The Great War

I keep meaning to mention to people that there's a gem of a television series on YouTube called "The Great War". It's a 26-episode documentary series first broadcast in 1964. It was a co-production involving the resources of the Imperial War Museum, the BBC, the Canadian BC and the Australian BC and each episode is about 40 mins.

It's a fascinating series for all sorts of reasons but the thing it has which nothing recent can hope for, as it was made on 50 years after that start of the war, is actual interviews with people that were there: both civilians and servicemen. For example in the early episodes they have the (then very young) British liaison officer who was attached to General Joffre's staff and was present when key decisions were made in the early, mobile, stages of the war.

More background information, and a list of episode titles here on Wikipedia.

I've just finished episode 6, on the start of the war at sea, and know a great deal more (from a low point of pretty much nothing) about the naval war outside home waters.