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Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Dr Sam Willis traces the history of the weapons that have shaped Britain.

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Congo Films

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57D, Hatton Garden, London. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

57D, Hatton Garden, London.

This is the Vickers machine gun, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

This is the Vickers machine gun,

At the dawn of the 19th century, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

At the dawn of the 19th century,

It's a cold evening in October 1916,
on the front line at the Somme, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

It's a cold evening in October 1916, on the front line ...

Britain was engaged in
a long, drawn-out war - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Britain was engaged in a long, drawn-out war

And there was one musket that would
come to dominate the battlefields. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

And there was one musket that would come to dominate the bat...

We are an island nation - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

We are an island nation

This monster of a cannon
is known as Mons Meg. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

This monster of a cannon is known as Mons Meg.

Weapons like this meant that sieges
which could have taken months - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Weapons like this meant that sieges which could have taken m...

You could imagine the terror
spreading through a garrison - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

You could imagine the terror spreading through a garrison

A cannon like this isn't made
from a single piece of metal. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

A cannon like this isn't made from a single piece of me...

But however crude this weaponry
may seem to us today, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

But however crude this weaponry may seem to us today,

You had to hold your fire until you
saw the whites of the enemy's eyes. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

You had to hold your fire until you saw the whites of the en...

In 878AD, the future of Anglo-Saxon
England lay in the balance. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

In 878AD, the future of Anglo-Saxon England lay in the balan...

Only Wessex remained. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Only Wessex remained.

You might be tempted to think
that these new wonder-weapons - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

You might be tempted to think that these new wonder-weapons

It would come from the biggest
hitters of all - the artillery. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

It would come from the biggest hitters of all - the artiller...

This was a cylinder of thin metal
filled with lead balls - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

This was a cylinder of thin metal filled with lead balls

You could say that the future of
England depended - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

You could say that the future of England depended

But one ingenious idea
by an ambitious young lieutenant - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

But one ingenious idea by an ambitious young lieutenant

The unbroken formation
and huge momentum - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

The unbroken formation and huge momentum

To be honest, I think that
using this would strike more fear - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

To be honest, I think that using this would strike more fear

For now, the infantry gun
was more novelty than threat. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

For now, the infantry gun was more novelty than threat.

One monarch, Henry VIII, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

One monarch, Henry VIII,

Having landed his invasion force at
Pevensey Bay on the Sussex coast, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Having landed his invasion force at Pevensey Bay on the Suss...

Just as King Alfred's shield wall
had held firm at Ethandun in 878, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Just as King Alfred's shield wall had held firm at Etha...

And then, from out of the sky,
came that fabled arrow, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

And then, from out of the sky, came that fabled arrow,

Keen to test out the Baker rifle
for myself, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Keen to test out the Baker rifle for myself,

The Rifle Corps' job was to find
and disrupt the enemy, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

The Rifle Corps' job was to find and disrupt the enemy,

This new unit could shoot
from such a distance - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

This new unit could shoot from such a distance

MAN SHOUTS ORDERS - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

MAN SHOUTS ORDERS

As the sword developed
and was modified, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

As the sword developed and was modified,

And he'll be teaching me from an
original combat manual of the day. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

And he'll be teaching me from an original combat manual...

Henry wanted to be taken seriously
by his fellow European monarchs - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Henry wanted to be taken seriously by his fellow European mo...

Thanks to Henry, this new generation
of weapons began to play - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Thanks to Henry, this new generation of weapons began to pla...

The government was paranoid
about order, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

The government was paranoid about order,

Henry's descendants
spent much of their lives - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Henry's descendants spent much of their lives

Guns were readily available. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Guns were readily available.

Instantly, we're in another position
from the manual. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Instantly, we're in another position from the manual.

And this is what Bellingham did
at 5:15pm - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

And this is what Bellingham did at 5:15pm

You see how, even after a short
period of using the manual, you, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

You see how, even after a short period of using the manual, ...

During the course of the
12th century, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

During the course of the 12th century,

Hamilton heard whispers of the
Earl's route through the town. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Hamilton heard whispers of the Earl's route through the...

Hamilton chose
his position carefully, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Hamilton chose his position carefully,

In 1136, a Welsh cleric named
Geoffrey of Monmouth, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

In 1136, a Welsh cleric named Geoffrey of Monmouth,

The story goes that he hung a black
sheet behind him, so his shadow - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

The story goes that he hung a black sheet behind him, so his...

