History’s Greatest Plot Twists You Never Expected

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The reluctant man too good at killing Alvin York. When
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the United States entered the First World War, many jumped
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at the opportunity to join the fighting. Others, however, were
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sent to the trenches against their will. Of these reluctant warriors,
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some would rise to the occasion and become war heroes
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in spite of their hesitancy to fight. Perhaps the most
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famous American who served in the Great War was one
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of these men. Alvin Cullum York was born on December thirteenth,
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eighteen eighty seven, in paul Mall, Tennessee, the third of
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eleven children. His family was impoverished, and York only had
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nine months of total formal schooling before working as a
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laborer and blacksmith to support his family in order to
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put food on the table. He was also an avid hunter,
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skill that would serve him well in the future. York
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also had a wild streak, which included frequent run ins
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with the law. By nineteen fifteen, however, he turned aside
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from his hedonistic ways and became a member of the
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Church of Christ in Christian Union. After his conversion, York
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became a devout follower of his new faith and became
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a respected member of the church community. In nineteen seventeen,
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the United States joined the First World War, which had
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been raging for three years. In order to fill the
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ranks quickly, the government instituted a draft, and on June fifth,
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nineteen seventeen, York received his conscription notification. Due to the
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commandment thou Shalt not kill, York claimed conscientious objector status.
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This request was denied three times that York was officially
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inducted into the U. S. Army. York was sent to
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Camp Gordon, Georgia, for training that was attached to the
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three hundred and twenty eighth Infantry Regiment, second Infantry Division,
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nicknamed the All American since it had members from all
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the forty eight states at that time. Throughout his time
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in training, York proved himself a capable soldier and an
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excellent marksman, though he still couldn't reconcile his beliefs with
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the duties of a soldier. He brought his concerns to
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Major Edward Buckson, his battalion commander. Rather than dismiss yorke,
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Buxton engaged in an hour's long debate, both men pointing
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to scripture supporting their views, Yorke focusing on passages about
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turning the other cheek and other passages advocating nonviolence, while
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Buxton quoted verses supporting combat, selling one's cloak to buy
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his sword, and obedience to earthly authorities. Yorke left the
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meeting still committed to his pacifism, but gave serious consideration
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to Buxton's arguments. While on leave, he prayed and fasted
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for guidance and became convinced that he should do his
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duty and fight regardless of his own personal misgivings. With
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a clear conscience. York and the eighty second Division were
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sent to France. Most notably, York participated in the Meuse
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Argonne Offensive, which began on September twenty sixth, nineteen eighteen,
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the largest single campaign ever conducted by the US military,
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with over one million men participating over the course of
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the forty seven day fight. After years of fighting, the
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Germans were highly experienced and built an elaborate network of
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defenses to hold the ground they had taken. The inexperienced
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Americans threw themselves into the meat grinder and their attacks
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stalled out. On October eighth, members of the second Battalion
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three hundred and twenty eighth Regiment, eighty second Infantry Division,
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including newly promoted Corporal Alvin York, were sent to reinforce
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positions at Hill two two three. Pushing against heavily entrenched Germans,
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they managed to force the Germans off of the hill,
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but to continue the advance they would have to enter
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a steep valley with no discernible cover. To complicate matters further,
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the Americans on the left and right flanks were stalled
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out by stubborn resistance, leaving the battalion to advance alone.
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If that wasn't enough, the battalion was advancing to the northwest,
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though earlier that morning orders were changed and they were
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supposed to attack due west. The runner carrying the order
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was killed before delivering the message, leaving the unit unsupported.
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York's platoon began their attack against the German lines, led
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by Lieutenant Kirby Stewart. As they reached the center of
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the valley, Stewart was hit by a burst of machine
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gun fire and killed, turning command over to Sergeant Harry Parsons.
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Parsons noted that on the left of their advance were
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German machine gun positions and ordered seventeen men, including Corporal
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Alvin York, to silence them. Making their way around the
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German positions, they stumbled upon elements of the Prussian two
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hundred and tenth Reserve Infantry Regiment, which had been moved
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up as reinforcements. The Germans were resting after forced march
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the night before, and had set their weapons aside when
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confronted by the Americans. Caught off guard, that Germans surrendered
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on a nearby hill. German machine gunners noticed what was
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happening and swung their weapons towards the Americans. They shouted
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for their countrymen to get down before unleashing a torrent
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of fire on the Americans, hitting both the Doughboys as
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well as their fellow Germans. Of the seventeen Americans, six
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were killed outright and three were wounded, whilst of the
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remaining troops guarded the POWs. York was now the senior
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and CEO of the remaining eight that were capable of
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putting up resistance. York advanced to a better position about
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fifty yards from the Germans. Laying prone, York began to
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fire into the German machine gun crew and supporting riflemen.
