History Channel Documentaries

Last Day of WWI (2004x11)

Air date: Nov 11, 2004

At 11 a.m., November 11, 1918, World War One ended. Victory had been assured and final territory already agreed upon. So why did more soldiers die that day than on D-Day? Based on Joseph Persico's book 11th Month, 11th Day, 11th Hour: Armistice Day, 1918, we reveal how Allied leaders found outrageous excuses to send 13,000 men to their deaths against a defeated enemy. Some leaders desired promotion, others craved retribution, while one commander chose to capture a town that day solely to bathe! Despite the human toll, nothing was gained--territories taken that day were eventually returned to Germany. The senseless 11th-hour slaughter captures the whole WWI in a microcosm--pointless carnage for no positive purpose.