The BEST episodes of The Great War (2014)
Every episode of The Great War (2014) ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Great War (2014)!
'The Great War' shows you the history of the First World War in the four years from 1914 to 1918, exactly 100 years ago. Our host Indy takes you back week by week and shows you what was going on in the past. Learn more about the Allies and the Central Powers, archdukes, emperors, Winston Churchill, Franz Ferdinand, Wilhelm II, soldiers, battles and of the life aside the battlefield.
#1 - Harsher than Versailles: The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918
Season 13 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/22/2026
On March 3, 1918 the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire) and Bolshevik Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ending the First World War on the Eastern Front. The terms were harsher than those the Germans offered in December, and much harsher than the later Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was only in force until November 1918, when the Central Powers’ defeat nullified it. But it had a major impact inside and outside Russia.
Watch Now:Amazon#2 - Armistice - But Peace?
Season 5 - Episode 46 - Aired 11/11/2018
On November 11 1918, the German delegation and the Allies reach an agreement for an armistice. At the 11th hour the guns go silent and the First World War is over, well at least the guns go silent but is it a peace already? Germany is struggling with revolution and civil war at home, the break up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire causes a lot of chaos. And in Romania, the men are taking up arms again.
#3 - Why the Allies Lost the Battle of Gallipoli 1915
Season 13 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/8/2026
On April 25, 1915 Australian, British, New Zealand and French forces landed at the mouth of the Dardanelles to capture the Gallipoli peninsular and march on Constantinople. But the Ottoman defenders, including legendary officer Mustafa Kemal, held firm and the Battle of Gallipoli would last for 7 bloody months.
Watch Now:Amazon#4 - The Battle of Verdun - They Shall Not Pass
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/25/2016
The Germans start the biggest battle in history with an artillery barrage of over 1000 guns on a 20 km front. The Battle of Verdun is the first major German offensive since the Race to the Sea and Erich von Falkenhayn has high hopes to break through the French lines. Right before the offensive starts, the French are able to reinforce their defences, so they are barely able to hold the line. The French credo is: "ls ne passeront pas!" – they shall not pass!
#5 - In Dire Straits - Russia on Austro-Hungary's Doorstep
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/8/2015
The Austro-Hungarian army resembles a better militia after six months into the war. After defeats against Serbia and Russia and still under siege in Galicia, the forces are in dire straits. Many casualties, especially among the officers, mean that an effective warfare is impossible. And all this while the Russians are close to entering the Hungarian plains. On another front, the Russians are winning the battle of Sarikamish which ends in a disaster for the Ottoman Empire. On the Western Front, each side still tries to gain a decisive advantage.
#6 - Romania Joins The War
Season 3 - Episode 35 - Aired 9/1/2016
After more than two years of carnage, the war is still growing as Romania joins the war. The moments seems right to them as the Russians steamrolled the Austro-Hungarian Army on the Eastern front this summer. But can the unproven and under equipped Romanian Army really seize the moment? The German High Command wants to make sure that Romania regrets joining the Entente and sends two of their best generals: Erich von Falkenhayn and August von Mackensen.
#7 - Why The Allied Western Front Offensives in 1915 Failed
Season 13 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/11/2026
By the spring of 1915, the Western Front had bogged down into trench warfare. Allied offensives tried to break the deadlock in spring and fall 1915. The fall offensives were among the bloodiest of the war. After unprecedented bloodletting and use of munitions, the Western Front was still locked in a stalemate at the end of 1915.
Watch Now:Amazon#8 - Why Russia Lost the Polish-Soviet War
Season 10 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/24/2023
The Polish-Soviet War was one of the most important conflicts in the aftermath of the First World War when Eastern Europe was in flux. Both the Polish and the Bolshevik Army had the advantage numerous times and at the Battle of Warsaw is looked like the Bolsheviks would carry the revolution into Western Europe.
#9 - Austria-Hungary Deisintegrates - The Ottoman Empire Leaves the War I
Season 5 - Episode 44 - Aired 11/1/2018
The Ottoman Empire has been on the retreat in the Middle East since the renewed British offensive in September and now, as the allies are threatening the Turkish heartland and also Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire calls for an armistice. The Armistice of Mudros is signed as the remaining Central Powers also struggle to keep their Empires together.
#10 - Despair Everywhere
Season 4 - Episode 32 - Aired 8/10/2017
This week Russo-Romanian forces clash with the Central Power´s counteroffensive in the Second Battle of Oltuz. The failure of the Kerensky Offensive disheartens the Russian army and radicalizes the homefront. While the Bolsheviks were calling for "Peace, Bread and Land", the new commander of the Russian army Lavr Kornilov strives to become a strong authoritarian figure for the political right. And the Battle of Passchendaele reveals a scarred, broken battlefield of mud and destroyed equipment. Despair is everywhere.
#11 - The Tsar Abdicates - Baghdad Falls
Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 3/16/2017
The protests that emerged in Russia this week are growing stronger and the Tsar is increasingly isolated until even his generals are pushing for his abdication. And after 300 years of Romanov rule, Tsar Nicholai II abdicates and when his brother refuses to take up the throne, the dynasty is no more. Meanwhile in the Middle East, the British are taking Baghdad effectively seizing control over a large area.
#12 - Turmoil in Russia - The Assassination of Rasputin
Season 3 - Episode 52 - Aired 12/29/2016
The chaos within Russia, especially Petrograd, is getting more and more severe. In the centre of much controversy is the Tsarina herself and her trusted mystic and healer Grigori Rasputin. His influence over the Tsar and his wife are actively frowned upon and this week 100 yeas ago he is assassinated. At the same the Russians are facing the German Army on the Romanian Front.
