Synopsis

In episode 2 of our series Tony Robinson asks whether the men who lost their lives at battles during WW1 were lions led by donkeys, or whether a brutal war of attrition was the only option available to those in command. Using 3D images that were taken at the time Tony connects with the men that were killed and the landscapes in which they fell. He explores the stalemate of trench warfare through 1915 and 1916 and examines the cutting edge technologies that were used to try and make breakthroughs. And discovers why we ended up at the bloodiest slaughter in British military history – The Battle of the Somme.