Uploaded December 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In our last epilogue special we outline the wars and conflicts that followed World War 1, some of them immediately and some of them with only a brief period of peace. Even in 1919 it was already clear that "the war to end all wars" didn't in fact do that and that the new world order would be shaped by violence.
» HOW CAN I SUPPORT YOUR CHANNEL?
You can support us by sharing our videos with your friends and spreading the word about our work.You can also support us financially on Patreon: patreon.com/thegreatwar
You can also buy our merchandise in our online shop: shop.spreadshirt.de/thegreatwar
Patreon is a platform for creators like us, that enables us to get monthly financial support from the community in exchange for cool perks.
» WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WORLD WAR I AND WHERE ELSE CAN I FIND YOU?
We’re offering background knowledge, news, a glimpse behind the scenes and much more on:
reddit: bit.ly/TheGreatSubReddit
Facebook: bit.ly/WW1FB
Twitter: bit.ly/WW1Series
Instagram: bit.ly/ZpMYPL
» CAN I EMBED YOUR VIDEOS ON MY WEBSITE?
Of course, you can embed our videos on your website. We are happy if you show our channel to your friends, fellow students, classmates, professors, teachers or neighbours. Or just share our videos on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit etc.
We are also happy to get your feedback, criticism or ideas in the comments. If you have interesting historical questions, just post them and we will answer in our OUT OF THE TRENCHES videos. You can find a selection of answers to the most frequently asked questions here: bit.ly/OOtrenches
» CAN I SHOW YOUR VIDEOS IN CLASS?
Of course! Tell your teachers or professors about our channel and our videos. We’re happy if we can contribute with our videos. If you are a teacher and have questions about our show, you can get in contact with us on one of our social media presences.
» WHAT ARE YOUR SOURCES?
Videos: British Pathé
Pictures: Mostly Picture Alliance
Background Map: d-maps.com/carte.php?num_car=6030&lang=en
Literature (excerpt):
Gilbert, Martin. The First World War. A Complete History, Holt Paperbacks, 2004.
Hart, Peter. The Great War. A Combat History of the First World War, Oxford University Press, 2013.
Hart, Peter. The Great War. 1914-1918, Profile Books, 2013.
Stone, Norman. World War One. A Short History, Penguin, 2008.
Keegan, John. The First World War, Vintage, 2000.
Hastings, Max. Catastrophe 1914. Europe Goes To War, Knopf, 2013.
Hirschfeld, Gerhard. Enzyklopädie Erster Weltkrieg, Schöningh Paderborn, 2004
Michalka, Wolfgang. Der Erste Weltkrieg. Wirkung, Wahrnehmung, Analyse, Seehamer Verlag GmbH, 2000
Leonhard, Jörn. Die Büchse der Pandora: Geschichte des Ersten Weltkrieges, C.H. Beck, 2014
If you want to buy some of the books we use or recommend during our show, check out our Amazon Store: bit.ly/AmazonTGW
NOTE: This store uses affiliate links which grant us a commission if you buy a product there.
» WHAT IS “THE GREAT WAR” PROJECT?
THE GREAT WAR covers the events exactly 100 years ago: The story of World War I in realtime. Featuring: The unique archive material of British Pathé. Indy Neidell takes you on a journey into the past to show you what really happened and how it all could spiral into more than four years of dire war. Subscribe to our channel and don’t miss our new episodes every Thursday.
» WHO IS REPLYING TO MY COMMENTS? AND WHO IS BEHIND THIS PROJECT?
Most of the comments are written by our social media manager Florian. He is posting links, facts and backstage material on our social media channels. But from time to time, Indy reads and answers comments with his personal account, too.
