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The Austro-Hungarian army resembles a better militia after six months into the war. The defeats against Serbia and Russia and still under siege in Galicia - the forces are in dire straits. Many casualties, especially among the officers, mean that an effective warfare is impossible. And all this while the Russians are close to entering the Hungarian plains. On another front, the Rtussians are winning the battle of Sarikamish which ends in a disaster for the Ottoman Empire. On the Western Front, each side still tries to gain a decisive advantage.

Completely underestimating the Ottoman army at the Dardanelles, the British commanders decide to let the ANZACs take the Gallipoli peninsular as a gateway to the Bosporus and Constantinople. After the landing in ANZAC Cove and on Z Beach one thing comes clear though: Mustafa Kemal and his troops will fight for every inch of this piece of rock.

After more than 6 months of stalemate, the German Empire is playing two new cards to gain a decisive advantage. On the Eastern Front, the Germans use gas on a huge scale for the first time. While the attack fails, the foundation for gas warfare is laid. At the same time Kaiser Wilhelm II agrees to unrestricted submarine warfare – any ship can be sank at any time.

After the advances and retreats during the early weeks of war, the front is coming to a grinding hold after the Battle of the Aisne. The German Army is digging itself in on one side of the river and a new, horrible chapter of World War One begins: trench warfare. To be prepared for this new kind of war, the British Army is recruiting over 400.000 soldiers still believing that the war will be over by Christmas.

The German Army is so close to Paris that French soldiers are brought to the front by taxis. Together with the British Expeditionary Forces, the French are fighting the German advance near the Marne river. Meanwhile, the Austro-Hungarian army is retreating to the Carpathian Mountains after a catastrophic defeat against Russia with hundreds of thousands of casualties.

During their advance through Belgium, the German Army is committing atrocities against Belgian civilians - justified as response to resistance and sabotage against their advancement. The Austro-Hungarian Army is perpetrating massacres against the Serbian civilian population to retaliate against Serbian guerrilla warfare. At the Eastern Front, German generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff succeed in one of the most important battles of World War I: The Battle of Tannenberg.

The commanders of the German army blame each other for the missing victories. Erich von Falkenhayn and Paul von Hindenburg both believe that they have the only solution to the problem. The German emperor Wilhelm II feels more and more excluded when it comes to military decisions. His soldiers become pieces on a chessboard and the war of the 20th century also takes its toll on some of the best commanders of World War 1. The situation at the Western Front stays unaltered: the French and Germans fight each other between the trenches. On the contrary, at the Eastern Front the Russians and the Germans are battling in a heavy fight.

Three months after the outbreak of the war, another world power enters the conflict: The Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman war minister Enver Pascha, a supporter of a new Turkish self confidence, wants to gain advantages for a future Turkey by declaring war. Meanwhile, another ship of the German East Asian Squadron is surprising the Royal Navy by sinking two of their ships near Coronel, Chile. Regardless, the battles on the Eastern Front, Western Front and in Serbia are continuing.

1915 was a year for the Central Powers except on the Western Front where the stalemate continues. But plans are being made on both sides to gain an advantage. Preparations for huge offensives are on the way and one French fortress is the focus of the German Army: Verdun.

Serbia's last stand is over and the remaining forces and civilians have to leave their home country across the inhabitable trails of the Albanian Alps. So, a whole nation is on the run while their enemies celebrate their successful military operation. The German Army is gladly relocating the much needed troops to other fronts while they leave the Austrians and Bulgarians to deal with the new situation on the Balkans.

12 war zones were not enough for this global war and this week an often forgotten theatre of war opens in Libya. Local Arab tribesmen fight against the British in guerrilla war. As if the Italians did not have enough problems at the Isonzo Front where Luigi Cardona is still sending his men into certain death against the Austrian defences. The situation for the Serbs is grim too and on the Western Front the carnage continues unchanged.

This week Indy dissects a contemporary source from autumn 1915 - the Hobart Mercury Newspaper from Australia. While the French and British prepare a new offensive on the Western Front, their Entente ally Russia is still suffering in the East when Germany is moving on the last big Russian city of Vilnius. Even though the propaganda says otherwise, the situation for the ANZACs in Gallipoli still looks grim.

