The BEST episodes of The Great War (2014) season 8

#1 - British Economy after WW1 - Fear of The Bolshevik Brit

Season 8 - Episode 12 - Aired 6/25/2021

The cost - in men, materiel and GDP - for the First World War was immense for Great Britain. And the returning soldiers wanted their share after being sent to die for their country. This explosive situation led to a series of Labour led strikes between 1919 and 1921 and changed the political and economic landscape of Great Britain.

#2 - Foreshadowing WW1 - Italo-Turkish War 1911-1912 I THE GREAT WAR [DOCUMENTARY]

Season 8 - Episode 23 - Aired 12/17/2021

The Italo-Turkish War 1911 was one of the last classic imperial wars over colonial processions between two great powers. But it was in many ways also a first glimpse into what would come during the First World War: trenches, artillery, combat aircraft, motorboat attacks. This war in Ottoman Libya was fought between the Italian Army and Ottoman-led local Senussi forces.

#3 - A Peace Treaty That Sparked A Civil War - The Anglo-Irish Treaty

Season 8 - Episode 22 - Aired 11/26/2021

The Irish and British sides of the Irish War of Independence were exhausted from two years of fighting. The IRA was also about to run out of ammunition and other vital supplies to keep up the fight. And so the British government and the Irish delegation started to negotiate a treaty.

#4 - How Mussolini Founded The Italian Fascist Party

Season 8 - Episode 21 - Aired 11/12/2021

Benito Mussolini's national fascist movement was a fringe phenomenon right after the First World War and couldn't gain much traction in the 1919 elections. But soon after Mussolini was increasing his political standing and the National Fascist Party gained more members than ever before.

#5 - The Franco-Turkish War - Southern Front of the Turkish War of Independence

Season 8 - Episode 20 - Aired 10/29/2021

After the armistice of Mudros in 1918, the Ottoman Empire started to dissolve while being occupied by Allied powers and several independence movements erupted across its territory. The Turkish National Movement didn't want to accept any territorial changes in their heartland and fought back against France in the Cilicia Campaign or the Franco-Turkish War.

#6 - Worthless Paper Money - German Hyper-Inflation Starts After WW1

Season 8 - Episode 19 - Aired 10/8/2021

The German post-WW1 economy was under pressure: The loss of territory, the war bonds issued during the war and the reparations under the Treaty of Versailles. All this lead to a downward spiral of rising inflation and living costs for German citizens.

#7 - The Largest Anti-Bolshevik Uprising Of The Russian Civil War

Season 8 - Episode 18 - Aired 9/24/2021

The famine and the Bolshevik policy of War Communism during the Russian Civil War created a unique situation in Western Siberia that led to the largest peasant uprising against the Communists of the entire Russian Civil War.

#8 - Palestine Riots - Jewish Settlements Under British Protection

Season 8 - Episode 17 - Aired 9/11/2019

After taking control of Mandate Palestine, Great Britain saw itself confronted with mounting Arab and Jewish tensions. Zionist settlers had been moving to the region since the 1890s and after the Balfour Declaration in 1917, the Zionist movement accelerated.

#9 - Turning Point in the Greco-Turkish War - Battles of Sakarya and İnönü

Season 8 - Episode 16 - Aired 8/27/2021

The Greek Army was desperately trying to continue their offensive into Turkey among waning Allied support, Eleftherios Venizelos losing the Greek election and a monkey bite killing young Greek King Alexander of Greece. With their backs to the wall, the Turkish Army under Mustafa Kemal was able to turn the tide at the Battle of Sakarya.

#10 - The Battle of Blair Mountain - West Virginia Coal Wars

Season 8 - Episode 15 - Aired 8/13/2021

In the aftermath of the American economic downturn after the First World War in certain industries, the labor movement escalated into strikes across the country. This was also true in West Virginia where unions and coal mine owners had already clashed before the war. With the Matewan Massacre and the Battle for Blair Mountain this struggle reached a violent climax in which WW1 veterans were going against hired security - and even the federal army had to be called in.

#11 - Adolf Hitler Becomes Führer of the Nazi Party - Erzberger Assassinated

Season 8 - Episode 14 - Aired 7/30/2021

Adolf Hitler and the small Nazi party are on the rise thanks to Hitler's public speaking talent. But not everyone in the party is in line with his vision for the future. In the end Hitler prevails and becomes Führer of the NSDAP. At the same time the SA is founded and Matthias Erzberger is assassinated by Organisation Consul.

