Is 1917 a true story? First World War background and historical accuracy of the Oscar-nominated Sam Mendes film
The film takes place during Operation Alberich, a German military withdrawal to stronger positions in northern France...
... 1917 is something of a true story, loosely based on a tale the director's grandfather - Alfred H. Mendes, who served with the British Army during the First World War - told him as a child.
The film takes place in April of 1917 during Operation Alberich - a historically accurate German military withdrawal to stronger positions in northern France.
"The story of 1917 was inspired not only by my own family history, but also by many others," the latter day Mendes told genealogy company Ancestry, who delved into the events of the film and uncovered the military records of the director’s grandfather.
Alfred Mendes was a man of small stature, and so was chosen to be a messenger on the Western Front due to the relative nimbleness his slight frame allowed.
He was awarded the Military Medal after he volunteered for a dangerous mission to locate injured soldiers scattered across No-Mans Land during the Battle of Passchendaele.
"I hope very much that the stories of those that came before us and fought on our behalf live on in our movie,” said Sam Mendes.
1917 also has real life connections to lead actor George MacKay, whose character in the film is tasked with delivering a message deep in enemy territory.
That's a mission not too dissimilar from one MacKay’s three times great uncle, Albert Victor Baulk, undertook himself.
Albert was a signaller for the 196th Siege Battery in Sailly-au-Bois, France, just a few miles from the German front lines where Operation Alberich took place
As a signaller and telephonist, Albert would have helped relay crucial communications to his unit, just like MacKay’s character.
When the Germans withdrew, Albert’s unit subsequently mobilised and attacked the enemy’s position at Arras, providing artillery fire to support attacking troops.
The war diary for his unit notes the following:
"196 SB [Siege Battery] Task – bombardment of trenches and strong points ahead of RFA [Royal Field Artillery] barrage, concluding with a creeping barrage covering advance of 4th Dragoons along SCARPE Valley."
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https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/1917-true-story-film-historical-accuracy-first-world-war-sam-mendes-1358467