3: The Great War | Andrew Marr’s The Making of Modern Britain

Duration: 59'13''

Synopsis

Britain gets its first taste of total war, which transformed the lives of people on the frontline and at home.

Further Information

More clips from Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

1: A New Dawn | Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

1: A New Dawn | Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

BBC Two | 2009 | 57'33''

Andrew Marr revisits Britain at the dawn of the 20th century. He finds the country mourning the death of Queen Vic...

2: Road to War | Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

2: Road to War | Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

BBC Two | 2009 | 58'56''

The country basks in a hot Edwardian summer, but the assassination of an archduke in Sarajevo presages world war.

4: Having a Ball | Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

4: Having a Ball | Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

BBC Two | 2009 | 59'12''

In the 1920s, Imperial Britannia slid from view and Britain saw a housing boom and the birth of radio broadcast...

5: Little Britain | Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

5: Little Britain | Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

BBC Two | 2009 | 59'21''

The Wall Street Crash and the rise of fascist politics in Europe caused chaos in 1930s Britain.

6: Britannia at Bay | Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

6: Britannia at Bay | Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

BBC Two | 2009 | 59'41''

The series concludes with an account of Britain during the Second World War, starting with the events at Dun...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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: 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.

5: Making Peace | History File

5: Making Peace | History File

BBC Two | 1999 | 18'24''

The Treaty of Versailles has been widely criticised and many believe the Second World War was due to its failure. In this section we explore w...

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: Living and Dying | History File

4: Living and Dying | History File

BBC Two | 1999 | 18'23''

The Great War was the first 'world' war, there were soldiers from Africa, Australia and India as well as Europe. In this section we look a...

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...

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.

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.

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...

8: Their Finest Hour | Battlefield Britain

8: Their Finest Hour | Battlefield Britain

BBC Two | 2004 | 58'32''

Peter and Dan Snow take an in-depth look at the battles that shaped our nation. The Battle of Britain was the pivotal air battle o...

The Wipers Times (2013)

The Wipers Times (2013)

BBC Two | 2013 | 1'28'59''

World War I drama based on a true story. An army captain discovers a printing press in the ruins of Ypres, Belgium, in 1916, and decides to publish a...

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...

1: Deja Vu (1858-1961) | The Vietnam War

1: Deja Vu (1858-1961) | The Vietnam War

BBC Four | 2017 | 55'05''

Revolutionaries led by Ho Chi Minh end French colonial occupation. Vietnam is divided in two at Geneva.

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.

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.

More from Andrew Marr

2: Cities on the Edge | Andrew Marr's Megacities

2: Cities on the Edge | Andrew Marr's Megacities

BBC One | 2011 | 59'03''

Andrew Marr takes a look at safety and security, two of the biggest challenges faced by each and every metropolis, visiting ...

3: Man Made Britain | Britain from Above

3: Man Made Britain | Britain from Above

BBC One | 2008 | 59'02''

Andrew Marr discovers how some of Britain's greenest landscapes were shaped by humans.

2: A Brave New World | New Elizabethans with Andrew Marr

2: A Brave New World | New Elizabethans with Andrew Marr

BBC Two | 2020 | 59'30''

Andrew Marr explores how Britain since 1952 has coped with the loss of empire, America's cultural and political hege...

3: The Word and the Sword | Andrew Marr's History of the World

3: The Word and the Sword | Andrew Marr's History of the World

BBC One | 2012 | 59'17''

In this episode, Andrew Marr examines the spiritual revolutions that shook the world between 300 BC and 700 AD.

1: Body and Soul | Andrew Marr on Darwin's Dangerous Idea

1: Body and Soul | Andrew Marr on Darwin's Dangerous Idea

BBC Two | 2009 | 58'11''

Andrew Marr explores how Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection has taken on a life of its own far beyon...

5: Little Britain | Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

5: Little Britain | Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

BBC Two | 2009 | 59'21''

The Wall Street Crash and the rise of fascist politics in Europe caused chaos in 1930s Britain.

2: The Land of Lost Consent | Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain

2: The Land of Lost Consent | Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain

BBC Two | 2007 | 58'36''

The 1950s were a period of apparent calm, order and prosperity for Britain, but much of the populace wa...