The Team responsible for THE GREAT WAR is even bigger:
- CREDITS -
Presented by : Indiana Neidell
Written by: Indiana Neidell
Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Director of Photography: Toni Steller
Sound: Toni Steller
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: above-zero.com
Editing: Toni Steller, Julian Zahn
Motion Design: Christian Graef
Research by: Indiana Neidell
Fact checking: Markus Linke
The Great War Theme composed by Karim Theilgaard: bit.ly/karimyt
A Mediakraft Networks Original Channel
Based on a concept by Spartacus Olsson
Author: Indiana Neidell
Visual Concept: David van Stephold
Producer: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Social Media Manager: Florian Wittig
Contains licenced Material by British Pathé
All rights reserved - © Mediakraft Networks GmbH, 2018
In our last epilogue special we outline the wars and conflicts that followed World War 1, some of them immediately and some of them with only a brief period of peace. Even in 1919 it was already clear that "the war to end all wars" didn't in fact do that and that the new world order would be shaped by violence.
» HOW CAN I SUPPORT YOUR CHANNEL?
You can support us by sharing our videos with your friends and spreading the word about our work.You can also support us financially on Patreon: patreon.com/thegreatwar
You can also buy our merchandise in our online shop: shop.spreadshirt.de/thegreatwar
Patreon is a platform for creators like us, that enables us to get monthly financial support from the community in exchange for cool perks.
» WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WORLD WAR I AND WHERE ELSE CAN I FIND YOU?
We’re offering background knowledge, news, a glimpse behind the scenes and much more on:
reddit: bit.ly/TheGreatSubReddit
Facebook: bit.ly/WW1FB
Twitter: bit.ly/WW1Series
Instagram: bit.ly/ZpMYPL
» CAN I EMBED YOUR VIDEOS ON MY WEBSITE?
Of course, you can embed our videos on your website. We are happy if you show our channel to your friends, fellow students, classmates, professors, teachers or neighbours. Or just share our videos on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit etc.
We are also happy to get your feedback, criticism or ideas in the comments. If you have interesting historical questions, just post them and we will answer in our OUT OF THE TRENCHES videos. You can find a selection of answers to the most frequently asked questions here: bit.ly/OOtrenches
» CAN I SHOW YOUR VIDEOS IN CLASS?
Of course! Tell your teachers or professors about our channel and our videos. We’re happy if we can contribute with our videos. If you are a teacher and have questions about our show, you can get in contact with us on one of our social media presences.
» WHAT ARE YOUR SOURCES?
Videos: British Pathé
Pictures: Mostly Picture Alliance
Background Map: d-maps.com/carte.php?num_car=6030&lang=en
Literature (excerpt):
Gilbert, Martin. The First World War. A Complete History, Holt Paperbacks, 2004.
Hart, Peter. The Great War. A Combat History of the First World War, Oxford University Press, 2013.
Hart, Peter. The Great War. 1914-1918, Profile Books, 2013.
Stone, Norman. World War One. A Short History, Penguin, 2008.
Keegan, John. The First World War, Vintage, 2000.
Hastings, Max. Catastrophe 1914. Europe Goes To War, Knopf, 2013.
Hirschfeld, Gerhard. Enzyklopädie Erster Weltkrieg, Schöningh Paderborn, 2004
Michalka, Wolfgang. Der Erste Weltkrieg. Wirkung, Wahrnehmung, Analyse, Seehamer Verlag GmbH, 2000
Leonhard, Jörn. Die Büchse der Pandora: Geschichte des Ersten Weltkrieges, C.H. Beck, 2014
If you want to buy some of the books we use or recommend during our show, check out our Amazon Store: bit.ly/AmazonTGW
NOTE: This store uses affiliate links which grant us a commission if you buy a product there.
» WHAT IS “THE GREAT WAR” PROJECT?
THE GREAT WAR covers the events exactly 100 years ago: The story of World War I in realtime. Featuring: The unique archive material of British Pathé. Indy Neidell takes you on a journey into the past to show you what really happened and how it all could spiral into more than four years of dire war. Subscribe to our channel and don’t miss our new episodes every Thursday.
» WHO IS REPLYING TO MY COMMENTS? AND WHO IS BEHIND THIS PROJECT?
Most of the comments are written by our social media manager Florian. He is posting links, facts and backstage material on our social media channels. But from time to time, Indy reads and answers comments with his personal account, too.
