World War I historian Alexander Watson rates six World War I battle scenes from movies and television shows for their realism.
He talks about the precision of trench warfare and military strategy portrayed in “1917” (2019) and “Paths of Glory” (1957), starring Kirk Douglas. He also comments on surprise attacks, cavalry, and helmets in “War Horse” (2011) and “Blizzard of Souls” (2019). Watson discusses the guns, artillery, ships, destroyers, cannons, and other weapons used in “Admiral” (2008).
Watson is Professor of History at Goldsmiths, University of London, and an expert on the First World War. He has written three books about it: “Inwhile The Great War,” which explores how British and German soldiers managed on the Western Front; “Ring of Steel”, about the war from the German and Austro-Hungarian perspective; and “The Fortress”, about the siege of Przemyśl on the Eastern Front.
You can find Watson’s books here:
“Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary at War, 1914-1918”:
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/alexander-watson/ring-of-steel/9780465056873/
“The Fortress: The Siege of Przemysl and the Making of the Bloodlands of Europe”: www.penguin.co.uk/books/305803/the-fortress-by-watson-alexander/9780141986333
“During the Great War: Combat, Morale, and Collapse in the German and British Armies, 1914-1918”: www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/history/twentieth-century-european-history/enwhile-great-war-combat-morale-and-collapse-german-and-british-armies-19141918
The first part of Watson’s video can be found here: www.insider.com/world-war-i-expert-rates-wwi-battles-in-movies-2023-4
