World War One (TV series)


World War One is an American documentary television series that was shown on CBS during the 1964–1965 television season to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the start of the war.

Background and Production

After putting together one of the largest collections of WWI footage, CBS News produced 26 half-hour episodes that cover the war beginning with the tensions leading up the war, the events of the conflict, and legacy of the war. The series used archival footage from various national and private archives, some of which were at that point being seen by the public for the first time. Instead of sound effects, an original music score was composed by Morton Gould, and performed by Alfredo Antonini conducting the CBS Symphony Orchestra.
World War One premiered on Tuesday nights at 8 pm Eastern Time. Mid-season it was moved to Sunday nights at 6:30 pm. Ratings competition from the second half-hour of ABC's Combat! and the second half-hour of NBC's Mr. Novak may have precipitated this time slot change.

Overview

The series begins with a review of the rivalries and tensions between the major European powers from 1870 to 1914, which culminated with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in the city of Sarajevo by members of the Serbian Black Hand.
The series then followed the course of the war, showing how more countries both in and out of Europe, such as Japan, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, Romania and the United States, became involved in the war, as well as the war's various fighting fronts and campaigns.
Various episodes examined the German atrocities in Belgium, the war at sea, trench warfare, the Russian Revolution, the Italian Front, air warfare, America's entry into the war, the home fronts of the various participants, the music of that era, the war's final campaigns, and the war's legacy.

Episode list

  1. The Summer of Sarajevo
  2. The Clash of the Generals
  3. The Doomed Dynasties
  4. Atrocity 1914
  5. They Sank the Lusitania
  6. Verdun the Inferno
  7. The Battle of Jutland
  8. The Trenches
  9. D-Day at Gallipoli
  10. America the Neutral
  11. Wilson and the War
  12. Revolution in Red
  13. Behind the German Lines
  14. Year of Lost Illusions
  15. Over There
  16. Over Here
  17. Daredevils and Dogfights
  18. The Agony of Caporetto
  19. Tipperary and All That Jazz
  20. The Promised Lands
  21. The Tide Turns
  22. The Battle of Argonne
  23. The Day the Guns Stopped Firing
  24. Wilson and Peace
  25. The Allies in Russia
  26. Heritage of War
Source for episode list and air date