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There is some controversy as to what rifle York used.
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Some suggest that he was armed with the Springfield M
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nineteen oh three chambered in thirty odd six. Even his
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statue in Nashville, Tennessee, picks him wielding this firearm. It
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was more likely, however, that he used an M nineteen
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seventeen endfield, a version of the British pattern fourteen endfield,
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which was modified to fire the thirty odd six cartridge.
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These had been made by American firearm manufacturers for years
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for use by the British, and it was easier to
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convert these for American ammunition than to make enough M
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nineteen oh threes. Regardless of the type of rifle he wielded,
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he did so with devastating effect. Years of hunting experience
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made York a dept under pressure, and he eliminated the
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machine gun crew and a number of riflemen with methodical efficiency.
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All the while, York repeatedly called out to the Germans
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to surrender so he would not be forced to take
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any more lives. With the machine guns silenced, York made
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his way back downhill. As he walked, a group of
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Germans spotted him and launched a bayonet attack, York dropped
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his now empty rifle and drew his pistol, a Colt
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nineteen eleven. He stopped next to private person Beardsley, the
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unit show shotgunner, who also drew his Colt and began
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firing on the charging Germans. Drawing on his knowledge Gleamed
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from hunting turkeys, Yorke aimed for the rearmost German first,
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the idea being that if the leader was dropped, the
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others would scatter and be more difficult to eliminate. Working
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his way from the back to the front, he methodically
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picked off the attackers one at a time, supported by Beardsley.
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Some of the Germans fell back in the confusion, but
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one by one they fell until the sixth was less
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than ten feet away when hit. After seeing his countrymen
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being killed, a German officer among the POWs, who spoke English,
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approached York and, after a brief exchange, said that he
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could get the remaining Germans to surrender. York agreed, and
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the officer blew a whistle and began shouting orders. York
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used him to translate instructions, and soon he his surviving
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men and a column of German POWs were on their
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way back to American lines. The group eventually arrived at
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a rear area when an officer approached York, stating, well, York,
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I hear you've captured the whole German Army. York replied, no, sir,
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I only have one hundred and thirty two. During his
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action in silencing the machine gun and stopping the bayonet attack,
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York killed twenty five German soldiers. Due to this feat,
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York was promoted to sergeant and was given the Distinguished
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Service Cross in April of nineteen nineteen. A review of
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his actions had this award upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
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He would also be awarded the French Quadruguer and several
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other foreign medals. After the war, York returned home to
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Tennessee and tried to reintegrate into the life that he
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had left behind. He did use his fame for charitable works,
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most of which focused on improving the lives of the
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residence of impoverised Appalachia. During the Second World War, York
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joined the U. S. Army Signal Corps as a major,
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though health complications prevented him from participating in any significant capacity.
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York would suffer a stroke in nineteen fifty four and
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spend the remaining decade of his life in failing health,
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passing away on September two, nineteen sixty four. Though hesitant
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to stay in the limelight, York did agree to have
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his tale told in a film. In nineteen forty one,
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Sergeant York was released in theaters, starring Hollywood legend Gary
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Cooper in the title role, one of the top grossing
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movies of the era and a film that would cement
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Dalvin York's name in history. The medic who fought a
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war without a weapon, Desmond DAWs was not your average hero.
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He would become a Medal of Honor recipient, the United
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States of America's highest and most prestigious military award, as
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a combat medic who saved many of his comrades lives
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in battle without firing a single shot because he didn't
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take a weapon into combat because of his religious beliefs.
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Desmond Dass was born in nineteen nineteen in the state
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of Virginia and was raised as a strict Seventh day Adventist,
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a Christian denomination that believed that Saturday was the Sabbath
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and that the second Coming of Jesus Christ was imminent.
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They also believed strongly in nonviolence and a healthy diet
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based typically on a vegetarian diet. DAWs had been raised
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with a strict belief in the Bible, and when it
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came to the Ten Commandments, he took them to be
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the core values of how to lead his life. When
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World War II started, he was conflicted, as he believed
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the war was a just one, but he felt that
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to kill another human being under any circumstance was wrong.
