The BEST episodes of The Great War (2014) season 9
Every episode of The Great War (2014) season 9, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Great War (2014) season 9!
'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 - World War Zero - The Russo Japanese War 1904-1905
Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/21/2022
The Russo-Japanese War is nicknamed World War Zero - it was a clash between two world powers that foreshadowed war on an industrial scale as seen just 10 years later again. Gigantic land battles like the Battle of Mukden showed the true cost in manpower and materiel when modern armies clashed and the naval side of the war showed the strategic importance of modern navies.
#2 - War of the Cliques - Warlord Era 1922-1928
Season 9 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/25/2022
The Chinese Warlord Era was a violent period of chaos and civil war in which multiple factions (so called cliques) fought each other over supremacy in China. After the first Anhui-Zhili War the situation escalated further and more players joined this game of thrones.
#3 - How Ukraine Became Part of the USSR - The Soviet–Ukrainian War
Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/25/2022
Ukraine was right in the center of the violent chaos following the Russian Revolution 1917. After declaring independence the Ukrainian People's Republic was invaded multiple times as the Russian Civil War, the Polish-Soviet War, the Ukrainian-Polish War and the Soviet-Ukrainian War all raged across the country. The Communist victory in the Russian Civil War meant that the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic became a founding member of the USSR.
#4 - Why The Allies Couldn't Overcome German Trenches in Spring 1917
Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/22/2022
The Allied 1917 Spring Offensive masterminded by French general Robert Nivelle was supposed to end the stalemate on the Western Front and bring a decisive breakthrough. But the German Army also knew they couldn't win the war on the offensive and thus prepared a new type of defensive system: The Hindenburg Line and it would be tested in the Battles of Arras (Vimy Ridge, Bullecourt) and Chemins des Dames (Aisne).
#5 - The First Modern War? - Why the 2nd Boer War Was So Different
Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/25/2022
The 2nd Boer War was the culmination of almost a century of dispute between the British Empire and South African farmers of Dutch decent called Boers. The Boer Republics knew how to use their advantages against the might imperial army and at first it looked like they could defeat it. But the British Empire struck back and an ugly guerrilla war ensued that also saw the introduction of concentration camps.
#6 - Why Russia's Smartest General Failed in 1916
Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/24/2022
The start of the Brusilov Offensive was the most successful Russian military operation during the First World War. It crippled the Austro-Hungarian Army and forced the Germans to divert troops from Verdun. But the Brusilov Offensive ultimately was a failure and cost the Russian's an enormous amount of men. What went wrong?
#7 - How Did The First World War Break Out?
Season 9 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/15/2022
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo on the 28th of June 1914 kicked off a crisis among the European Powers. Tensions that built up in the decades before erupted and in early August 1914 the world was at war. But what happened in these fateful July weeks 1914?
#8 - The Greek-Turkish war 1919-1923
Season 9 - Episode 8 - Aired 8/20/2022
The defeat of the Ottoman empire in 1918 meant that it got its own peace treaty like the other three central powers.
Watch Now:Apple TV#9 - Start of the Troubles in Ireland - Irish Civil War 1922-1923
Season 9 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/9/2022
The Anglo-Irish Treaty and the withdrawal of Great Britain from almost all of Ireland was supposed to be a big step towards full Irish independence. But the pro-Treaty Irish Free State and the anti-Treaty IRA couldn't bridge their differences and so the Irish Civil War broke out. With further support from Britain and drastic measures, the Irish National Army was able to quell the IRA uprising that didn't have the popular support they previously enjoyed.
#10 - Prelude to WW1 - The Balkan Wars 1912-1913
Season 9 - Episode 10 - Aired 10/7/2022
The Balkan Wars marked the end of Ottoman rule in Southeastern Europe, and they involved several countries that would join the First World War just a few years later. A complicated alliance between Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece imploded over disagreement of the war spoils after defeating the Ottomans. This led to the 2nd Balkan War and also created much resentment that would play a role between 1914 and 1918 too.
#11 - How Was The Soviet Union Founded?
Season 9 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/11/2022
Vladimir Lenin had led the Bolshevik movement through the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War but by 1922 his health was failing and infighting among Bolshevik leadership caused friction. In the end Josef Stalin was able to prevail over Leon Trotsky and lead the newly founded Soviet Union until his death in 1953.
#12 - United States Empire - The Spanish-American War
Season 9 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/9/2022
The Spanish-American War (fought in Cuba and the Philippines) kickstarted US global ambitions and expanded their influence far beyond the borders of the United States. At the same time the war marked the endpoint of the decline of Spain as a global power.