Just a few weeks ago Austria-Hungary's military laid in shambles. But with German support from August von Mackensen and other German generals, the tide is turning on the Eastern Front. Even Lemberg can be conquered again and the Russians are still on their Big Retreat.

The war seems like a romantic novel this week: In the East the Russians are saved by Cossack Cavalry while August von Mackensen's artillery is plowing through Galicia. In the meantime, the British discover a German spy ring in London and the French gain a few miles in the west.

he autumn rain turns the battlefields into muddy landscapes. Mud in which the soldiers are hardly able to dig trenches and in which no artillery gun will stand. The first change of seasons is proving to be a big new challenge for the armies in Europe. While at the time, the longest siege of the war is starting, we can also see the first major African battles of World War 1.

parked by the desperate state of the Austrians, the Russian army goes on the offensive. General Ivanov even tries to use his numerical superiority to make up for the German victories a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, the armies of the Western Front try to outflank each other as they race north to the sea. And in the North Sea itself, submarine warfare really gets going while in the air, we see airplanes used in large military operations for the first time in history.

In the early days of World War 1, warfare is still based on ideas and ideals of 19th century generals. The technological progress during industrialisation clashes with obsolete war tactics (Plan XVII). Tens of thousands of soldiers lose their lives in carnage at the Western Front. The French Army marches into battle in bright uniforms, where the German Army awaits them with machine guns. Artillery already shows how brutal and effective it's going to be during the rest of World War 1.

This week, generals on three different fronts show that they are not able to realise their mistakes. Basra falls to the British, the quick victory at the Dardanelles is getting more and more unlikely and the Russians are loosing their advantage in the Carpathians. But not the commanders have to pay the price for their mistakes, the soldiers have to.

To break up the stalemate and get a decisive advantage, France and Great Britain open up yet another theatre of war in the Dardanelles. The plan is to seize the strait and open eventually open up the Bosporus in order to ship supplies to the Eastern and Balkan front. And so begins the naval bombardment of ottoman forts as prelude to a big offensive which will we know to today as Gallipoli.

This week, well over 1 million soldiers are on the advance everywhere in Europe. General Hindenburgs tries to beat the Russians once and for all at the Masurian Lakes. Austria-Hungary is fighting the Russians with German support in the Carpathian mountains and on the Western Front the Champagne offensive is still going.

Right before Christmas the allied powers begin the Champagne offensive, which will last several months. In snow, mud,and under horrible living conditions not only the soldiers suffer. The images of a war fought with honour and glory are finally over as even the white flag is used for ambushes now. Far away in the mountains of the Caucasus, Russia and the Ottoman Empire are fighting a grim battle, too, in which many soldiers die during interminable marches in the snow wearing summer uniforms.

German admiral Franz von Hipper reluctantly carries out his orders to bomb British costal towns. And indeed, this attempt to intimidate British civilians only unites them. British propaganda gets another opportunity to portray Germans as bloodthirsty and brutal. Meanwhile, the French start a new offensive near Vimy on the Western Front.

Four months after the outbreak of the war, a new objective develops: the fight for the most valuable resources. The modern warfare and its war machines need one thing more than anything: Oil, iron, steel or cole can be a matter of life and death. The British advance into the Ottoman Empire and conquer the city Basra. Their goal is to secure their drilling facilities at the Arab Gulf. Meanwhile, the situation at the front is gridlocked, especially in the trenches on the Western Front.

While the Germans on the Western Front are very close to reaching Paris, the Eastern Front proves to become a disastrous failure for the Austro-Hungarian forces. Conrad von Hötzendorf overestimated his skills and the strength of his troops. And after his too complicated plan in Galicia failed, the town of Lemberg falls into the hands of the Russians. Meanwhile, the war starts spreading into Asia, as Japan is besieging Tsingtao and New Zealand conquers German Samoa.

