2: The War Machine | Britain’s Great War

Duration: 58'54''

Synopsis

With the country unprepared for war, the whole population is enlisted to turn Britain into a war machine.

Further Information

More clips from Britain's Great War

1: War Comes to Britain | Britain's Great War

1: War Comes to Britain | Britain's Great War

BBC One | 2014 | 59'02''

Jeremy Paxman presents a four-part documentary charting how the First World War affected Great Britain, with this episode focus...

3: The Darkest Hour | Britain's Great War

3: The Darkest Hour | Britain's Great War

BBC One | 2014 | 58'46''

How Germany's attempts to starve Britain into submission edged the nation closer to defeat than ever.

4: At the Eleventh Hour | Britain's Great War

4: At the Eleventh Hour | Britain's Great War

BBC One | 2014 | 58'52''

Jeremy Paxman describes how the country came to the very brink of defeat in the last year of the war.

How Britain declared war in 1914 | Britain's Great War

How Britain declared war in 1914 | Britain's Great War

BBC One | 2014 | 5'27''

Jeremy Paxman explores the optimistic national mood at the declaration of war in 1914 after Germany, under Kaiser Wilh...

Learning Zone | Britain's Great War

Learning Zone | Britain's Great War

BBC Two | 2014 | 58'57''

Jeremy Paxman traces the effects of the First World War on Britain. This was a total war which dragged in civilians as well as soldiers, ...

More resources about Twentieth century warfare

S1E2: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand | Days That Shook the World

S1E2: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2004 | 29'03''

How the duke's death led to the start of the First World War.

The Somme: From Defeat to Victory

The Somme: From Defeat to Victory

BBC One | 2006 | 58'17''

Drama-documentary which offers a new perspective on the most infamous battle of World War I, revealing how it was on the Somme that the Bri...

They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)

They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)

BBC Two | 2018 | 1'34'52''

Transforming archive footage more than a century old, Peter Jackson brings to life the people who can best tell the story of World War I: the ...

1: Martial Races | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

1: Martial Races | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

BBC Two | 2014 | 59'04''

David Olusoga challenges our perceptions of the First World War with the stories of the millions of Indian, ...

1: Advance Britannia | Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain

1: Advance Britannia | Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain

BBC Two | 2007 | 59'01''

Andrew Marr revisits Britain in 1945 and finds the country victorious but nearly bankrupt, beginning a battle ...

Dunkirk (2017)

Dunkirk (2017)

BBC One | 2020 | 1'37'04''

Hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops find themselves in an impossible situation. Christopher Nolan's epic wartime action thriller.

S1E4: Hiroshima | Days That Shook the World

S1E4: Hiroshima | Days That Shook the World

BBC Four | 2003 | 59'07''

Documentary recalling 6 August 1945, when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, with testimony from American colonel Paul Tibbe...

6: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight | Not Forgotten

6: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight | Not Forgotten

Channel 4 | 2007 | 48'21''

In this special edition of Not Forgotten, Ian Hislop explores the powerful and often overlooked stories of conscientious object...

2: Stalemate | History File

2: Stalemate | History File

BBC Two | 1999 | 18'34''

The second section explores why the war wasn't over by Christmas 1914 and what life was like in the trenches.

Learning Zone | Britain's Great War

Learning Zone | Britain's Great War

BBC Two | 2014 | 58'57''

Jeremy Paxman traces the effects of the First World War on Britain. This was a total war which dragged in civilians as well as soldiers, ...

1: The Approach of War | History File

1: The Approach of War | History File

BBC Two | 1999 | 18'28''

The first section asks who was to blame for the war.

4: Slaughter | 1914-1918

4: Slaughter | 1914-1918

BBC Knowledge | 2001 | 48'35''

Documentary series telling the history of the Great War, in which nine million people perished. The battles of Verdun, the Somme and Passchendaele w...

S2E2: The Christmas Truce | Days That Shook the World

S2E2: The Christmas Truce | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2004 | 59'24''

An account of Christmas Day in 1914, when German and British soldiers initiated a spontaneous truce across the frontline.

Chinese Labour Corps | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

Chinese Labour Corps | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

BBC Two | 2014 | 4'01''

David Olusoga discusses the experiences of the Chinese labour corp in WW1.

The Indian Corps and trench warfare | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

The Indian Corps and trench warfare | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

BBC Two | 2014 | 4'45''

David Olusoga discusses the Indian corp experiences of industrialised trench warfare.

1: 1918 Western Front | Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields

1: 1918 Western Front | Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields

BBC Two | 2007 | 59'00''

The Snows visit Northern France to tell the story of the 1918 Battle of Amiens.

3: The Wrong War | Nazis: A Warning from History

3: The Wrong War | Nazis: A Warning from History

BBC Two | 1997 | 48'23''

A look at how Hitler found himself at war with Britain - a country whose achievements he admired - and allied to his ideolog...

1: Berlin 1945-48 | History File

1: Berlin 1945-48 | History File

BBC Two | 2000 | 23'40''

Compilation of secondary schools programme about the Cold War, featuring Berlin Crisis, Hungarian Uprising, rise of Soviet leader Nikita Khr...

3: The Home Front | History File

3: The Home Front | History File

BBC Two | 1999 | 18'32''

The First World War was a total war. Nobody escaped, even the women and children at home. In this third section we look at how the lives of ...

4: Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 | History File

4: Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 | History File

BBC Two | 2000 | 23'12''

Compilation of secondary schools programme about the Cold War, featuring Berlin Crisis, Hungarian Uprising, rise of Soviet leader...