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He was already employed as a joiner at Newport News
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Naval Shipyard, but nevertheless, he joined the United States Army
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on April first, nineteen forty two. He could have requested
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a deferment, but he wanted to do his patriotic duty.
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He was assigned to an infantry unit, the seventy seventh
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Vision and presume that his classification as a conscientious objector
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would not require him to carry a weapon for dos.
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One commandment of the Bible stuck with him the most
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thou Shalt not kill. He wondered why he was assigned
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as a rifleman and not in a medical role. His
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commanding officer tried to pressure Dass into carrying a weapon
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as they thought he would be more of a liability
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than an asset in combat, but Dos refused interestingly, even
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from medics, which Doss would later become. It was common
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practice at the time to carry either an M nineteen
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eleven A one pistol or M one car being for
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self defense purposes. The rules go that a medic under
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the Geneva Convention is not forbidden from carrying a weapon,
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but if a medic fires his weapon, he stops being
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classed as a medic and therefore can be legitimately fired
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upon by the enemy. The regimental chaplain, Captain Stanley, would
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soon understand Dows's protests and helped him transfer from riflemen
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to medical training. To make matters worse, his fellow soldiers
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mocked his religious beliefs. When he was reading the Bible
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daily and strictly observing the Seventh day Aventist tradition of
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attending church every Saturday, Dos continuously requested to be allowed
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to have Saturdays off rather than Sundays, in order to
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follow his Adventists beliefs that Saturday was to be observed
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as the Sabbath. In the end, Captain Stanley took this
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up with Divisional headquarters, and it was decided that Aventist
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soldiers would have Saturdays off, just as the other men
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had Sunday off. This in fact, made Doss even more
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unpopular than ever with his fellow soldiers, as he was
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seen to have it easy as he had Saturdays off.
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None were on base on Sundays to see him pull
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extra duties to make up for this. One of the
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squad's other soldiers summed up the company's feeling about him
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and his Saturdays off, complaining, you get more passes than
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the general. As Doss was a strict vegetarian at a
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time when it was unusual. It meant that the rest
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of the unit viewed Doss with such distrust and hostility
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that one man in his unit even warned him ominously,
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when we go into combat, Dos, you're not coming back alive.
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I'm going to shoot you myself. Dos eventually became an
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Army combat medic, saying while others are taking life, I
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will be saving it. The turning point for Dos and
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his relationship with his company came with their first twenty
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five mile march with full field, pack and rifle, something
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they were expected to achieve in eight hours. The other
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soldiers thought Dos would be having it easy, as he
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would be carrying no rifle or amo that day, but
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his two canvas medical bags were almost as heavy and
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much more awkward to carry than any rifle. As the
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march progressed, the men started to suffer from exhaustion, numerous
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blistered feet, and dehydration. Some even passed out, and all
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the time there was Dos, always with a helping hand,
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even to the extent that at the end of the
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march he insisted on checking everyone's feet and administering medical
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aid where it was needed. By the end of that day,
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he had won the respect of his entire unit for
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his tie careless devotion to his duty. For the first time,
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he was treated as one of their own. DAWs, as
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the qualified combat medic of the unit, was now responsible
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for providing first aid and frontline traumacare on the battlefield.
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He would be assigned to accompany his unit into the
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war zone and be there with them on the front
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line at all times. This was soon to happen, for
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the seventy seventh Division had had their first combat experience
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on May eleventh, nineteen forty three, and DAWs and his
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comrades were urgently being trained up to replace the combat
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losses and help expand the division's strength. The seventy seventh
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Division would end up being in combat officially for no
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less than two hundred and eight days, suffering a total
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of nine thousand, two hundred and twelve casualties before the
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war would end the Battle of Guam. Das's first taste
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of combat was at the Battle of Guam, which was
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a bloody battle fought from July twenty feet to August tenth,
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nineteen forty four, to recapture the US territory of the
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island of Guam from a determined Japanese garrison of nearly
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twenty thousand troops. Though according to the Geneva Convention, knowingly
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firing at a medic wearing a clear insignia is a
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war crime, the Japanese snipers and machine gunners tended to
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ignore this and saw combat medics as easy and valuable
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targets to gun down, so medics in the Pacific theater
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were often told to avoid wearing medical insignia in case
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it would make them more not less of a target.