#12 - Outbreak of the Rif War - Spanish Defeat at Annual

Season 8 - Episode 13 - Aired 7/16/2021

The once global Spanish Empire was a distant memory in 1921 and in one of the last Spanish colonies trouble was brewing. The Berbers in the Rif mountains under Abd El-Krim were vying for control and so the Spanish Army started a fateful expedition that would end in one of the biggest colonial defeats in history: The battle at Annual.

#13 - Anglo-Somali War - The Somali Dervish Movement

Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/16/2021

The Somali Dervish movement was a thorn in the British colonial side for 20 years starting at the beginning of the 20th century. The leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan was able to resist military expeditions and establish his own proto-state in the region.

#14 - Banana Wars - US Occupation in Central America for A Fruit Company

Season 8 - Episode 11 - Aired 6/14/2021

US involvement in Central America dated back to the first attempt to build the Panama Canal. And in accordance to the Monroe Doctrine was expanded in the 20th century too. US Marines took part in expeditions in Guatemala, Nicaragua and US naval power was a factor in many disputes like the Coto War between Costa Rica and Panama. With the rise of the United Fruit Company, the US domestic market also influenced decisions in the region.

#15 - French Troops March Into Germany - After The Treaty of Versailles

Season 8 - Episode 10 - Aired 5/28/2021

France was probably the Allied country hit hardest by the First World War both in economic terms and by the casualties suffered. To rebuild the country (and to prevent Germany from future aggression), their goal was clear: Germany would need to pay for the war in form of reparations. At the same time, France was involved in major international turmoil.

#16 - Battle of Annaberg - Germany and Poland Fight Over Silesia

Season 8 - Episode 9 - Aired 5/14/2021

The question of the allegiance of the ethnically mixed region of Silesia had already caused heated diplomatic arguments between Germany, Poland and the Allies after the First World War. After a divisive plebiscite the situation escalated into violence. Neither Germany nor Poland could officially send troops, but German Freikorps and Pro-Polish militias fought it out.

#17 - Chinese Warlord Era - The Zhili–Anhui War

Season 8 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/30/2021

The first decades of the 20th century were a tumultuous time for China with carrying factions trying to control the vast country. These cliques were led by colorful warlords who even went to war with each other. The Zhili-, Anhui- and Fengtian Cliques are the most well known of this warlord era in Chinese history.

#18 - Emperor Karl Wants His Crown Back - Habsburg Restoration Coups

Season 8 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/16/2021

Former Austro-Hungarian Emperor Karl lived in exile since the armistice of 1918. But he hadn't given up his claim to the crowns of the dual monarchy. And so in 1921 he tried to claim the Hungarian crown not once, but twice.

#19 - Banana Wars - US Marines Occupy Cuba, Haiti & Dominican Republic

Season 8 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/26/2021

Following the Spanish-American War, the United States foreign policy, under the influence of the Monroe Doctrine, intervened in several countries in Central America and the Caribbean. The United States Marine Corps was usually the military arm of these involvements as was the case in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

#20 - Bloody Climax Of The Anglo-Irish War - And A Truce

Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/12/2021

#21 - Attacking a Fortress Island Across The Frozen Sea - The Kronstadt Rebellion

Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/27/2021

In early 1921 internal resistance against the Bolsheviks was mounting even among their supporters. The peasants in the cities were struggling from food shortages and some left-wing groups felt that the Bolsheviks had abandoned their ways particularly by not hearing out the Soviet councils. One of the largest acts of resistance was the Kronstadt (Кронштадт) Rebellion by Red Navy sailors in the Gulf of Finland.

#22 - The Persian Coup And The British Thirst For Oil

Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/13/2021

Persia's struggle between British and Russian territorial ambition went back to the 19th century. In the new geopolitical landscape after the First World War, Britain was more keen then ever to have control over Persia - and its oil. But the 1921 Persian coup d'état by the Persian Cossack Brigade headed by Reza Khan put a stop to British ambition. For now.

#23 - Mahatma Gandhi And The Indian Anti-Colonial Resistance After WW1

Season 8 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/30/2021

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was no stranger to anti-colonial activism when he returned to India during the First World War. After the great sacrifices of Britain's colony, the demand for autonomy was growing in India. And Ghandi would be front and center of this new movement with his idea of non-cooperation and peaceful resistance.