The BEST episodes of The Great War (2014) season 3
Every episode of The Great War (2014) season 3, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Great War (2014) season 3!
'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 - 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!
#2 - 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.
#3 - 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.
#4 - 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.
#5 - 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.
#6 - Equilibrium of Carnage at Verdun - Portugal Joins The War
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/10/2016
The fierce battle of Verdun is still going on and the initial surprise momentum of the German Army under Erich von Falkenhayn is lost. Battles for hill tops and forts turn into carnage where even the winning side is loosing too much men to go on. The Siege of Kut is growing ever more desperate as the there is virtually no food left for the British Army. And in all that Portugal is joining the war.
#7 - Verdun - A Nightmare to Annex
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 3/31/2016
After the huge failure at Mort Homme the Germans decide to take Cote 304 and therefore go to the western edge of the Verdun salient to make progress. On the Eastern Front the Russian 5th army loses 28,000 men in the Lake Naroch offensive and runs in its own artillery fire while at home, the Russian minister of war will be sacked. On the sea, German U-boats strike down a hospitalship and a ferry, which they thought were troopships.
#8 - Conrad's Cunning Plan - Hiding In Plain Sight
Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/19/2016
Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff Conrad von Hötzendorf had a plan to finally force a decision against the Italians. He massed troops and artillery in a different sector of the front planning a surprise offensive. And even though everybody knew about his cunning plan, Italian Chief of Staff Luigi Cadorna believed everything was a ruse and fired a general instead of preparing against the attack.
#9 - Meatgrinder At The Somme - Battle of Mametz Wood
Season 3 - Episode 28 - Aired 7/14/2016
The stalemate of the Somme continues as the uncoordinated British attacks only gain little ground. This war of attrition was costly for the defending Germans too though. German Chief of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn demanded that every meter lost should be recovered immediately. The same stalemate continued at the Battle of Verdun where the Germans attacked with poison gas this week 100 years ago.
#10 - Germany's Grandeur - Analyzing the War Effort
Season 3 - Episode 31 - Aired 8/4/2016
It has been two years since the global escalation that lead to World War 1. Three of the biggest battles in history are fought simultaneously now and there is no end sight. When asked about the state of the war, the nations are still determined but the German position is still full of grandiose exaggerations.
#11 - Italy Breaks Through - Cadorna's Triumph
Season 3 - Episode 32 - Aired 8/11/2016
Italy's war in the alps wasn't very successful so far but this week they took Gorizia, a major triumph for the Duke of Aosta and Italian Chief of Staff Luigi Cadorna.
#12 - Cadorna Snatches Defeat From The Jaws of Victory
Season 3 - Episode 33 - Aired 8/18/2016
The Italian offensive taking Gorizia last week surprised everyone. Including Italian Chief of Staff Luigi Cadorna who overlooks the huge strategical advantages now open in front of him. Instead he hesitates and "glorious" victory gets a few dents. At the same time, Romania is getting ready to join the war on the side of the Entente too and on the Western Front German morale is dwindling as the French and the British Army are getting more confident at the Somme and at Verdun.
#13 - The Five Nation Army - The Salonica Front Erupts
Season 3 - Episode 34 - Aired 8/25/2016
The Salonica Front was supposed to be a backdoor to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and for supporting the Serbian Army when the first Entente troops landed there. But their presence in Salonica was growing and bigger. With the return of the Serbian troops from Corfu and new support by the Russians and Italians, the Allies were now fielding a Five Nation Army here.
#14 - Fire In The Sky - Zeppelin Shot Down Over Britain
Season 3 - Episode 36 - Aired 9/8/2016
German Zeppelins brought terror and destruction to the British homeland since the beginning of the war. But a new invention helped to bring the first one down this week 100 years ago: the incendiary bullet. The public is overjoyed as the first behemoth strikes the ground as a flaming ball of fire. At the same time an unusual calm descends on the battlefields around Verdun: Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff visited the battlefield for the first time and are appalled by what they see.
#15 - Beasts of Steel - The First Tanks On The Battlefield
Season 3 - Episode 37 - Aired 9/15/2016
For years the British had developed the idea of the "landship" or tank and now it was finally ready for the first deployment during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. And even though technical problems plagued the new invention, the British leadership was confident that this new weapon would break the stalemate at the Western Front for good. In the meantime Germany was focusing all offensive efforts on the Romanian front to mercilessly crush the new enemy.
