World Wars

World Wars

4 Seasons

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World Wars
  • Heroes of the Somme

    Episode 1

    Heroes of the Somme uses original archive from the Western Front to uncover the stories of seven of the men whose remarkable bravery in 1916 won them the Victoria Cross, Britain’s most prized military medal. Interviews with modern day family members reveal the personal stories of each character, ...

  • The Western Front

    Episode 2

    Our image of the First World War has been largely shaped by the events of the Western Front. Find out more about the key battles of this theatre with our audio guide.

  • The Christmas Truce

    Episode 3

    On Christmas Eve 1914 many sectors of the Western Front in France and Belgium fell silent. Troops from all sides put down their weapons and sang carols, exchanged gifts and buried their dead in No Man's Land. The following day the truce continued in many, but not all areas, and troops gathered in...

  • Sam Mendes on 1917

    Episode 4

    1917 is a new film directed by Golden Globe winning film maker Sir Sam Mendes. Set in early 1917, at the height of the First World War on the Western Front, Mendes uses the backdrop of the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line as the stage for telling a story inspired by the memories of Alfred Me...

  • War Art of the Western Front

    Episode 5

    It was the war to end all wars. In 1914, catastrophe struck Europe as great power diplomacy failed and alliance systems mobilised vast armies against one another in a conflict that dragged on in bloody stalemate for four long years. Nations geared their entire economies towards victory and called...

  • The Western Front Tunnels

    Episode 6

    The creation of man-made underground tunnels played a huge role in the outcome of the First World War. They were first dug to mine under enemy positions and detonate bombs or attack in desperate and fierce fights. As the war dragged on, nevertheless, they developed another purpose: providing sold...

  • The Western Front

    Episode 7

    The Western Front, a 400-plus-mile stretch of land weaving through France and Belgium from the Swiss border to the North Sea, was the decisive front during World War One. Despite the global nature of the conflict, much of the world remembers the scars of the Great War through the lens of these ba...

  • The Aftermath of World War One

    Episode 8

    Today Dan is joined by Margaret MacMillan, professor at St. Antony's College at Oxford University and author of Peacemakers: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End War. Together they discuss the effects WWI had on the world, and how Europe began to rebuild in the years that fol...

  • 1916
    30:30
    Episode 9

    1916

    Episode 9

    Last year audiences around the world were astounded by Sam Mendes' incredible World War One epic, 1917. This autumn, Dan Snow was invited to take a look at a recreated World War One trench network in the UK, built by military historian Taff Gillingham. In homage to 1917, we decided to film this w...

  • Untold Stories of World War One

    Episode 10

    Dan Snow introduces four projects funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council over the last four years, highlighing underexplored aspects of First World War history, from German wartime photography to miltary training in Northern Ireland.

  • They Shall Not Grow Old: In Conversation with Peter Jackson

    Episode 11

    They Shall Not Grow Old is a remarkable new documentary made by Peter Jackson. The Oscar-winning director has restored and colourised World War One footage from the Imperial War Museum, adding a soundtrack with original audio and transforming the entire project into 3D. In doing so, he has create...