Why The First World War Failed to End in 1914 (WW1 Documentary)

In the summer of 1914, following the assassination of archduke Franz Ferdinand the July Crisis, the Great Powers of Europe went to war. Everyone expected a short war "over by Christmas" but instead the war turned into a colossal struggle on multiple fronts and trench warfare set in.

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» SOURCES
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»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller
Editing: Philipp Appelt, Toni Steller
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt, Toni Steller
Research by: Jesse Alexander
Fact checking: Mark Newton, Florian Wittig
Executive Producer: Florian Wittig
Channel Design: Yves Thimian

Contains licensed material by getty images, AP and Reuters
Maps: MapTiler/OpenStreetMap Contributors & GEOlayers3
All rights reserved - Real Time History GmbH 2024

[Masada]

You guys never really got a chance to dig into this subject a lot back in 2014 besides the prelude to war series so I am glad that you guys are getting a chance to really give it the attention it deserves.

Any other 2014/1914 vets out there?

[jebbroham]

The weirdest part of WW1 is that it was essentially a massive family feud that just happened to engulf the world, since all of the warring nations were cousins of each other and the descendants of British King George II.

[roguefiend]

The great war is the most interesting modern conflict in my mind!

[danielcreamer]

"We are guessing you are a fan of detailed military history documentaries." Yeah hard to deny 1 hour and 10 minutes into this gem!

[extrahistory]

The early episode definitely lack in the visual department, so I'm glad you guys have gone back to 1914 to give them far more visual flare!

[handleous]

I have to comment on your narration - the perfect speed, cadence, consistency and pronunciation. I hear every word that is being said, with enough time to take it in, and never need to rewind because something has been sped through. This is an amazing skill and I had to comment to commend it!

Thank you and the team for another great vid

[BeukendaalMason]

"I heard it was because some bloke named Archie Duke shot an ostrich because he was hungry." - Baldrick

[extrahistory]

The anecdote of Parisians looting a suspected German shop that ended up being Swiss at 28:10 mark gave me a slight chuck. Man, humans have not changed one bit in the last 110 years ago, have they?

[georgedheeraj]

A Serb shot an Austrian so an Indian had to fight a Turk in Iraq

[LouseGrouse]

Whenever watching someone describe preludes to horrible events like this there’s always a part of me hoping it’ll somehow go differently and be avoided.

[SethRichardson]

Nothing like a fresh cup of coffee while watching another great documentary from The Great War.

[stevebarrett]

It's curious that the German plan for war was called the Schlieffen plan by historians after the war ended. It wasn't Schlieffen's plan; it was von Moltke (the younger)'s plan since he was chief of the German general staff. From what I've read, when he was chief of the general staff, von Schlieffen considered a massive attack against France, similar to what was actually done, if Germany was only at war with France, and another approach if only at war with Russia. If at war with both countries, von Schlieffen intended a defensive war of attrition which is completely the opposite of what von Moltke (the younger) chose to do.

[micahistory]

last time I was this early, it was 1914

[talpark]

how many have read: The Guns of August (B.W. Tuchman)?
tyvm for another upload
🦇🇨🇦😁

[prickly]

"Conrad put it bluntly.... War....War never changes"

[antoineprocuta]

Always the most engaging historical content I've come across on YouTube - the quality of Jesse's writing & narration never fails to sustain a truly exciting, breathless pace over the course of long and exhaustively detailed videos. And as is often mentioned, special Kudos for both the inclusion of intimate accounts of the events and Jesse's outstanding pronunciation of seemingly every known language. Will eagerly devour whatever you fine folks are cooking up!

[owen]

Never stop guys. I think I speak for all of us here, when I say we're all *very* appreciative of your hard work on these documentaries 👍.

[MarlinWilliams-tsul]

My great uncle was killed in this war, a kid from a little town in Connecticut. Corporal Damien Williams, 102nd US Infantry, 26th Division, AEF, killed at Seicheprey, France. 4/20/1918. Looked at from the vantage point of 2024 it seems like kind of a waste.

[james-pierre]

The current situation between countries is startling similar to what the narrator describes in 1914. In fact everything is repeating itself. All that is needed is a single spark to ignite the next world war.

[peterlynchchannel]

Thanks for continually raising the bar on history documentaries. You guys are in a league of your own, and the ONLY history youtube channel not implicated in the Eulenburg Affair.