#16 - Manfred von Richthofen's First Victory - American Volunteers in WW1
Season 3 - Episode 38 - Aired 9/22/2016
This week 100 years ago Manfred von Richthofen is credited with his first aerial victory on the Western Front. He shoots down a British airplane with his Albatross D.II. At the same time the Isonzo Front is in full swing again where Luigi Cadorna is leading another offensive.
#17 - Falkenhayn Crosses The Carpathians - The Battle of Sibiu
Season 3 - Episode 39 - Aired 9/29/2016
Erich von Falkenhayn had been fired from his position as Chief-of-Staff but he had a new task: Leading the combined Austro-German forces into Romania. So, this week 100 years ago Falkenhayn crosses the Carpathian mountains into Transylvania where they met fierce Romanian resistance. At the same time the British attacked at the Somme again and failed to utilise their new weapon: the tank.
#18 - Douglas Haig's Fantasies Drown In Mud
Season 3 - Episode 40 - Aired 10/6/2016
Even though his troops are drowning in mud, Douglas Haig is still sketching grandiose plans for the breakthrough at the Somme. At the same time, the German Ambassador is recalled from Constantinople because he spoke out against the Armenian Genocide and with a clever offensive the Romanians harass August von Mackensen on the new Romanian Front.
#19 - Deadly Routine On The Italian Front - The 8th Battle Of The Isonzo
Season 3 - Episode 41 - Aired 10/13/2016
While the 7th Battle of the Isonzo River was still raging, Italian chief of staff Luigi Cadorna was already planning the 8th. The war of attrition was going in his favour even though the Italian losses began to mount too. But how long could Austria-Hungary keep up against the constant pressure?
#20 - French Plans For Glory At Verdun - Romania Stops The Germans
Season 3 - Episode 42 - Aired 10/20/2016
The front at Verdun has been quieter in recent weeks because the French are planing to retake all the lost ground and most importantly Fort Douaumont. Improved supplies, detailed planning and training give hope to the Poilus. The Germans on the other hand know that something is coming for them and when the morale couldn't get much lower, the Romanians stop Erich von Falkenhayn in the Carpathians.
#21 - France Turns The Tide At Verdun
Season 3 - Episode 43 - Aired 10/27/2016
Meticulous planning, patience and and improvement supply chain meant that the French were finally ready to push the Germans back at Verdun. And the recapture of Fort Douaumont was as much an odd story as was the capture a few months earlier.
#22 - War of Attrition On The Italian Front - The Ninth Battle of the Isonzo
Season 3 - Episode 44 - Aired 11/3/2016
The dust of the 8th and even 7th battle hasn't really settled on the Isonzo Front, but Luigi Cadorna is already unleashing the 9th Battle of the Isonzo River. The Austro-Hungarian troops under Svetozar Borojevic von Bojna can only look forward to the onset of winter because that will give them the long needed rest on the mountainous battlefield.
#23 - Charming The Poles - The Central Powers Look For New Allies
Season 3 - Episode 45 - Aired 11/10/2016
The year of battles is coming to a close as winter approaches. The Central Powers realize that they need new troops and new war material if they actually want to win the war and not just continue it. Erich Ludendorff dreams of a Polish Army under German command and to charm the Poles in the German Empire and the occupied territories, the Kingdom of Poland is established.
#24 - Heavy Action At The Somme - The Fight For Monastir
Season 3 - Episode 46 - Aired 11/17/2016
The battlefield at the Somme flared into action this week with the same disastrous consequences. The soldiers fighting for the British Army even analyzed the problems they were facing in the repeated assaults but to no avail. At the same time, the Serbs, supported by French troops, continued towards their home and fought for Monastir on the Macedonian Front.
#25 - Romania On The Ropes - Reflections On The Battle of the Somme
Season 3 - Episode 48 - Aired 12/1/2016
The fighting at the Somme is over - for now. The numbers of casualties on both sides is staggering and for what? Indy reflects on this epitome of WW1 battles. And at the same time 100 years ago the fighting in Romania was far from over. The four Central Powers were still on the move and it did not look good for Romania which only joined the war a few months ago. The situation in Greece became ever more complicated and increasingly violent too.