History WebVideo / TheGreatWar

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: While most episodes are produced in the studio, Indy and the crew have shot some episodes on location in Przemsyl, Poland (an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Przemysl_Fortress Austrian fortress besieged by the Russians in 1914-15]]) and Verdun.

%%* ShownTheirWork: The series runs on this trope.

* WarIsGlorious: Defied, whenever romantic notions of war rise up, Indy never forgets to remind the audience of just how awful the war was for all services of the military as well as civilians in every country.

* GeneralRipper: Franz Conrad Graf von Hötzendorf, who is mentioned (as Indy puts it) "all the time" on the show, tends to be depicted this way. He constantly (read: more than 30 times) advocated for Austria-Hungary to go to war with various of its neighbors in the run-up to World War I.

** There are also several crossovers with [[CandRsenal C&Rsenal]] discussing the various small arms used by the warring nations.

** There are also several crossovers with [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClq1dvO44aNovUUy0SiSDOQ C&Rsenal]] discussing the various small arms used by the warring nations.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeUNM9NqJqZXfRNeuW4_2sg InRangeTV]] and by extension [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeUNM9NqJqZXfRNeuW4_2sg Forgotten Weapons]] did a crossover with The Great War in episode [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfKUd8bvQfc Trench Raid Tactics - Into The Abyss I THE GREAT WAR]]

Has a sister channel called '''It's History''', which looks at a wider range of topics, such as the Cold War, China, and the history of sex.

** The phrase "Modern war" shows up in many different contexts, primarily at the end of episodes.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The episode on Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck discusses how he was idolised until relatively recently for his role in defending German East Africa against a much larger Entente force. It acknowledges his skill as a commander, stating that he was a major pioneer of guerrilla warfare in the 20th century. However, the show also mentions von Lettow-Vorbeck's role in the Herero genocide, his participation in the 1920 Kapp-Putsch (a far-right coup attempt, intending to depose the UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic), along with his racist imperialist views. It also discusses how his pillaging of British, Portuguese, and Belgian territory and forcible conscription of local Africans as porters indirectly led to hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths in East Africa.

* AMillionIsAStatistic: Defied and Discussed. Indy repeatedly points out that the sheer death toll of the war makes it easy to lose track of the suffering of the individuals behind the massive numbers.

* OnrushingArmy: World War I is described as "a new war with old generals". Despite the innovations in automatic weapons and artillery, the chief commanders at the beginning of the war were still stuck in the 1800s, sending out men en-masse to rush enemy formations. The worst were the French, whose [[HighlyConspicuousUniform bright red and blue uniforms]] got them killed by the thousands.

** "This is modern war." or "This was modern war."

** Indie also had this to say about "The Russian Women's Battalion of Death".

* AMillionIsAStatistic: Defied and Discussed. Indy points out that the sheer death toll of the war makes it easy to lose track of the suffering of the individuals behind the massive numbers.

** There are also several crossovers with [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClq1dvO44aNovUUy0SiSDOQ C&Rsenal]] discussing the various small arms used by the waring nations.

* MadScientist: The episode on Fritz Haber is titled "A Genius and a Madman". Haber was a brilliant scientist, fiercely patriotic, but his role in weaponising poison gas brought untold misery to the world. His "perversion of science" may have driven his own wife to suicide.

-->'''Indy''': [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Spicer-Simson He]] also wanted to name the boats Cat and Dog, but the navy wouldn't let him, so he christened them Mimi and Toutou. Really.

** RoadTripPlot: episodes recounting the trips to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPK0BjG4TGg&index=26&list=PLB2vhKMBjSxNUxpltTT98mcQlIqyVzfjG Przemsyl]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lhWXsI4y8s&index=3&list=PLB2vhKMBjSxNUxpltTT98mcQlIqyVzfjG Verdun]].