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Dos was under fire nearly every day during the battle
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and was busy doing his part in saving lives Guam
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had shown Dass how cruel war could be. As his
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unit was pushing forward through the jungle on their first day,
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a young fresh face recruit spotted a fountain pen laying
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on the jungle floor and went to pick it up.
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Before anyone could warn him otherwise, a white phosphorus grenade exploded.
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The pen had been booby trapped. The young man who
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had picked up the pen. His chest now a bloody mess,
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had blood pouring out of an open wound. Vere burns
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00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:03.559
and sharp metal fragments covered his body, and he was
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00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:07.759
going into shock. By some miracle, DAWs managed to stabilize
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his condition, administering care and helping to evacuate him and
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three other soldiers who had been wounded by flying red
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hot shrapnel. This was Das's first taste of combat casualties.
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The US casualties during the battle was truly appalling. Of
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the fifty nine thousand US troops who took part in
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00:16:26.039 --> 00:16:29.480
the invasion, around every one in six were either killed
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or wounded. The Battle of Leati. Next, DAWs and his
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unit was involved in the Battle of Leati in the
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Philippines that ran from October seventeenth to December twenty sixth,
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nineteen forty four, a vicious and prolonged battle which started
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with a huge US coastal bombardment and amphibious landing, followed
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by heavy fighting. The more inland the Americans went. During
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00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:58.000
a Japanese counter attack, a fellow medic, Clarence Glenn, had
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heard the call for a medic from a machine gun.
283
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He left the cover and went into the open into
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no man's land to get the wounded man, and was
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himself hit. Glenn was DOS's friend from back home, and
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00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:11.680
he couldn't leave him there, so he and a litter bearer,
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Herb Schechter, went out to find the two wounded and
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dealt with them separately. Doss was attending the machine gunner,
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who had a gash along his face while bullets whizzed overhead.
290
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Both of the wounded were alive. They made an improvised
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litter out of a poncho and tree branches to get
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the wounded men back to the aid station, but his
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friend Glenn would die before he made it. From this
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point on, Doss would not look at the face of
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the men he was treating in case it was another friend. Sadly,
296
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his friend Herb would be shot and killed when he
297
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and Dass were carrying a litter as their silhouette exposed
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them against the sky to the enemy. On top of
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losing his friends, Dos was constantly hungry because the meat
300
00:17:50.680 --> 00:17:53.799
in the k rations conflicted with his vegetarianism, so he
301
00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:56.759
could only eat the tasteless crackers and coconuts he found
302
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a lady. The coconuts on the ground gave him diarrhea,
303
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so he climbed the trees for fresh ones. At one
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00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:06.559
point Dos was looking for coconuts, it attracted poorly aimed
305
00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:09.720
Japanese machine gun fire when they were killed by American soldiers.
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It was later discovered that they had been drunk on sake.
307
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One thing that shocked Dass during the most devastating times
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00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:18.039
of the campaign was that the same man who had
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made threats towards him during training at Fort Jackson now
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came to him for guidance and to pray for him.
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The Battle of Okinawa, and lastly for Dos and the
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seventy seventh Infantry Division, was a battle that was to
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be the bloodiest battle of the war in the Pacific,
314
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as well as its largest amphibious landing. The US objective
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was to secure the island as a base, as it
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was just three hundred and fifty miles south of the
317
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Japanese mainland and would be strategically crucial for any future
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invasion of Japan. The battle started on April first, nineteen
319
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forty five, exactly three years to the day that Das
320
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first enlisted in the army, and the battle was to
321
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last eighty one days. Doss was assigned to the first
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Battalion as their combat medic. On April twenty ninth, nineteen
323
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forty five, the seventy seventh Division was given the task
324
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of assaulting on a four hundred foot high cliff called
325
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the Mida Escarpment. This was nicknamed by the Americans as
326
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Hasaw Ridge. Before they climbed the cargo net, Doss set
327
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a prayer for his comrades. When Doss's unit joined the assault,
328
00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:27.519
and as they neared the top of the escarpment, they
329
00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:31.519
came under intense Japanese artillery, small arms and machine gun fire,
330
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inflicting severe casualties on the assaulting American troops. The American
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forces had sent in wave after wave of troops to
332
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try to dislodge a fanatical enemy base there, who were
333
00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:47.359
well entrenched and camouflaged on May fourth, while his unit
334
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was attacking a heavily fortified enemy position at the mouth
335
00:19:50.359 --> 00:19:52.559
of a cave, Doss went to the aid of four
336
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of his injured comrades. The lieutenant who led the attack
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on the emplacement had intended to throw a grenade when
338
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an enemy bullet hit him and delayed it, blowing his
339
00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:05.160
hand off and wounding his comrades. Despite having to get
340
00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:07.799
within twenty five feet of the enemy lines and under
341
00:20:07.799 --> 00:20:11.119
attack by enemy grenades at gunfire, DAWs managed to get
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00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:14.039
to the injured men. He then managed to evacuate the
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00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:18.279
men back to his own lines one by one. During
344
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the night, the Japanese continued to throw grenades and kept
345
00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:24.839
up the mortar fire. The American soldiers hid in rock crevices,
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but the Japanese found ways to infiltrate and sneak up
347
00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:30.640
on them. Then, on the next day, May fifth, he
348
00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:33.119
came to the rescue of a wounded artillery officer who
349
00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:35.200
had gone to see how the artillery guns were doing.
