1914-1918 : legacy

Episode of Series “1914 - 1918 The Great War and the Shaping of a Century”.
1914-1918 is a seven part series from the BBC, looking at the Great War and the shaping of a century through the words of those who endured it. With the use of many letters, diaries and film we re-experience a war that involved the people of 5 continents. Narrated by Dame Judi Dench, we also hear voice-overs by Ian Richardson, Martin Landau, Wendy Craig, Tim Pigott-Smith, Chris Fairbank, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson, Tom Fleming, John Shrapnel, Malcolm McDowell and Imogen Stubbs reading passages from personal diaries and letters. Many historians including Dr Jay Winter provide valuable background information relating to battles and events which occurred both before, during and after, what became known as The Great War. Tape Two-Legacy contains the last four episodes of this remarkable series. Episode 4-SLAUGHTER, the battles of Verdun, the Somme and Passchendaele were three of the worst of the war, yet soldiers sought to keep their sanity with music, sport and theatre. Episode 5-MUTINY, by the start of 1917, the strain of war was affecting people on the home and battle fronts. Half of the French army mutinied. Episode 6- COLLAPSE, Germany’s war effort collapsed in 1918. Episode 7-LEGACY, the end of WW1 did little to relieve suffering across Europe. Four empires collapsed and large parts of the continent were devastated. The Peace Treaty of Versailles did nothing to ease the suffering of either the conquered or victorious people, and the seeds were sown for a second war. This was a war of attrition of men, machines and ideals. The futility of losing a generation of 9 million men who never came home, from a war many didn’t understand. National honour, fervour, and man’s greed to expand borders and dominate others led to a society which was torn asunder and would never be the same again. It affected and influenced art, music, literature and changed the history for the rest of the 20th Century.