The Great War ~ Episode 2 “Stalemate”

Today on Far Future Horizons we commemorate the centennial of the start of the First World War by presenting the second episode of the documentary series "The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century".

This documentary is a joint production of the BBC, the Boston affiliate of PBS (KCET) in association with The Imperial War Museum.

This series is narrated by Dame Judi Dench and chronicles the First World War over seven episodes.

The Great War  (July 28^th , 1914 –  November 11^th,  1918) was the first mechanized conflict that marked the first use of chemical weapons, the first mass bombardment of civilians from the sky, and the last century's first genocide

                       

On July 28th, 1914, one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, effectively beginning the First World War.

The second installment titled “Stalemate” focuses on the period from August 4th to December 31st, 1914, and relates the emotions and conditions that fueled the war efforts on all sides.

In this episode we also learn how nationalism and propaganda demonized the enemy and prolonged the conflict, and how new technologies that were supposed to shorten the war instead created weapons that were immune to human suffering. Autobiographical accounts reveal how civilians responded to the call for more volunteers and how the reality of war clashed with human expectations about victory and heroism. Archival photos show what life in the trenches was like and how men tried to adjust and cope.

Finally, we are presented with a fascinating account of the unofficial "Christmas truce" of 1914,

This was the one miraculous day when the war machine actually faltered. A day when men who were meant to operate as killing machines stopped fighting. A day when they put down their guns, shook hands, exchanged gifts and discovered they had more in common with each other than with their leaders, kings or governments. Enemies became friends, and for a brief time the world was at peace.

Alas, it was a forlorn hope and the war only escalated and was to drag on for three more years.

A war that became known as The Great War. Which was the first mechanized conflict that marked the first use of chemical weapons, the first mass bombardment of civilians from the sky, and the last century's first genocide.

The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century is available on DVD from Amazon Books in the United States and the United Kingdom. 

The Great War ~ Episode 2 “Stalemate”

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