Apocalypse: World War I (2014)

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A five part HD series of international scope, consisting entirely of archival images. This historical project will bring a fuller awareness of the horrors of the war, and provide a better understanding of the reasons and outcomes.

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Ep. 1 - Fury
On June 28, 1914, the assassination of an obscure Austrian archduke in Sarajevo triggers the most disastrous conflict the world has ever known. Germany becomes an enemy to France, invades Belgium, and in September arrives at the gates of Paris. Will Germany win the war so quickly?

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Ep. 2 - Fear
The French army stops the German advance at the battle of the Marne, while the Germans halt the Russians at Tannenberg on the eastern front. In France, the warring parties dig themselves in for 4 years in the trenches. Soldiers from the colonies come lend a hand to their colonizers and the war becomes global.

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Ep. 3 - Hell
In 1916, the war is raging in Europe and stretches from the trenches in France to the Italian Alps and the Balkans, and beyond to the gates of the Eastern world. The conflict becomes industrial, and millions of shells rain down on the battlefields; Verdun and the Somme are the deadliest battles in this second year of the war. Who can stop this infernal machine?

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Ep. 4 - Rage
1917: People have had enough of the war. Behind the scenes, uprisings are brewing, like the one that toppled the czar in Russia; on the front, soldiers begin to mutiny as they did at Chemin des Dames in France. German submarine attacks in the Atlantic finally pull the Americans into the war, but they arrive too late to help prevent the carnage of the Battle of Passchendaele.

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Ep. 5 - Deliverance
All seems lost for the Allies when the Italians are defeated at Caporette and Bolshevik Russia pulls out of the war. But the American reinforcements are decisive, and the Allies emerge victorious. The Allies are unable to negotiate an honourable peace agreement, and the Treaty of Versailles 20 years later will have disastrous consequences.
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On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the armistice ending World War I, this 5 part series is worth a look. Recommended.
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The first 3 parts of this torrent were initially a National Geographic edited 42 minute version (cut from the original 52 minutes) with very questionable edits and changes in narration. Shame on National Geographic for placing jingoistic propaganda over the truth!