The British Expeditionary Forces are starting their first major offensive since the beginning of trench warfare. Near Neuve-Chapelle they attack the Germans and try to "bite and hold" their position. This battle will be the blueprint for future British offensives. On the Balkan, Serbia is facing a different enemy: Typhus. The catastrophic sanitary conditions enable the disease to spread across the whole country.

In the trenches on the Western Front and in the mud on the Eastern Front, hundreds of thousands of soldiers die and with them dies the illusion of a short war. After heavy casualties, the armies are adapting to a longer conflict and are looking for new recruits. To convince them to fight they are taking advantage of national minorities and their hope of equal rights and self-determination.

After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary is determined to put a lid on Serbia once and for all. Germany wanted to go to war with Russia sooner than later, because it was a afraid of a strong Tsar Nicholas II. In the first episode, Indy explains how the various European conflicts spiralled into a world war.

Austria-Hungary starts the bombardment of Belgrade. What follows is a deployment race of armies between all major powers in Europe. Nobody wants to be unprepared in case of an attack. Germany is implementing the Schlieffen-Plan. The idea is to avoid a two front war by conquering Paris via Belgium. After that the full attention would be diverted to Russia. One thing gets clear in the first days at the Western Front: This war is going to be different - this was modern warfare.

Modern war already took place in the sky and under water but the waring nations also wanted to gain an advantage in the trenches. So this week, we see the first use of another merciless invention on the battlefield: the flame thrower. The battles on the Western Front, in the Carpathian's and near the Dardanelles continued nonetheless.

Even though the Entente offensive near Constantinople didn't really take off yet, the allied powers were already dreaming about splitting up the Ottoman Empire between themselves - and even promised territory to other nations. In the meantime, Austria-Hungary started its third offensive in the Carpathians to free the besieged army in Galicia.

The first few days of war were a combination of failed organisation and chaos. The Austro-Hungarian supreme command lacks combat experience, and their irrational actions in Serbia are causing turmoil among the Germans. At the Eastern and Western Front, early signs of problems can be seen, too, which the armies will pay a terrible price for, in the upcoming weeks.

French general Joseph Joffre is stuck in a dilemma: the Champagne offensive has been going on for weeks now - without any of the expected results. Should he dig in and tolerate the enemy on French soil? Or should his soldiers continue to run up against the impenetrable German defences? Meanwhile, South African troops attack German South West Africa and in London, Winston Churchill's plan for an invasion of the Dardanelles has been approved.

The Western Front has been relatively quiet the whole summer while the Russians were on their Big Retreat. The French and British generals have been busy trying to find a new strategy to overcome the stalemate. The Germans weren't sitting idle while awaiting the next big French offensive, they fortified their positions even using concrete. At the same time in the East, Tsar Nicholas II personally takes over military command and fires Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich for the catastrophic casualties the Russian Army faced this summer. But his timing could not be worse.

After more than six months of war, the first big mutiny breaks out in Singapore. The endless battles in which big powers sacrifice thousands of soldiers are leading to an organised resistance for the first time. Indian troops refuse to board a ship because they don't want to fight other muslims in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Paul von Hindenburg encircles the Russians on the Eastern Front and they almost suffer a defeat as they did in Tannenberg 1914.

After defeating the Russian Army in the early weeks of the war, the German and Austrian generals hope to push the Russians back with combined forces. But, like Napoleon 100 years earlier, they underestimate their enemy and his tactics and so the tides are turning on the Eastern Front. On the Western Front, the last frontline gaps are closed and the British army is entering a small town called Ypres, which will eventually be the symbol for the carnage in Flanders for the next four years.

The first weeks of war already took hundreds of thousands of lives and the daily struggle to survive in the trenches on the Western Front has nothing to do with the promised glory. Back home, propaganda is already working and grotesquely distorting the public's opinion about the war. While the British civilians feared a German invasion, some of the leading German scientists and intellectuals published the "Manifesto Of The 93" in which they rallied for solidarity with the Germans

The German army dug in at the Western Front and waited for the next Russian attack at the Eastern Front. Even though the Germans outnumbered their opponents, they barely stood a chance against machine guns in No Man's Land. They realize: to defend a position is a lot easier than to attack and conquer. Especially while fighting near Ypres. At the Eastern Front, things are going better for Chief of Staff Ludendorff: he breaks through outstretched Siberian lines. At the same time, Russian soldiers are faced with a new enemy and start the Bergmann Offensive in today's East-Turkey.

