Why The Allies Couldn't Overcome German Trenches in Spring 1917 (WW1 Documentary)

Watch our WW2 Documentary series 16 Days in Berlin on Nebula: https://nebula.tv/videos/16-days-in-berlin-01-prologue-the-beginning-of-the-end The Allied 1917 Spring Offensive masterminded by French general Robert Nivelle was supposed to end the stalemate on the Western Front and bring a decisive breakthrough. But the German Army also knew they couldn't win the war on the offensive and thus prepared a new type of defensive system: The Hindenburg Line and it would be tested in the Battles of Arras (Vimy Ridge, Bullecourt) and Chemins des Dames (Aisne). » SUPPORT THE CHANNEL Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thegreatwar Nebula: https://www.nebula.tv/the-great-war » THANKS TO OUR CO-PRODUCERS John Ozment, James Darcangelo, Jacob Carter Landt, Thomas Brendan, Kurt Gillies, Scott Deederly, John Belland, Adam Smith, Taylor Allen, Rustem Sharipov, Christoph Wolf, Simen Røste, Marcus Bondura, Ramon Rijkhoek, Theodore Patrick Shannon, Philip Schoffman, Avi Woolf, » SOURCES Cook, Tim, “Storm Troops: Combat Effectiveness and the Canadian Corps in 1917” in Dennis, Jeffrey & Grey, Peter (eds), 1917: Tactics, Training and Technology: the 2007 Chief of Army's Military History Conference, (Canberra : Australian History Military Publications, 2007) Coombes, David, Bloody Bullecourt, (Barnsley : Pen & Sword Military, 2016) Doughty, Robert T, Pyrrhic Victory: French Strategy and Operations in the Great War, (Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, 2005) Doughty, Robert A, “How did France Weather the Troubles of 1917?” in Dennis, Jeffrey & Grey, Peter (eds), 1917: Tactics, Training and Technology: the 2007 Chief of Army's Military History Conference, (Canberra : Australian History Military Publications, 2007) Farr, Don, A Battle Too Far: Arras 1917, (Warwick ; Helion & Company, 2018) Foley, Robert T, “The Other Side of the Wire: The German Army in 1917” in Dennis, Jeffrey & Grey, Peter (eds), 1917: Tactics, Training and Technology: the 2007 Chief of Army's Military History Conference, (Canberra : Australian History Military Publications, 2007) Lupfer, Timothy T, “The Dynamics of Doctrine: The Changes in German Tactical Doctrine During the First World War” Leavenworth Papers, No. 4, Combat Studies Institute U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, (Fort Leavenworth, KS : 1981) Nicholls, Jonathan, Cheerful Sacrifice: The Battle of Arras 1917, (London : Leo Cooper, 1990) » OUR SISTER CHANNEL https://youtube.com/realtimehistory »CREDITS Presented by: Jesse Alexander Written by: Jesse Alexander Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig Director of Photography: Toni Steller Sound: Toni Steller Editing: Jose Gamez Motion Design: Philipp Appelt Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: http://above-zero.com Research by: Jesse Alexander Fact checking: Florian Wittig Channel Design: Yves Thimian Contains licensed material by getty images Maps: MapTiler/OpenStreetMap Contributors & GEOlayers3 All rights reserved - Real Time History GmbH 2022