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 Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free exclusive podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsely, Mary Beard and more. Watch, listen and read history wherever you are, whenever you want it. Available on all devices: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Roku, Xbox, Chromecast, and iOs & Android. We're offering a special discount to History Hit for our subscribers, get 50% off your first 3 months with code YOUTUBE: https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=YouTube2024 #historyhit #worldwarone #ww1 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