350
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Das's left leg was now injured, as he had felt
351
00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:41.319
the day before. Down the edge of a paravet, he
352
00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:43.839
climbed up the cargo net with his first aid kits
353
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his weight falling on his bad leg, finding him in
354
00:20:47.359 --> 00:20:50.039
a shell hole. The officer had been struck by shrapnel
355
00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:52.279
that had made a hole from his chest to his back,
356
00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:55.079
and DAWs could hear him breathing through it. He was
357
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bleeding heavily. Dass gave him first aid while under constant
358
00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:02.720
enemy gun fire and shelling. He put the dressings over
359
00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:06.000
the large holes in the colonel's chest and back, and
360
00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:09.680
administered blood plasma, which dangerously exposed DAWs to the enemy
361
00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:12.880
as he had to hold it up high. DOS's efforts
362
00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:15.319
here would be in vain, as the colonel carried back
363
00:21:15.319 --> 00:21:19.400
on a stretcher died before he reached the aid station. Later,
364
00:21:19.480 --> 00:21:22.279
there were orders to take a vital Japanese pillbox position
365
00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:24.279
on the reverse slope of a hill that was holding
366
00:21:24.359 --> 00:21:27.839
up the American advance. Desmond Dass, once he had read
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his prayers, was happy to support the assault. The American
368
00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:34.759
troops threw gasoline cans at the position, which triggered a
369
00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:38.079
large explosion. All of a sudden, a large Japanese counter
370
00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:41.839
attack overwhelmed the American soldiers, causing them to panic and
371
00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:45.480
rush back to the edge of the cliff. But despite this,
372
00:21:45.799 --> 00:21:49.160
DAWs refused to take cover, and while constantly under heavy
373
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fire by the enemy, though being totally exhausted, he spent
374
00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:55.720
hours carrying the wounded one by one to the edge
375
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of the escarpment. Then to get the more severely wounded down,
376
00:21:59.799 --> 00:22:02.359
he tied a rope to a tree stump and lowered
377
00:22:02.359 --> 00:22:05.440
them down the cliff on a rope supported stretcher to safety.
378
00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:09.400
When the stretcher kept slipping, he turned to a new method,
379
00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:12.559
whooping the rope around the wounded men's chest and legs
380
00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:17.920
to lower them down. Das, standing exposed to potential enemy fire,
381
00:22:18.119 --> 00:22:20.559
was seen preying at the cliff edge as the men
382
00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:23.319
were being lowered down, and later he had said he
383
00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:25.519
had been praying to the Lord to help him get
384
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one more, and after that, one more until they were
385
00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:33.599
all down. Calculating the wounded men at the base of
386
00:22:33.640 --> 00:22:36.440
the cliff, the captain worked out that Dass had saved
387
00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:41.079
around seventy five men. The Americans would eventually go back
388
00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:44.200
up the cliff and on May seventh would take the position.
389
00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:49.559
By some miracle, DAWs survived the whole battle totally unhurt,
390
00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:53.359
but that was soon to change. On May twenty first,
391
00:22:53.559 --> 00:22:56.039
in the confusion of a night attack, DAWs tended to
392
00:22:56.079 --> 00:22:59.200
the American wounded, risking being hit by both the Japanese
393
00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:03.160
and by friendly fire. Das was in a shell hole
394
00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:06.400
with another American soldier when a grenade landed beneath him.
