By early September 1914, the German advance had reached within 30 miles of the French capital. Executing a modified version of the Schlieffen Plan, designed to quickly attack France through neutral Belgium before turning southwards to encircle the French army on the border, the German army had made significant inroads into enemy territory.

But after a series of successful counter-offensives by the French and British armies, the German Army was forced to retreat and ultimately dug in north of the Aisne River. This signified an end to mobile warfare and an introduction to static warfare - a stalemate that would last for the next three years…

In this episode, Luke Tomes joins the Imperial German Army on the Western Front, where he’ll find out whether conditions were any different to those on the opposing side of No Man’s Land - how new, ingenious strategies would shape your experience on the battlefield and determine your chances of survival…

So the question is, could you survive the trenches as a German soldier during the First World War?

Filmed at: La Main De Massiges, Hooge Crater Museum
Archive Images: Rob Schäfer @GerMilHistory

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00:00 Introduction
02:20 1914 - The Schlieffen Plan
03:59 German Uniform
07:03 Military Equipment
08:23 Mauser Gewehr 98 (Bolt-Action Rifle)
10:19 Grenades
11:44 MG 08 (Machine Gun)
13:42 German Fortified Bunkers and Rations
17:13 Gas Attacks
22:24 Gas Masks
28:52 Mining and Tunneling
32:06 1917 - 1918 (New Equipment and Weapons)
37:10 Combating Tanks
41:59 Shellshock