Then,
he spread feathers on the floor, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Then, he spread feathers on the floor,

As the Earl rode by, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

As the Earl rode by,

The bullet's impact is captured
in stained glass in Edinburgh's - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

The bullet's impact is captured in stained glass in Edi...

This small weapon, freely available
and easily purchased, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

This small weapon, freely available and easily purchased,

William Marshal was the true
Lancelot of his age - - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

William Marshal was the true Lancelot of his age -

After the Napoleonic Wars, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

After the Napoleonic Wars,

But aside from his proficiency
with the sword, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

But aside from his proficiency with the sword,

In August 1819,
these stirrings of radicalism - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

In August 1819, these stirrings of radicalism

And the best training for the lance
came in mock battles - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

And the best training for the lance came in mock battles

But what made the wheel lock
a particular nightmare - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

But what made the wheel lock a particular nightmare

This was a volatile time,
and the government - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

This was a volatile time, and the government

In 1584, a concealed wheel lock
pocket dagg was used against - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

In 1584, a concealed wheel lock pocket dagg was used against

The Dutch Prince of Orange,
William the Silent, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

The Dutch Prince of Orange, William the Silent,

While the rest of the country
had the right to bear arms, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

While the rest of the country had the right to bear arms,

And we can still get a sense of the
impact of a lance - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

And we can still get a sense of the impact of a lance

Even the truncheon was concealed
in a hidden pocket - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Even the truncheon was concealed in a hidden pocket

Only a wheel lock could
have enabled this to happen. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Only a wheel lock could have enabled this to happen.

Although some of these truncheons
were particularly beautiful, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Although some of these truncheons were particularly beautifu...

But the British didn't show the same
restraint with their colonies - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

But the British didn't show the same restraint with the...

The Great Exhibition of 1851 - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

The Great Exhibition of 1851

The Lionheart would not forego his
lance again in a hurry. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

The Lionheart would not forego his lance again in a hurry.

Fawkes was found again,
that same night, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Fawkes was found again, that same night,

Britain now mass-produced its own
guns in a factory in Enfield, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Britain now mass-produced its own guns in a factory in Enfie...

Bring it up to the firing position. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Bring it up to the firing position.

The plot's mastermind,
Robert Catesby, fled north, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

The plot's mastermind, Robert Catesby, fled north,

King and Parliament
had a lucky escape, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

King and Parliament had a lucky escape,

Securing a steady supply
of gunpowder was vital - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Securing a steady supply of gunpowder was vital

The king's ruthless approach
to tracking down the ingredients - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

The king's ruthless approach to tracking down the ingre...

Our empire encircled the globe,
but we still wanted more territory. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Our empire encircled the globe, but we still wanted more ter...

But could the right machine be more
efficient that a skilled soldier? - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

But could the right machine be more efficient that a skilled...

In 1888, this thirst for new
technology came to a head - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

In 1888, this thirst for new technology came to a head

Despite this being
a fervently religious age, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Despite this being a fervently religious age,

Maxim also harnessed the recoil
energy to load and fire it, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Maxim also harnessed the recoil energy to load and fire it,

When Parliament issued its
Grand Remonstrance against Charles I - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

When Parliament issued its Grand Remonstrance against Charle...

Maxim founded an arms company
with money from the firm Vickers - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Maxim founded an arms company with money from the firm Vicke...

The gunpowder age
had truly arrived on home soil. - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

The gunpowder age had truly arrived on home soil.

Richard's successor,
his brother, King John, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Richard's successor, his brother, King John,

As the nation convulsed into the
bitterness of civil war, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

As the nation convulsed into the bitterness of civil war,

By 1642, the bitter realities of
a war fought with guns and cannon - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

By 1642, the bitter realities of a war fought with guns and ...

Two munitions factories were
set up - - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Two munitions factories were set up -

Britain's fields had seen many
battles and wars over the years, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Britain's fields had seen many battles and wars over th...

Malemort's enormous stockpile
of quarrels - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

Malemort's enormous stockpile of quarrels

This was weaponry
on an industrial scale - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

This was weaponry on an industrial scale

The forge at St Briavels
may have long gone, - Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History

The forge at St Briavels may have long gone,

Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History poster

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Dr Sam Willis traces the history of the weapons that have shaped Britain.

User Rating: 0.0 (0 ratings)

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

Production: Congo Films

Genre: documentary

Year: 2017

MetaScore: N/A/100

ImdbRating: 7.7

BoxOffice:

Released: 05 Jan 2017

Awards: N/A

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