own troops.