Konrad von Hötzendorf has to prevent the Russian army from entering the Hungarian plains. He starts a huge offensive in the Carpathian Mountains - in mid winter. He also wants to demonstrate his power to Italy and Romania who are considering entering the war for the Entente. Meanwhile, in the North Sea the first Battle of Dogger Bank takes place which leads to the sinking of the German ship SMS Blücher.

After some heavy casualties during the first months of war, the armies had to look for new recruits. While Great Britain undertook soldiers in military service to fill up their ranks, Germany was relying on reservists and inexperienced recruits. This fatal German mix was sent against smaller, but much more experienced British and French troops. The resulting carnage had no military effect, but was later on idolized by the German propaganda and is today known as the "Kindermord" (child murder) or Massacre of the Innocent.

During the first week of December, Austria manages to capture Belgrade. Thereby Austria is the first nation to achieve one of its war aims. The victorious Austrians are joyful, but the Serbs strike back and the Austrian euphoria takes a sudden end. Meanwhile, the Russians fight against the German and Austrian troops in front of Cracow. But the Austrians are able to stop the Russian offensive and achieve yet another victory.

Near the far away Falkland Islands the story of the German East Asia Squadron is coming to an end: in a naval battle nearly the entire squadron is sunk and Maximilian von Spee dies together with over 2000 German seamen. Meanwhile, the war of attrition is still going on in Europe and Austria-Hungary has to learn that their conquest of Belgrade is not putting a lid on the Serbian resistance.

The Champagne offensive is still going on the Western Front without any side gaining a decisive advantage. In the Caucasus, Enver Pasha is showing how far he's willing to go to achieve his goals. Against his military advisors’ recommendations, he decides to send more and more troops to Sarikamish. Without supplies and with temperatures constantly below -20 degrees, thousands of Ottoman soldiers freeze to death before even reaching the frontline. When the Russians finally encircle the Ottoman troops, defeat is inevitable.

For a decisive advantage on the Western Front, the military commanders of both sides are trying to use technological advances. And so this week, German Zeppelins are flying their first air raids on English towns. Winston Churchill is outlining his ideas for what would later become the tank. Meanwhile at the Western Front, the soldier Adolf Hitler is thinking about how this war is going to continue.

The generals at the Western Front are slowly starting to adapt to the modern war. The battle of Neuve-Chappelle will be a blueprint for future operations and further improvements are supposed to finally bring the decisive advantage. In the meantime, after 133 days, the fortress of Przemyśl capitulates - the longest siege of World War 1.

The Ottoman Navy is finally able to fend off the Russian and Royal Navies in the Dardanelles, Bulgaria is considering joining the Central Powers, Austria-Hungary is fighting off the Russians in Galicia and the German start a new offensive in the Baltics. All in one busy week of spring 1915.

The leaders of the Ottoman Empire are looking for a scapegoat after their collosal defeat in the Caucasian Mountains a few month earlier. They start the systematic relocation and disarm Armenian troops among their ranks to end all calls for Armenian independence. Today's estimates place the death toll of the genocide up till 1.5 million men, women and children.

fter experiments on the Eastern Front, the German Army is using poison gas for the first time on the Western Front. At the beginning of the 2nd Battle of Ypres, the wind blows in a favourable direction; the wide spread use of chlorine gas has a devastating effect on the French troops. Even the Germans are surprised by it. The incredible sacrifice of the Canadian troops make it possible to defend Hill 60 in the end.

Ignoring the warnings and cruising carelessly slow the RMS Lusitania is hit by a torpedo of the German U-Boat U20. Almost 2000 people die during the sinking of the Lusitania. At the same time the German and Austro-Hungarian army start a combined surprise offensive in the Carpathians. The Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive is a huge success for German commander August von Mackensen.