395
00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:08.759
His reflex action was to put his foot on it,
396
00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:11.960
and was seriously wounded in both legs. His blood poured
397
00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:14.759
out from the impact of seventeen pieces of shrapnel in
398
00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:18.160
his body, but he remained in his position for five hours,
399
00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:21.279
tending to himself while also helping others who were wounded,
400
00:23:21.640 --> 00:23:23.799
until a medic and a pair of litter bearers could
401
00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:25.920
get to him. But that was not the end of
402
00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:28.720
it that day, for as he was being stretched to safety,
403
00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:31.759
they got caught in an enemy tank attack. As they
404
00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:35.319
took cover, DAWs spotted a critically injured man and insisted
405
00:23:35.319 --> 00:23:38.200
that he be taken back on the stretcher instead of himself.
406
00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:42.039
While Dos waited for the litter bearers to return, he
407
00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:45.119
was found and helped back by a fellow soldier. Suddenly,
408
00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:48.079
Dos was hit by a Japanese sniper's bullet and suffered
409
00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:51.119
a compound fracture to his arm. The two men took
410
00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:54.240
cover in a shell hole Realizing how badly injured he
411
00:23:54.359 --> 00:23:57.279
now was, DAWs instructed the soldier on how to bind
412
00:23:57.319 --> 00:24:01.599
his rifle stock to his shattered arm to act as at. Eventually,
413
00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:04.799
pushing through excruciating pain, he would make it back to
414
00:24:04.839 --> 00:24:10.160
the aid station. The US Army recognized Doss's extreme bravery,
415
00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:12.759
and he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for
416
00:24:12.839 --> 00:24:16.079
his heroic and selfless actions at Okinawa from April twenty
417
00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:19.279
ninth to May twenty first, nineteen forty five. Because of
418
00:24:19.319 --> 00:24:22.799
his heroic actions, many wounded men made it back home.
419
00:24:24.359 --> 00:24:27.200
Desmondass would go on to run a small family farm
420
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with his wife, Dorothy, and lived to the age of
421
00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:38.839
eighty seven. The World War One Crucifixion nineteen fifteen. World
422
00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:42.480
War One ran from nineteen fourteen to nineteen eighteen and
423
00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:45.680
was one of the bloodiest conflicts in history. It was
424
00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:48.880
also one of the most brutal, employing the very latest
425
00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:53.119
high tech weapons capable of lethal destruction, such as tanks,
426
00:24:53.240 --> 00:24:56.799
deadly poisoned gas, rapid firing machine guns that could fire
427
00:24:56.799 --> 00:24:59.960
as many as ten rounds per second, and giant railway
428
00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:02.680
guns that could fire a two ton shell over a
429
00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:06.319
distance of more than ten miles. Also, for the very
430
00:25:06.359 --> 00:25:09.599
first time ever, there were massive aerial dogfights that took
431
00:25:09.640 --> 00:25:13.240
place thousands of feet above the ground in flimsy plains
432
00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:16.440
made of just canvas and wood. If they got shot down,
433
00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:19.839
the pilots faced certain death, as parachutes were not yet
434
00:25:19.880 --> 00:25:23.440
standard issue at this time. The war on the Western
435
00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:27.759
Front quickly descended into harsh and brutal trench warfare. This
436
00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:31.640
started a devastating cycle of death and destruction, resulting in
437
00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:35.200
a seemingly never ending series of attack and counter attack
438
00:25:35.440 --> 00:25:40.240
across no man's land by both sides. This always seemed
439
00:25:40.279 --> 00:25:43.680
to achieve very little until this vicious stalemate was finally
440
00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:46.799
broken in nineteen eighteen, when the Allies broke through the
441
00:25:46.839 --> 00:25:49.759
German lines and quickly brought the war to an end.
