The sinking of Lusitania and the deaths of 128 Americans was a shock. While there was little support in the US for war against Germany, there was a strong feeling that *some* kind of response was necessary. It was up to Woodrow Wilson to figure out what that would be.

Germany searches for a way to break the British blockade; Britain looks for a decisive battle.

In 1914, Germany and Britain held adjacent colonial territories in East Africa. When the Great War began, Britain attempted to seize German East Africa.

Another look at race relations in the USA. The formation of the NAACP and the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League and the re-founding of the Ku Klux Klan. And the release of D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation."

Germany claimed Southwest Africa as a colony in 1884. This episode reviews the history of the colony through the Great War, when it was seized by South Africa.

In 1914, the war in the West ground down to a stalemate. There seemed no sign that 1915 would be any different. Allied commanders experimented with new tactics to deal with this new warfare.

The beginning of 1915 sees the Central Powers under something like a giant siege. What can be done to break out?

The Great War was by no means restricted to Europe. In this episode, we begin an occasional series examining the war in Africa.

When the Ottoman Empire joined the war, it opened new strategic possibilities for the Central Powers. It also led to a declaration of jihad against the Allies.

The phrase "shackled to a corpse" is often used to describe Germany's dilemma in the Great War. Surrounded by enemy nations that collectively have a greater population and larger economies, she also finds herself stuck with a disappointing alliance partner.