The revolutionaries in Mexico ousted the dictator Victoriano Huerta, but then fell into fighting among themselves. Huerta, meanwhile, schemes with the Germans to take back the Mexican presidency, while the US government tries to stop him.
 
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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Marcha de Zacatecas”
Composed by Genaro Codina and Fernando Villalpando in 1892. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

“Himno en Honor de Aguascalientes”
Composed by Esteban Ávila Mier and Miguel Meneses in 1867. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016, 2017, 2018 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

 
After ten years of further work, Albert Einstein publishes his General Theory of Relativity, which changes our understanding of the very nature of reality.
 
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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Symphony No. 8 in F
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1812. Public domain.
Performed on recorder by Papalin, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016, 2017, 2018 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

 
Once German East Africa proved to be more difficult to subdue than originally thought, the British seek to wrest control of Lake Tanganyika from the Germans as a first step.
 
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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Overture to Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman)
Composed by Richard Wagner in 1840. Public domain.
Performed by The University of Chicago Orchestra, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016, 2017, 2018 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

 
Political instability and mounting foreign debt wrack Haiti and the Dominican Republic. With the Great War raging in Europe and fears of German meddling, US Marines take control of both countries.

You can listen to my interview on “Stocks and Jocks” here.
 
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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“America the Beautiful”
Music composed by Samuel A. Ward in 1882. Public domain.
Performed by The United States Navy Band. Public domain recording. Source.

“Marines’ Hymn”
Music composed by Jacques Offenbach in 1859. Public domain.
Performed by The United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

“Bullets and Bayonets”
Composed by John Philip Sousa in 1915. Public domain.
Performed by The United States Marine Corps Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016, 2017, 2018 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

 
With the entry of the Ottoman Empire into the war, and with Serbia still holding out, an alliance with Bulgaria became increasingly attractive to both sides in the Great War, and both sides attempted to sway Bulgaria to join their coalition.
 
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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Tragic Overture
Composed in 1880 by Johannes Brahms. Public domain.
Performed by The Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.

“Farewell of Slavianka”
Composed in 1912 by Vasily Ivanovich Agapkin. Public domain.
Performed by The United States Coast Guard Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016, 2017, 2018 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

 
In 1915, as the Great War ground on, it became increasingly apparent that the war would be long and costly. All of the combatant nations experiences economic strains in varying degrees, which led in turn to political unrest. In the UK in particular, this took the form of declining support for the Liberal government, especially in light of repeated military failures, such as at Gallipoli. There was also a scandal over the particular question of why Britain seemed unable to supply its troops with sufficient quantities of artillery shells. These strains led to a Cabinet reshuffle and the creation of a new coalition Government of all political parties.
 
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Opening War Theme

Skizze
Composed in 1901 by Edward Elgar. Public domain.
Performed by Peter Bradley-Fulgoni, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-nc 3.0 license. Source.

“Dorabella” from The Enigma Variations
Composed in 1899 by Edward Elgar. Public domain.
Performed by The DuPage Symphony Orchestra, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC 3.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016, 2017, 2018 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

 
In early 1915, the British responded to a Russian plea for help against the Ottomans by shelling the Dardanelles. In the months that followed, the War Cabinet, spurred by Winston Churchill, approved a plan to land large numbers of soldiers at Gallipoli in an effort to open a sea route to Russia and perhaps force the Ottoman Empire to quit the war.
 
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Opening War Theme

Turkish Street Music
Recorded in Istanbul by Freesound.org user xserra, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.

The Crown of India
Composed in 1912 by Edward Elgar. Public domain.
Performed by The United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

“Venus, the Bringer of Peace,” from The Planets
Composed in 1916 by Gustav Holst. Public domain.
Performed by The United States Air Force Heritage of America Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016, 2017, 2018 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Photograph by Nedim Ardoğa used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

An international women’s conference prepares to meet in The Hague, in an effort to find a way to end the war through private diplomacy. At the same time, one hundred miles away, Germany uses poison gas as a weapon of war for the first time on the Western Front. (It had already been used against the Russians.)

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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Four Pieces for Clarinet and Piano
Composed in 1913 by Alban Berg. Public domain.
Performed by Carol McGonnell, clarinet, and Steven Beck, piano, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016, 2017, 2018 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

 
The sinking of Lusitania demanded some kind of response from the United States government. But what?
 
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Opening War Theme

Suite No. 1, “In a Haunted Forest”
Composed in 1891 by Edward MacDowell. Public domain.
Performed by The University of Chicago Orchestra and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016, 2017, 2018 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

 
While the British sought the decisive naval battle that would settle things once and for all, Germany devised a new form of warfare, which led to the sinking of Lusitania.
 
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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Prelude from Das Rheingold
Composed in 1869 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by The United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016, 2017, 2018 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.