Anyone watch this 2014 series? It is an interesting and informative 5 part walk through of the First World War from the events leading up to its beginning through the victory that foreshadowed the inevitable Second World War. It used to be that I thought of the war was kicked off by the assassination of archduke Ferdinand but much more detail is explained globally. For instance, I did not realize just how closely related the various emperors and rulers of Europe actually were by blood. Fascinating and horrifying. It is on NatGeo and the YouTube as well.

If you are interested in WW1, I’d also recommend listening to Dan Carlin’s episodes of Hardcore History, Blueprint for Armageddon.

I would also recommend you search for the podcasts from the Imperial War Museum when they interviewed surviving soldiers (of all sides) regarding their service in WW1. It was riveting.

ETA: Here

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pyker,

The 2018 Peter Jackson documentary movie “They Shall Not Grow Old” is also excellent.

There is also a CBS News 26-part (1/2 hour length) TV show from 1964, called “World War One”.

BBC & CBC did a similar show in 1964 called “The Great War”.

BBC’s Channel 4 in 2003 did “The First World War” which is a 10-part series based on the book of historian Hew Strachan.

All of these are excellent. The “Great War” (WW1) was the worse disaster to befall the 20th Century world, as it led to even worse horrors of the 20th Century.

I wish I had done a more in depth study of WW1 earlier in my life. Not so much the war itself but the events surrounding the war.
Much of the rest of the 20th century and to this day can be better understood.
The poor judgements and handling of the end of that period have directly caused much of the devastation and unrest since.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
I wish I had done a more in depth study of WW1 earlier in my life. Not so much the war itself but the events surrounding the war.
Much of the rest of the 20th century and to this day can be better understood.
The poor judgements and handling of the end of that period have directly caused much of the devastation and unrest since.

World War I: The Long Shadow is by far the best I ever saw. In fact pretty much anything Cambridge historian David Reynolds ever produced was fantastic.

See also: World War Two: 1941 and the Man of Steel
World War Two: 1942 and Hitler's Soft Underbelly

If you're in Kansas City, the National WW1 Museum is well worth checking out.

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
It used to be that I thought of the war was kicked off by the assassination of archduke Ferdinand but much more detail is explained globally. For instance, I did not realize just how closely related the various emperors and rulers of Europe actually were by blood.

And more importantly, what a convoluted mess the various alliances and treaties were. They were intended to forestall another massive continental war like the Napoleonic Wars, but just ended up setting up a massive line of dominos that, once the first piece fell, snowballed until the continent was forced into World War 1.

Post-Napoleonic through pre-WW1 European History is a fascinating subject, and gives you a lot of insight into just how the continent ended up as a runaway freight train in a nigh-inevitable headlong rush into The Great War.