BBC Timewatch - Seeds Of War (4/4)

BBC Timewatch - Seeds Of War - Who Started The First World War?
Documentary on the causes of the First World War. Uses archive film from eight countries to try and piece together the attitudes of the leaders of the Great Powers. Also looks at whether it could happen again.

Documentary charting the dramatic story of how Europe was plunged into darkness in the summer of 1914. Using archive film from public and private libraries, this programme brings to life a time of political intrigue and military ambition, when the destiny of millions was decided by a handful of imperial warlords.

Playlist for whole episode: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7BBAE0BBBC263E44
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxh-YePgJbk
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9P-iu6LmA0
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckAWh_fZUkw
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiYHgCgl2bo

Visit my YouTube-channel for more documentaries about the Second World War, First World War and more or visit my website at http://sites.google.com/site/thegermanwarfiles/ for a better organized and easier access to all my YouTube documentaries and their descriptions.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Documentary
• First
• World
• War
• Great
• Germany
• BBC
• Timewatch
• Seeds
• Of
• Who
• Started
• Archduke
• Ferdinand
• Sarajevo
• assassination
• 1914
• 1918

[doublebackdude]

Mother always tells us to never play with matches.

Children's games with very grave results.

"A plague 'o both your houses".

[alanheath]

@dirac33 I don't know if I failed to grasp the lesson or you failed to read what I wrote which was that Germany failed to think it through (see below).

[MPeloquin1]

Thanks much for this offering. Very significant study.

[dirac33]

@alanheath Did you completely fail to grasp the lesson? There was no "thinking through" by Germany. Wilhelm II was basically an idiot, who failed to understand that the Austrian, Ottoman, and Russian empires were all moribund. Two world wars could have been avoided had he only had a bare minimum of foresight. To me, what we have here is a demonstration that the thick-browed barbarism of the Middle Ages was alive and well. There is bound to be a third, and last, act.

[dirac33]

A cautionary tale on the dangers of inbreeding.

[dirac33]

@ 6:52 - guy in the middle is Churchill.

[alanheath]

The Schleiffen plan assumed that the French would charge into Alsace and Lorraine and would then be attacked in the rear. The French obliged but the German commander in Alsace and Lorraine put up a fight - after being reinforced - instead of retreating. As this plan brought France and the UK into the conflict, ultimately bringing defeat to the Kaiser, then clearly Germany had failed to think through its plans. Especially as no attack on France may have kept that country neutral.

[alanheath]

The first world war was all about Yugoslavian unity, the second world war happened because of the first and there have been no end of problems in the aftermath of that conflict. One would have thought that the least the Yugoslavians could do was to stay together!

[alanheath]

With the exception of the interviews from Sarajevo, I don't think that there was anything new in this at all. Nonetheless I appreciate that it had to be condensed into one hour and it gave some interesting analysis.

[MerchantofTarshish]

A synopsis of this video - Austria invades/controls Serbia; Serbian kills king Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, Austria tries to save face by punishing the Serbs, Germany is aligned to Austria; Serbia with Russia, France /Britain with Russia so: Russia declares war against Austria, Germany against Russia and Serbia, France against Germany, Germany tries to go through Belgium to get to the French and then Britain declares war against Germany