** "This is modern war."

* GeneralRipper: Franz Conrad Graf von Hötzendorf, who is mentioned (as Indy puts it) "all the time" on the show, tends to be depicted this way. He constantly (read: more than 30 times) advocated for Austria-Hungary to go to war with various of its neighbours in the run-up to World War I.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: While most episodes are produced in the studio, Indy and the crew have shot some episodes on location in Przemsyl, Poland (an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Przemy%C5%9Bl_Fortress Austrian fortress besieged by the Russians in 1914-15]]) and Verdun.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: While most episodes are produced in the studio, Indy and the crew have shot some episodes on location in Przemsyl, Poland (an Austrian fortress [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Przemy%C5%9Bl besieged by the Russians in 1914-15]]) and Verdun.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: While most episodes are produced in the studio, Indy and the crew have shot some episodes on location in Przemsyl, Poland (an Austrian fortress [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Przemsyl besieged by the Russians in 1914-15]]) and Verdun.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: While most episodes are produced in the studio, Indy and the crew have shot some episodes on location in Przemsyl, Poland (an Austrian fortress [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Przemy%C5%9Bl besieged by the Russians in 1914-15]]) and Verdun.

* RealTime: The show is formatted as a week by week news coverage of the events of the war as they took place, exactly 100 years ago. It gives an appreciation of the length of the war.

* WarIsGlorious: Defied, whenever romantic notions of war rise up, Indie never forgets to remind the audience of just how awful the war was for all services of the military as well as civilians in every country.

* Documentary: Is presented as such.

* IntentionalEngrishForFunny: "Angel and Snake", the "most popular TV show", featured in the outtakes.

** This Week 100 Years Ago:
** Special Episodes:

** This Week 100 Years Ago: Green. The main series.
** Special Episodes: Red. Miscellaneous episodes focusing on specific topics.
** Who Did What In WWI?: Orange. Special episodes covering famous figures of the period or of WWII.
** Out of the Trenches: Yellow. Q&A sessions
** Out of the Ether: Purple. Episodes sharing good content written by the fans

* BlatantLies: Indy shared a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRKvb3MGLZw ridiculous story]] about the Chair of Wisdom's origins during one "Out of the Trenches" segment.

* NowBuyTheMerchandise: The Great War has begun to produce some merchandise which they advertise. Of particular note are the "Hotzensocks" featuring Condrad von Hotzendorf on...socks.

** This Week 100 Years Ago: Green.
** Special Episodes: Red.
** Who Did What In WWI?: Orange.
** Out of the Trenches: Yellow.
** Out of the Ether: Purple.

* RealTime: The show obviously doesn't depict events in true RealTime, but the week by week coverage of the war is the closest thing one is likely to get to it.

* ShownTheirWork: The series runs on this trope.

* [[AmericaWinsTheWar Britain Wins The War]]: Indy occasionally expresses annoyance with the prevalent idea that World War I was won solely on the Western Front due to the prevalence of British media about that front, pointing out that the Eastern Front, Balkan Theater, and Middle Eastern Theater were also important.

* BadassMustache: Extremely prevalent among high ranking officers during the war to the point that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsF5Mg6DXiM they had their own top 10 list]]. This trope was, however, mostly averted among enlisted ranks, since gas masks tended to be difficult and dangerous to wear with facial hair.

* GeneralFailure: A fair number make an appearance, but Austria-Hungary's Oscar Potiorek stands out, with his bungled invasion of Serbia bringing humiliation to his country shortly after the war broke out. Conrad von Hötzendorf is somewhat more controversial, but Indy is baffled by the fact that he is still considered by some to be a military genius.

* GloryHound: This mindset contributed to the start of the war. As Indy points out in an early episode, there were a lot of officers who had never seen combat before yet had romantic notions about wartime glory and fame and were eager to obtain some for themselves. Hötzendorf above is a fine example.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The episode on Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck discusses how he was idolised until relatively recently for his role in defending German East Africa against a much larger Entente force. It acknowledges his skill as a commander, stating that he was a major pioneer of guerrilla warfare in the 20th century. However, the show also mentions von Lettow-Vorbeck's role in the Herero genocide, his participation in the 1920 Kapp-Putsch (a far-right coup attempt, intending to depose the UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic), along with his racist imperialist views.

* GloryHound: This mindset contributed to the start of the war. As Indy points out in an early episode, there were a lot of young, inexperienced officers who had never seen combat before yet had romantic notions about wartime glory and fame and were eager to obtain some for themselves.

* GloryHound: This mindset contributed to the start of the war. As Indy points out in an early episode, there were a lot of young, inexperienced officers who had never seen combat before but nonetheless had romantic notions about wartime glory and fame.

* GloryHound: This mindset contributed to the start of the war. As Indy points out in an early episode, there were a lot of young, inexperienced officers who had never seen combat before and were eager to prove themselves.