The Team responsible for THE GREAT WAR is even bigger:
- CREDITS -
Presented by : Indiana Neidell
Written by: Indiana Neidell
Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Director of Photography: Toni Steller
Sound: Toni Steller
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: above-zero.com
Editing: Toni Steller, Julian Zahn
Motion Design: Christian Graef
Research by: Indiana Neidell
Fact checking: Markus Linke
The Great War Theme composed by Karim Theilgaard: bit.ly/karimyt
A Mediakraft Networks Original Channel
Based on a concept by Spartacus Olsson
Author: Indiana Neidell
Visual Concept: David van Stephold
Producer: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Social Media Manager: Florian Wittig
Contains licenced Material by British Pathé
All rights reserved - © Mediakraft Networks GmbH, 2018







![Why WW1 Turned Into Trench Warfare (WW1 Documentary)
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Trench Warfare is one of the lasting symbols of the First World War, especially on the Western Front. But when the war began, the German and French armies envisioned sweeping advances and defeating the enemy swiftly. So, how and why did the Western Front in 1914 turn into the trench system we associate with WW1?
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David Garfinkle, Raymond Martin, Konstantin Bredyuk, Lisa Anderson, Brad Durbin, Jeremy K Jones, Murray Godfrey, John Ozment, Stephen Parker, Mavrides, Kristina Colburn, Stefan Jackowski, Cardboard, William Kincade, William Wallace, Daniel L Garza, Chris Daley, Malcolm Swan, Christoph Wolf, Simen Røste, Jim F Barlow, Taylor Allen, Adam Smith, James Giliberto, Albert B. Knapp MD, Tobias Wildenblanck, Richard L Benkin, Marco Kuhnert, Matt Barnes, Ramon Rijkhoek, Jan, Scott Deederly, gsporie, Kekoa, Bruce G. Hearns, Hans Broberg, Fogeltje
» SOURCES
Addington, Larry. The Patterns of War since the Eighteenth Century. 2nd ed. Bloomington, 1994.
Ashworth, T. Trench warfare, 1914-18 : The Live And Let Live System. 2000.
Doyle, Peter and Robin Schaefer. Fritz and Tommy: Across the Barbed Wire. 2016.
Griffith, P. and Dennis, P. Fortifications of the Western Front 1914–18. 2013.
Ferro, Marc. La Grande guerre : 1914-1918. 1968.
Hart, Peter. The Great War 1914-1918. 2014.
Imperial General Staff. Field entrenchments : spadework for riflemen, hasty fire-cover, fire-trenches, communications, concealment, obstruction, shelters. 1916.
Kendall, P. Aisne 1914: The Dawn of Trench Warfare. 2012.
Linnenkohl, Hans. Vom Einzelschuss zum Feuerhagel. Die Entwicklung der Artillerie- und Infanteriebewaffnung im Ersten Weltkrieg. 1990.
Legrand-Girarde, E. and H. Plessis. Manuel complet de fortification. 1909. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5675591g
Loez, André (ed.). Mondes en guerre. Tome III : Guerres mondiales et impériales 1870-1945. 2020.
Palmer, Svetlana and Sarah Wallis. A War in Words. 2003.
Philpott, W. (2021). Warfare 1914-1918 | International Encyclopedia of the First World War (WW1). [online] 1914-1918-online.net. Available at: https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/warfare_1914-1918 [Accessed 16 Sep. 2023].
Saunders, A. Trench Warfare, 1850–1950. 2010.
Strachan, Hew. The First World War. Vol 1: To Arms. 2003.
Zabecki, D. “Military Developments of World War I” in 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/military_developments_of_world_war_i
Philpott, William. “Warfare 1914-1918,” in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/warfare_1914-1918
Stevenson, David. 1914-1918: the History of the First World War. 2004.
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»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller
Editing: Philipp Appelt
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: http://above-zero.com
Research by: Jesse Alexander, Evan Chaisson
Fact checking: Florian Wittig
Executive Producer: Florian Wittig
Channel Design: Yves Thimian
Contains licensed material by getty images, AP and Reuters
Maps: MapTiler/OpenStreetMap Contributors & GEOlayers3
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