#13 - The Death Of Franz Joseph - The End of The Somme
Season 3 - Episode 47 - Aired 11/24/2016
The year 1916 is slowly coming to a close. This year of battles has seen the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme with well over 2 million casualties alone. And this week 100 years ago, the Battle of the Somme ended with the last push at the Ancre. In Vienna, Emperor Franz Joseph dies after almost 7 decades on the throne and Serbian and French forces take Monastir.
#14 - The Battle of Jutland - Royal Navy vs. German Imperial Navy
Season 3 - Episode 22 - Aired 6/2/2016
The Battle of Jutland or the Skagerrakschlacht was arguably the biggest naval battle in history and a turning point of World War 1 as the German High Seas Fleet failed to break through the Royal Navy's blockade of the North Sea. The set trap of U-Boats fails to spring and even though more British ships were lost in the battle, it was a tactical defeat for the Germans.
#15 - The Sea Turns Red - Gallipoli Landings
Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/30/2015
Completely underestimating the Ottoman army at the Dardanelles, the British commanders decide to let the ANZACs take the Gallipoli peninsular as a gateway to the Bosporus and Constantinople. After the landing in ANZAC Cove and on Z Beach one thing comes clear though: Mustafa Kemal and his troops will fight for every inch of this piece of rock.
#16 - Gas! - A New Horror On The Battlefield
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/5/2015
After more than 6 months of stalemate, the German Empire is playing two new cards to gain a decisive advantage. On the Eastern Front, the Germans use gas on a huge scale for the first time. While the attack fails, the foundation for gas warfare is laid. At the same time Kaiser Wilhelm II agrees to unrestricted submarine warfare – any ship can be sank at any time.
#17 - Welcome To The Dirt – The Beginning of Trench Warfare
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 9/18/2014
After the advances and retreats during the early weeks of war, the front is coming to a grinding hold at the river Aisne. The German army is digging itself in on one side of the river and therefore a new, horrible chapter of World War One beginns: the trench warfware. To be prepared for this new kind of war, the British are recruiting over 400.000 soldiers, some of them still believing that the war will be over by Christmas.
#18 - Taxi To The Front – The First Battle of the Marne
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 9/11/2014
The German army is so close to Paris that French soldiers are brought to the front by taxis. Together with the British troops, the French are fighting the German advance near the Marne river. Meanwhile, the Austro-Hungarian army is retreating to the Carpathian Mountains after a catastrophic defeat against Russia with hundreds of thousands of casualties.
#19 - The Rape of Belgium And The Battle of Tannenberg
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/28/2014
During their advance through Belgium, the German Army is committing atrocities against Belgian civilians. The Austro-Hungarian Army is perpetrating massacres against the Serbian civilian population to retaliate against Serbian guerrilla warfare. At the Eastern Front, German generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff succeed in one of the most important battles of World War I: The Battle of Tannenberg.
#20 - A New War With Old Generals – Carnage on the Western Front
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/21/2014
In the early days of World War 1, warfare is still based on ideas and ideals of 19th century generals. The technological progress during industrialisation clashes with obsolete war tactics. Tens of thousands of soldiers lose their lives in carnage at the Western front.
#21 - The Enemy Within - The German Army's Power Play
Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 11/20/2014
The commanders of the German army blame each other for the missing victories. Falkenhayn and Hindenburg both believe that they have the only solution to the problems. The German emperor feels more and more excluded when it comes to military decisions. His soldiers become pieces on a chessboard and the war of the 20th century also takes it's toll on some of the best commanders. The situation at the Western Front stays unaltered: the French and Germans fight each other between the trenches. On the contrary, at the Eastern Front the Russians and the Germans are battling in a heavy fight.
#22 - The World at War - The Ottoman Empire Enters The War
Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 11/6/2014
Three months after the outbreak of the war, another world power enters the conflict: The Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman war minister Enver Pascha, a supporter of a new Turkish self confidence, wants to gain advantages for a future Turkey by declaring war. Meanwhile, another ship of the German East Asian Squadron is surprising the Royal Navy by sinking two of their ships near Coronel, Chile. Regardless, the battles on the Eastern, Western Front and in Serbia are continuing.
#23 - The Russian War Machine And The Race To The Sea
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/25/2014
Sparked by the desperate state of the Austrians, the Russian army goes on the offensive. General Ivanov even tries to us his numerical superiority to make up for the German victories of a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, the armies of the western front try to outflank each other as they race north to the sea. And in the North Sea itself submarine warfare really gets going while in the air, we see airplanes used in large military operations for the first time.
#24 - Australia's Darkest Hour - The Battle of Fromelles
Season 3 - Episode 29 - Aired 7/21/2016
North of the Somme-Battlefield, the newly arrived Australian troops are supposed to prevent German forces to reinforce their comrades in the South. The following Battle of Fromelles is described as a the worst 24 hours in Australian history as the troops are sent against German defenders in a disastrous attack. At the same time, the French and Germans are licking their wounds at Verdun and the Russians are continuing their attack on the Eastern Front.
#25 - The Battle of the Somme - Brusilov On His Own
Season 3 - Episode 27 - Aired 7/7/2016
After months of preparations and a week long artillery bombardment, the Battle of the Somme is unleashed on the Western Front. The great British and French offensive, brainchild of General Sir Douglas Haig, which is supposed to crush the Germans on the Western Front once and for all. But the initial infantry attack is a disaster. And on the Eastern Front, General Alexei Brusilov realizes that his northern flank support is not worth the name.