442
00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:55.279
Early on in the conflict, facts, hearsay and propaganda started
443
00:25:55.319 --> 00:25:57.759
to get mixed up together on both the front line
444
00:25:57.880 --> 00:26:01.480
and the home fronts instance, read at the beginning of
445
00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:05.799
the war, there emerged fantasy accounts of supernatural angels or
446
00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:09.440
phantom bowmen from the Battle of Agincourt of fourteen fifteen,
447
00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:13.480
supposedly protecting the British army from defeat. At the Battle
448
00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:16.640
of Mons that took place in Belgium around August twenty third,
449
00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:21.880
nineteen fourteen. Nevertheless, despite being untrue, this was used as
450
00:26:21.960 --> 00:26:25.519
great propaganda by the British, claiming that it clearly showed
451
00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:28.200
that God was on their side against the evil of
452
00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:32.640
the Imperial German Empire. Then, a short time later, amid
453
00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:36.000
all the chaos of combat on the Western Front, stories
454
00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:39.240
started to emerge of the inhumane treatment of a captured
455
00:26:39.279 --> 00:26:43.680
Canadian soldier. These stories both shocked and angered the Allied
456
00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:48.720
forces and public alike. It concerned the supposed crucifixion of
457
00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:52.039
a Canadian prisoner at the hands of his German captors.
458
00:26:52.680 --> 00:26:55.880
The rumors surrounding this gruesome event were vague and the
459
00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:58.960
details kept changing depending on where and from who you
460
00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:03.160
heard it from. Nevertheless, a horrifying account of this event
461
00:27:03.319 --> 00:27:06.480
was featured on the highly respected British Times newspaper on
462
00:27:06.599 --> 00:27:10.480
May tenth, nineteen fifteen. It was claimed that a captured
463
00:27:10.519 --> 00:27:14.200
Canadian officer near the battlefield of Epra in Belgium was
464
00:27:14.240 --> 00:27:18.200
crucified with bayonets by the Germans. It was said that
465
00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:20.720
they used them to pin him against a barn door
466
00:27:20.880 --> 00:27:23.680
or tree, one in each arm and leg, that he
467
00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:26.519
was finished off by having a final bayonet driven through
468
00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:30.000
his throat. It was also alleged that the Germans finally
469
00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:34.359
riddled his body with bullets. This atrocity caused such an
470
00:27:34.359 --> 00:27:37.839
outcry among the British public that two days later questions
471
00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:40.400
were asked about it in the Houses of Parliament, and
472
00:27:40.519 --> 00:27:43.160
it was now thought the actual number of Canadian prisoners
473
00:27:43.160 --> 00:27:46.319
that were crucified could be as high as three. The
474
00:27:46.359 --> 00:27:49.400
British government responded by stating that at the present time
475
00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:52.720
they had no information about these atrocities, but promised that
476
00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:55.240
the War Office would look into these claims as a
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00:27:55.279 --> 00:27:59.119
matter of urgency. Meanwhile, The Times published a follow up
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00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:02.079
article claiming that had witnesses to the event and the
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00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:05.039
man who was crucified was in fact an unnamed sergeant
480
00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:08.839
in the Canadian Army. Then, on May nineteenth, in the
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00:28:08.880 --> 00:28:13.160
Houses of Parliament, the Conservative MP Sir Robert Houston raised
482
00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:17.759
further concerns surrounding this supposed crucifixion of a captured Canadian soldier.
483
00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:21.400
He declared he had come across more detailed information about
484
00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:25.119
the incident. He said he had heard from unnamed witnesses
485
00:28:25.200 --> 00:28:28.440
that the unnamed sergeant was the only survivor of forty
486
00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:32.279
captured wounded Canadian soldiers who were bayoneted to death in
487
00:28:32.359 --> 00:28:35.759
a barn by the Germans. The Canadian sergeant was then
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00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:39.519
tied to the village's large public crucifix, having first removed
489
00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:42.200
the figure of Christ from it. It was then alleged
490
00:28:42.279 --> 00:28:46.880
that he too was bayoneted to death. Another version stated
491
00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:49.960
that the victim was identified as Sergeant Thomas Elliot of
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00:28:49.960 --> 00:28:53.960
the Canadian Medical Service, who came from Brantford and Ontario, Canada,
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00:28:54.119 --> 00:28:56.160
but he later wrote to his pastor saying that he
494
00:28:56.279 --> 00:29:00.920
was definitely not the man involved. The British under Secretary
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00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:04.279
of State for War responded by making it clear all
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00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:09.039
alleged war crimes were taken seriously and thoroughly investigated, adding
497
00:29:09.079 --> 00:29:12.000
that this particular incident had yet to be authenticated and
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00:29:12.039 --> 00:29:15.720
that inquiries were still going on. There emerged several other
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00:29:15.799 --> 00:29:18.599
versions of the same story, some saying the soldier was
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00:29:18.640 --> 00:29:21.039
in fact British, and some said he was nailed or
501
00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:23.880
fastened to the side of a barn or to a tree.
