I must say, this is a very well-written documentary. Every war seems to begin with a burst of patriotic fervor -- parades, bands, pronouncements, everybody's disagreements about the engagement are solved. But why? Every sane person knows that the war will be paid for in blood and treasure? We can understand some motives, those of special interests or radical ideologues or religious freaks. But how can ordinary people, who have nothing to gain, be swept up? Even Bertrand Russell cheered mobilization.
Michael Redgrave's euphonious narration suggests why. It takes all that civilian discontent, the latent dislike of foreigners, the national rivalries, the disgust with poverty, the petty malcontents of everyday life, and funnels them into a common channel. NOW -- finally -- we know who the real enemy is.
The myth is often the same. It will be a short war. Following the Schlieffen plan to encircle Paris, the Germans expected "the whole thing to be over in forty days." We'll show those bastards how the cow ate the cabbage and come home covered with glory. "Whatever the circumstances, the French Army will advance." "Surrender is not an option." We'll leave an enlightened and liberated country behind. And aren't those parades fun?
The initial clashes between the Germans and the French dimmed some of the visions. The German Army takes a town in Belgium and lines up for a meal. Firing breaks out from the surrounding windows, killing many of them. In return, unable to tell the innocent from the guilty, the Germans set fire to the houses and execute hundreds of civilians, including women and children, a familiar scenario.
Some of the incidents related by the talking heads, in this instance the participants are so outrageous as to be almost funny. A reconnaissance pilot tells his general that he just flew over an area that was alive with Germans. The general says, "Yes, that's very interesting. Now tell us about airplanes. Is it cold up there?" The general was having exactly the same problem with new technology that many American admirals had with radar in the early years of World War II. They didn't know how it worked and they didn't trust it.