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The Rest Is History: The World Wars

The Rest Is History

What were the factors that lead to the outbreak of the First World War, and why was an assassination the spark for this terrible and transformative moment? How was it possible that after such horrors the Second World War broke out out in 1939? And, how did Hitler rise to power and set Nazi Germany on the road to war against Europe’s Allies? Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss in unsparing detail the chaotic outbreak of both World Wars - born of political machinations, human malice, and national greed - and the two violent, dramatic, and endlessly fascinating struggles that ensued.

  1. EPISODE 1

    The Road to The Great War: Countdown to Armageddon (Part 1)

    By the end of July 1914, the world hovered on the edge of a cataclysmic world war; Austria was at war with Serbia, Russia with Germany, and an ultimatum had been handed to Belgium. The July crisis had resolved itself in the most calamitous way possible. But how did this state of affairs erupt from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, in Sarajevo a month earlier? Even in the wake of their deaths war did not seem inevitable, with diplomats and politicians such as the British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey manoeuvring to douse the flames kindled by the Serbian assassin Gavrilo Princip. The fires would, however, prove unquenchable, thanks to the implosion of of the Balkan powder keg beside a declining, desiccated Austro-Hungarian Empire, long fearful of Serbia, the rise of Germany under the eccentric Kaiser, as an industrious powerhouse to rival Britain, and the complex alliances and treaties that forbade the Great Powers any retreat from the coming inferno…

    45 min

  2. EPISODE 2 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    The Road to The Great War: The Kaiser’s Blank Cheque (Part 2)

    In the wake of the cataclysmic assassination of Franz Ferdinand on the 28th of June 1914, in Austria, the long percolating question of what to do about Serbia, reached a climax. At last, they had been handed an opportunity to take decisive action. On Sunday 5th of July an emissary of the the old and embattled emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, arrived in a deserted Berlin with letters for Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. Their contents would change the course of world history forever. Originally received with uncharacteristic sanguinity and caution, the Kaiser returned from a hearty lunch that afternoon with a response to the emperor’s call for war against Serbia: Germany would back Austria absolutely, on top of which Wilhelm urged his ally to act with haste. What, then, were his motives? Was the Kaiser driven by a hunger for world domination, was it his hostility towards the British or was he spurred on by his personal sense of loss over the brutal assassination of his friend, and his wife? Whatever the case, Germany then issued Austria with the notorious Blank Cheque that would definitively set Europe upon the road to war.

    42 min

  3. EPISODE 3 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    The Road to The Great War: The Austrian Ultimatum (Part 3)

    On the 20th of July 1914 the heads of state of two great European powers - France and Russia - met in St Petersburg. Little did they know, though they may have suspected, that the Austrians were simultaneously writing up an Ultimatum, and waiting for the departure of the French to hand it to Serbia. Russia, at that time a vast continental empire under the leadership of the conservative, nervous Tsar Nicholas II, posed a major threat to the Austrians. It had modernised quickly and was in a far more confident position than it had been ten years earlier. Moreover, it had invested interests in the Balkans - the axis of their grain reserves - and little sympathy for the Austrians and their assassinated Archduke. Meanwhile, France felt itself to be a country in decline, long the whipping boy of Europe, and threatened by Germany - the growing, encroaching industrial shadow on its border. The time had come to recover French prestige in the world, and a war in the Balkans, guaranteeing the intervention of their most useful ally, Russia, may have seemed the answer…So it was that in the wake of their summit, both powers parted having cemented their alliance, eager to drive Britain into the conflict with them, and determined take a firm hand with whatever broke out in the Balkans. Three days later, Austria delivered its Ultimatum to Serbia… Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss the intrigues and interests of the formidable Franco-Russian alliance, their historical relationship with the Austrians, and the part they played in bringing the apocalyptic First World War to fruition. Also, the moment that Austria-Hungary finally dealt Serbia its inflammatory Ultimatum, and their response to it. With time ticking, the thunder clouds of war were closing in.