502
00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:27.920
At this time, Allied soldiers would have also witnessed something
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00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:32.480
quite barbaric behind their own lines. After flogging was abolished
504
00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:35.359
in the British Army. In eighteen eighty one, an alternative
505
00:29:35.480 --> 00:29:39.960
was introduced and known as Field Punishment number one. This
506
00:29:40.200 --> 00:29:43.880
was awarded for drunkenness in the field and insubordination, and
507
00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:46.720
involved being tied to a wagon wheel or a gate
508
00:29:46.839 --> 00:29:50.599
in the crucifixion pose. The victim would be shackled like
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00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:52.720
this for two hours a day for up to three
510
00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:55.839
out of four days of a sentence. In total, the
511
00:29:55.880 --> 00:29:59.559
British Army carried out this punishment sixty thousand, one hundred
512
00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:03.160
and twenty times during World War One. Though the story
513
00:30:03.160 --> 00:30:07.160
of the crucifixion was never substantiated, it was nevertheless used
514
00:30:07.160 --> 00:30:10.400
by the British for propaganda purposes and to get support
515
00:30:10.440 --> 00:30:14.440
from across the world. The US authorities even used the
516
00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:18.279
gruesome tale to sell its Liberty war bonds. After the war,
517
00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:21.480
the myth continued. In nineteen eighteen, a thirty two inch
518
00:30:21.559 --> 00:30:24.359
high or eight hundred and ten millimeters bronze sculpture was
519
00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:29.160
created by Francis derwent Wood. It was named Canada's Golgotha
520
00:30:29.319 --> 00:30:32.920
and depicted the same supposed crucifixion of a Canadian soldier
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00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:35.079
nailed to a barn door. At the hands of his
522
00:30:35.240 --> 00:30:38.799
German captors, who jeer at him. The sculpture was to
523
00:30:38.839 --> 00:30:42.400
be revealed in January nineteen nineteen at an exhibition at
524
00:30:42.440 --> 00:30:46.000
Burlington House, London. In fact, before the statue was even
525
00:30:46.039 --> 00:30:48.480
on show, the public were aware of it. It had
526
00:30:48.519 --> 00:30:52.119
been widely publicized, having been featured in a publicity package
527
00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:55.680
sent out by the Canadian War Records Office. The Daily
528
00:30:55.720 --> 00:30:59.839
Mail newspaper captioned it Canada's sternest memorial to her sons
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00:31:00.119 --> 00:31:03.200
suffering in the war. All of this was during the
530
00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:05.920
same month as the Paris Peace Conference and the signing
531
00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:09.319
of the Paris Peace Treaty. The Crucified Soldier sculpture was
532
00:31:09.359 --> 00:31:11.440
going to cause a stir for those at the Versailles
533
00:31:11.480 --> 00:31:15.519
conference and for those seeking a peaceful solution. Canadian Prime
534
00:31:15.559 --> 00:31:18.920
Minister Sir Robert Borden led an investigation into the war
535
00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:22.319
crime story. The German government at the same time demanded
536
00:31:22.319 --> 00:31:24.880
that the Canadians publicly admit that the story of the
537
00:31:24.920 --> 00:31:29.799
crucified soldier was untrue or provide evidence. The Canadian government
538
00:31:29.839 --> 00:31:32.480
believed that they had two accounts to verify the story,
539
00:31:32.599 --> 00:31:35.519
one of those being from a victim called Sergeant Brandt.
540
00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:39.799
The Crucified Soldier sculpture was withdrawn from the exhibition, however,
541
00:31:39.880 --> 00:31:42.640
when the Germans demanded to take part in the investigation
542
00:31:43.119 --> 00:31:45.920
being investigated by the losers of the war must have
543
00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:48.880
caused a lot of embarrassment for the Canadian government. The
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00:31:48.920 --> 00:31:52.000
sculpture would never be shown again until the nineteen nineties.
545
00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:56.359
After taking the sculpture down in nineteen nineteen, Canadians continued
546
00:31:56.400 --> 00:31:58.480
to look into the story, but could not find any
547
00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:01.519
proof that it had happened. The Nazis would use the
548
00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:05.319
Crucified Soldier years later as an example of Britain and
549
00:32:05.400 --> 00:32:28.920
its Commonwealth's propaganda