OpenTube

Four Years of War In One Field - WW1 Documentary (No AI)

Battle Guide

941,224 views

2nd October 1919, a group of soldiers crossed these war shattered fields, in search of the dead. Over the next days, weeks and months, they uncovered more than 1000 of the fallen, one man for every single yard of ground.
But just why was this area so bloody and what had happened here during four years of fighting?
Join us in this video, as we do something truly unique, not by studying a single battle or campaign, but by zooming in and investigating what happened on a single patch of ground, across four years of war.

Want to walk the Western Front with the Battle Guide team? From Ypres to the Somme, this 2026 battlefield tour brings the podcast to life on the ground where history was made.

👉 Find out more here: https://battleguide.co.uk/nsq-tour-2026

Creating these videos is a lot of work, and it would not be possible without your support. If you like our work, you can help us with a regular or one time payment:
• Support us via Patreon at: Patreon: BattleGuide
• One Time Support: https://battleguide.co.uk/support

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Links:

WFA Trench Mapper: https://www.westernfrontassociation.c...

• Podcast: https://battleguide.co.uk/podcast
• Patreon: Patreon: BattleGuide
• Twitter: Twitter: BattleguideVT
• TikTok: TikTok: battleguide

General Sources:
• US National Archives (NARA)
• Google Earth Pro & Web Versions
• Maptiler Pro (Desktop Version)

Credits:
• Research & Script: Dan Hill
• Narration: Dan Hill
• Editing: Shane Greer
• Thumbnail Design & Production: Linus Klassen
• Music & Sound Effects: Shane Greer
• Dubbing: Lydie Moreno & Julius Houben

20 Comments

@BattleGuideVT Creator 3 weeks ago Pinned

Our new book INFERNO is officially out now!
INFERNO takes a deep dive into 12 pivotal battles across the World Wars, exploring how they each helped shape the 20th century, taking you far deeper into each battle than we can achieve in a single video.

We are also very excited to share that the Audiobook is narrated by Dan!
Get the Audiobook here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inferno-Battles-World-Shaped-Century/dp/B0GMZTJGMH

Available now on Amazon in Hardcover and eBook: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inferno-gripping-account-battles-century/dp/000881886X

Thank you so much for your support.

@chrisofchris 8 months ago

“No AI”. Bro knows the quickest way to my heart

@aldenr593 8 months ago

When I saw "No AI" it was an instant click

@ray.shoesmith 8 months ago

"and, in fairness, it's my video. So stfu" 😂

@broofwips 8 months ago

I've always appreciated your videos and the style that you tell stories in. But in these days, I appreciate all the more that you haven't fallen to the lows of using AI in your videos to generate content, or even try to pretty-up images, photos, or documents. Thank you for staying 100% human.

@Voice-Actor 8 months ago

My great-uncle, Joseph Timson lies to this day just north of 25 somewhere in 19c, from 20th Oct 1916. So the concentration of your research in 25, was personally very important to me. Thank you.

@Это-же-Лимонный 8 months ago

And even in our days, these fields hide unknown soldiers. This war never ends.

@michaelst9575 8 months ago

no AI nowadays marks quality content!

@The_Real_Big_Boss 8 months ago

This channel has the best WWI content.

@danesorensen1775 8 months ago

That LIDAR imagery made me gasp out loud. Amazing work, thankyou.

@Eliah153 8 months ago

Watching this video made my heart pound, sent shivers down my spine and brought tears to my eyes. My grandfather, Unteroffizier Peter Ostlender, fell in square 25 on 17 August 1916, hit by British shrapnel. He lies in a ‘comrades' grave’ in the German military cemetery in Fricourt. Ever since I first visited the cemetery decades ago, I cannot get the thought out of my head that he shares ‘his’ grave with 11,969 others. In a letter to a friend at the time, he wrote what he had kept from his wife, a cynical remark about the attempt to boost the declining morale of the troops by awarding medals in thousands: ‘The only way to escape the Iron Cross is the mass grave.’ My grandfather got both...

@robinbrown3347 8 months ago

My grandfather fought in those battles. He died on hill 70 and was buried in Flanders field. It was fought over and there is no trace of his grave.

@FixedBayonets1916 8 months ago

I've just finished this video on a cold winter morning in western Oregon. It's another impressive effort by the Battle Guide team. I can't express how moving your work is to me. As always, your use of graphics and aerial photos is a masterful technique to help illustrate the story you're telling. Battle Guide is one of my favourite channels here on YouTube. As a student of the First World War, I'm always reminded that the war isn't truly over since so many of the missing are still out there waiting to get their names back. Thanks for the work you're doing, Mark

@arrjay2410 8 months ago

I was aware of how horrific the WW1 was, but this demonstrates it very clearly.

@Snipe4261 8 months ago

WWI casualty figures never fail to horrify me with their casual extremes.

@glyncollinson 8 months ago

First time watcher, came to you because of the no AI and stayed for the story telling. Subscribed

@mike.47 8 months ago

My grandfather served with the 137th Field Ambulance, I managed to get the unit was diary and it’s fascinating reading. He survived the war only died in a gas leak in his kitchen in 1955.

@andrewmarino5441 8 months ago

You had me at no AI.

@jm0gr1dge 8 months ago

I can’t overstate enough how awesome the videos you guys produce are. This ‘Square 25’ video is a Battle Guide all-timer 👏🏻

@Asitis-f9q 8 months ago

"The quiet sector" indeed until.... way back in the first half of the first Millennium Irish priests and missionaries came here and named the valley the "Somme" meaning a peaceful place. It is once more that peaceful place. Thank you for the video.