Margaret MacMillan: The Road to 1914

Nov 12, 2014 | International historian Margaret MacMillan returns to The Agenda to discuss the events that led to the First World War, as chronicled in her book "The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914." MacMillan tells Steve Paikin why Europe's major powers made decisions that resulted in The Great War.

All Quiet on the Western Front | Official Trailer | Netflix

All Quiet on the Western Front tells the gripping story of a young German soldier on the Western Front of World War I. Paul and his comrades experience first-hand how the initial euphoria of war turns into desperation and fear as they fight for their lives, and each other, in the trenches. The film from director Edward Berger is based on the world renowned bestseller of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque.

Britain Should Not Have Fought in the First World War

Filmed at the Royal Geographical Society on 15th April 2014.

The First World War is not called the Great War for nothing. It was the single most decisive event in modern history, as well as one of the bloodiest: by the time the war ended, some nine million soldiers had been killed. It was also a historical full stop, marking the definitive end of the Victorian era and the advent of a new age of uncertainty. By 1918, the old order had fallen: the Bolsheviks had seized power in Russia; the German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires had been destroyed; and even the victorious Allied powers had suffered devastating losses. It was supposed to be the war to end all wars. And yet barely two decades later, the world was again plunged into conflict. Little wonder then that historians still cannot agree whether Britain's engagement was worth it.

For some, the war was a vitally important crusade against Prussian militarism. Had we stayed out, they argue, the result would have been an oppressive German-dominated Europe, leaving the British Empire isolated and doomed to decline. And by fighting to save Belgium, Britain stood up for principle: the right of a small nation to resist its overbearing neighbours.

For others, the war was a catastrophic mistake, fought at a catastrophic human cost. It brought Communism to power in Russia, ripped up the map of Europe and left a festering sense of resentment that would fuel the rise of Nazism. We often forget that, even a few days before Britain entered the war, it seemed likely that we would stay out. H. H. Asquith's decision to intervene changed the course of history. But was it the right one?

World War I - The Ottoman Empire

The documentary explains the role the Germans played in the creation of Jehad to combat the British Empire in India. And the common hatred Germany & Turkey had against Russia.

Apocalypse: World War 1

Apocalypse World War 1 | 2of5 Fear by cosmosdocumentaries

Apocalypse World War I | 3of5 Hell by cosmosdocumentaries

The Necessary War | WWI Documentary | BBC

Army Cadet Suffers Burns in Blowtorch Attack after Selling Poppies

Commemorative poppy wreaths to mark the First World War
are made at The Poppy Factory in Richmond

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Army Cadet, 15, sprayed in the face with makeshift blowtorch in unprovoked attack after selling poppies for Remembrance Sunday

An Army Cadet was blasted in the face with a makeshift blowtorch in an unprovoked attack after selling poppies for Remembrance Sunday.

The 15-year-old boy was waiting at a bus stop at 6pm on Saturday evening in Manchester city centre when a man approached him with an aerosol can and lighter and sprayed him with lit fumes.

The cadet, who was wearing his camouflaged uniform, suffered minor burns to his face and singed hairs in his face and right forearm, Greater Manchester Police said. He and his family are in "total shock".

He had spent the day selling poppies in the city centre to commemorate Armistice Day.

The offender, described as black or Asian, 5ft 8in tall and wearing a dark hooded top, walked off from the bus stop by the Manchester Gallery opposite George Street without saying a word. » | Victoria Ward and agencies | Sunday, November 02, 2014

First Muslim to Be Awarded Victoria Cross Needs Recognition, Say Former Army Chiefs

Sepoy Khudadad Khan was awarded the Victoria Cross
during World War One

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Khudadad Khan, the first Muslim soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross, should be more widely recognised, say two former heads of the Army

Two former heads of the Army have called for greater recognition of the first Muslim soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross, in a move intended as a “riposte” to the “sickening extremism” of Isil militants.

General Lord Dannatt and General Lord Richards lead a group of peers, MPs, historians and religious leaders who say children should be told about the role played by Muslim troops in the First World War.

In a letter to The Telegraph they say that the actions of Sepoy Khudadad Khan in a battle at Ypres 100 years ago on Friday “exemplified the courage” of many who served in the war.

The knowledge of his role, together with that of the other 400,000 Muslims who fought alongside British troops, is vital to “fully understand the multi-ethnic Britain that we are today”, they add. » | Edward Malnick | Friday, October 31, 2014

ISIS Driven by World War I Agreement?

Oct. 29, 2014 - 3:21 - Military historian Joseph Micallef explains

Royal Cousins at War: Into the Abyss

The roles played by cousins Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and King George V of England in the desperate, frantic summer of 1914.
Watch the BBC documentary here on BBC iPlayer
Episode 1: Royal Cousins at War: A House Divided »

World War I in Color & HD: Episode 8: Making The Series

World War I in Color is a documentary (6 x 50-minute episodes) made with the cooperation of the Imperial War Museum, designed to make the Great War come alive for a 21st-century audience. The events of 1914-18 are authoritatively narrated by Kenneth Branagh, who presents the military and political overview, while interviews with historians add different perspectives. The human cost is conveyed by moving interviews with the now very elderly survivors, and by extracts from letters and memoirs. All aspects of the war, on land, sea and air are covered in separate programmes.

Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 »

Royal Cousins at War: A House Divided

How the tangled relationships and emerging rivalries between Europe's royal houses at the outbreak of the First World War played a crucial role in the conflict.
Watch the BBC documentary here on BBC iPlayer

World War I in Color & HD: Episode 7: Tactics and Strategy

Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 »

World War I in Color & HD: Episode 6: Victory and Despair

For the Allies, 1918 proved to be the costliest year of the war. On the Western Front 2 million British and 3 million French were captured, wounded or killed - over a few miles of French and Belgian mud. On 21 March 1918, General von Ludendorff attacked along a 64-mile front which was to be the greatest attack yet seen in modern industrialized warfare. The Germans advanced 20 miles in 14 days, and von Ludendorff set his sights on Paris and victory. Field Marshall Haig rallied his British troops to fight to the end. Casualties ran at 350 000 for both sides, and the toll taken on von Ludendorff's troops had overstretched his war machine.

Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 »

World War I in Color & HD: Episode 5: Mayhem on the Eastern Front

When war broke out in 1914 the Eastern Front campaign moved swiftly. Austrian troops invaded Serbia, and Russia, as Serbia's ally, invaded both Germany and Austria. The Austrians quickly retreated, demoralized by the success of the Russian advance. Yet against the Germans, 50,000 Russians were killed or wounded at the battle of Tannenberg. German Generals Hindenberg and Erich von Ludendorff, spurred on by their easy victories against the Russians, dreamed of an extended German empire to the East.

Episodes 1, 2, 3 & 4 »

World War I in Color & HD: Episode 4: Killers of the Sea

In this episode we discover that there was only one major clash of fleets in World War 1. Instead, the war at sea was one of blockades and sinkings and a small but feared U-boat. By August 1914 Germany and Britain were building massive and expensive warships - the dreadnoughts. The British controlled the North Sea, and built up supplies by commandeering all goods heading for Germany. Britain's survival depended on keeping her trade routes open, and for this reason Germany declared unrestricted submarine warfare on merchant shipping.

Episodes 1, 2 & 3 »

World War I in Color & HD: Episode 3: Blood in the Air

In the battles of WWI a new theatre of war was to emerge -- the sky. This new warfare was to prove just as deadly as the trenches, where pilots flew into battle with as little as five hours flying experience, with an average life expectancy of 11 days in 1914. Initially the aircraft replaced hot air balloons as a reconnaissance device; spying and photographing deep behind enemy lines, but in 1915 aviation pioneer Fokker revolutionized the aircraft as a weapon when he synchronized a machine gun with a propeller -- allowing German pilots to annihilate French and British planes.

Episodes 1 & 2 »

World War I in Color & HD: Episode 2: Slaughter in the Trenches

This episode looks at trench warfare on the Western Front, which was at stalemate in 1915. Communications proved to be a major drawback for both sides, as messages were sent by runners - who invariably faced death. Two simultaneous battles to push back the Germans were launched at Artois by the French, and by the British at Festubert in May 1915. Both failed and brought the realization that such massive casualties could not be sustained. With a need for more troops, Lord Kitchener went about a recruitment campaign that amassed some one million volunteers. The new volunteer soldiers lacked the discipline of the regulars, and were regarded with some disdain. At the battle of Loos in 1915 a pattern of trench warfare emerged - artillery barrage followed by troops going over the top, and slaughter.

Episode 1 »

World War I in Color & HD: Episode 1: Catastrophe

World War I in Color is a documentary (6 x 50-minute episodes) made with the cooperation of the Imperial War Museum, designed to make the Great War come alive for a 21st-century audience. The events of 1914-18 are authoritatively narrated by Kenneth Branagh, who presents the military and political overview, while interviews with historians add different perspectives. The human cost is conveyed by moving interviews with the now very elderly survivors, and by extracts from letters and memoirs. All aspects of the war, on land, sea and air are covered in separate programmes.

Episode 1- Catastrophe:

This first episode, Catastrophe, looks at the fact that between 1914 and 1918, 65 million men took up arms. Ten million were killed and 20 million were emotionally and physically incapacitated. The war ushered in new terminologies, new and massive weapons and a scale of artillery barrages never before imagined.

Former Australian PM Paul Keating Says World War One Was European Folly 'Devoid of Virtue'

Former Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Former Australian PM Paul Keating says World War I was "devoid of any virtue" and Australians will not be used as cannon fodder again

Paul Keating, Australia’s former prime minister, has used a memorial ceremony speech to lash out at the Great War as a European folly which was "devoid of any virtue", lamenting the use of Australian troops as “cannon fodder”.

Criticising European tribalism and racism, Mr Keating said Australia fought out of loyalty to imperial Britain but had already moved away from European values by the time of the war. He said the nation had developed an “Australian-ness” which was “free of the dismal legacy of Europe's ethnic stigmatisation and social stratification”.

"The First World War was a war devoid of any virtue. It arose from the quagmire of European tribalism," he said.

"A complex interplay of nation-state destinies overlaid by notions of cultural superiority peppered with racism."

Mr Keating, a staunch republican with a passion for history and oratory, used his Remembrance Day address in Canberra to declare that young Australians were now “too wise to the world to be cannon fodder of the kind their young forebears became”.

“One thing is certain: young Australians, like [young] Europeans… can no longer be dragooned en masse into military enterprises of the former imperial variety on the whim of so-called statesmen,” he said. » | Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney | Monday, November 11, 2013