    49 min

  4. EPISODE 4 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    The Road to The Great War: Britain’s Fateful Choice (Part 4)

    On the 24th of July 1914, in London, the Liberal British Cabinet met to hear the Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, read them the Ultimatum handed to Serbia by the Austro-Hungarian Empire the day before. The world held its breath, awaiting Serbia’s response. With Germany determined to stand by Austria, and the French against them, focus now turned turned to Britain. Historically a German ally despite their naval race in 1913, it had recently adopted a policy of “splendid isolation”, its enormous empire having in some ways been something of a millstone, forcing them into protective alliances with other powers with which they may not otherwise have aligned. Regardless, the cabinet’s response to the Ultimatum was one of unanimous shock, with Sir Grey himself - a man of languid superiority - especially worried by the situation simmering in Europe. How, then, would Britain and the other great powers of Europe respond to the Ultimatum? And graver still, what would Serbia do? Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the entangled web of European diplomacy in 1914, the British reaction to Austria’s Ultimatum, and the fascinating, comical and often deeply impressive cast of characters operating matters behind the scenes, as the countdown to war begun.

    51 min

  5. EPISODE 5 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    The Road to The Great War: The Tsar Chooses War (Part 5)

    “We have been forced to draw the sword”. Following the expiry of Austria’s Ultimatum on Saturday 25th July 1914, the Kaiser and the Tsar - friends and cousins, long desirous of peace between their two nations - found themselves in a new and highly precarious situation. Even so, there was still a widespread sense across Europe that war could be avoided, with Sir Edward Grey determined to mediate between Serbia, Russia, Austria and Germany. His efforts would be frustrated when, a month after the assassination, emperor Franz Joseph finally signed the declaration of war on Serbia. That same afternoon the power brokers of St. Petersburg were urging a reticent Tsar to declare war. Then, in the early hours of the following day, there was a mighty explosion outside Belgrade, where a contingent of Serbians, embroiled in the assassination of the Archduke, had blown up a major railway bridge connecting Belgrade to Austria. Following this, there emerged from the darkness three Austro-Hungarian warships, their sights set on revenge…. Join Dominic and Tom as they describe the most dramatic day in the lead up to the First World War so far. With the world hovering on the edge of a gaping precipice, the British cabinet subsequently met again to discuss Germany’s next course of action, their thoughts inevitably turning to “plucky little Belgium”…

    52 min

  6. EPISODE 6 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    The Road to The Great War: The Lights Go Out (Part 6)

    “The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime” In the early days of August 1914, the British press has become increasingly vocal about the prospect of war breaking out amongst the great European powers. But the Kaiser still believes he can count on his ambassador in London, and his dear cousin, George V, to make sure Britain stays out of the war, giving the Germans an easy go at the French. And a telegram from the British capital apparently brings the best possible news: Britain declares itself neutral, and will make sure that France does the same… Join Tom and Dominic in the final instalment of our series on the outbreak of the First World War, as the storm clouds of war finally reach Western Europe…

    1h 5m

  7. EPISODE 7 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    The First World War: The Invasion of Belgium (Part 1)

    Following the declaration of war in 1914, how did the outbreak of the First World War unfold? What were the earliest military engagements of this terrible, totemic event? Who were its key political players and how did they respond? What was the attitude to the war in Germany? Were the allies unified from this early stage, or were they suspicious and frozen by indecision? And, how did the Germans, with the mightiest army in all the world, make its move on “plucky little” Belgium? Join Dominic and Tom as they launch into one of the most consequential events of all time: the outbreak of the First World War.

    56 min

  8. EPISODE 8 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    The First World War: The Battle of the Frontiers (Part 2)

    What was Britain's first military move following the outbreak of the First World War? Where did the French launch their initial attack on the Germans? Whose army was the biggest and best of all the participants in the war? And, what unfolded at the pivotal Battle of the Ardennes in August 1914, on the frontiers of France, between the Germans and the French, and what would be the consequences of the outcome for the war as a whole? Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss, in riveting, unsparing detail, the dramatic early engagements of the First World War, and the bloody Battle of Ardennes.

    57 min
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What were the factors that lead to the outbreak of the First World War, and why was an assassination the spark for this terrible and transformative moment? How was it possible that after such horrors the Second World War broke out out in 1939? And, how did Hitler rise to power and set Nazi Germany on the road to war against Europe’s Allies? Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss in unsparing detail the chaotic outbreak of both World Wars - born of political machinations, human malice, and national greed - and the two violent, dramatic, and endlessly fascinating struggles that ensued.

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