We begin our series examining the world of 1919 with the first of a three-part series on the post-war fate of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

We begin with Czechoslovakia. It has already declared its independence, but what should be its borders?

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“Kde domov můj” (The national anthem of the Czech Republic.)
Composed in 1834 by František Škroup and Josef Kajetán Tyl. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The end of the war came suddenly and left the Allies scrambling to set up the peace conference that would negotiate the treaty that would formally end the Great War.

The first item on the agenda, at Woodrow Wilson’s insistence, would be the League of Nations.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Rapsodie espagnole
Composed in 1908 by Maurice Ravel. 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 Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

Now that we have concluded the Great War, we take an episode to examine the most important lessons learned.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The United States held a mid-term election just before the Armistice. The United Kingdom called a general election just afterward. Both elections would affect the shape of the post-war world.

Also, we say farewell to Theodore Roosevelt, who passed away in January 1919.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Symphony No. 3 in E♭ Major (“Eroica”)
Composed in 1804 by Ludwig van Beethoven. Public domain.
Performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

Once the influenza pandemic of 1918 got going, it swept the world in three waves. Because of the war and the mass movements of soldiers, it was carried into every corner of the world, including remote human communities that had never experienced influenza before.

The 1918 strain brought a much higher death rate than a typical influenza epidemic. Overall, the death toll was likely more than fifty million, making it the deadliest epidemic in human history, measured in absolute numbers.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Toccata in D minor
Composed ca. 1708 by Johann Sebastian Bach. Public domain.
Performed by Isolde Ahlgrimm. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The influenza virus has plagued the human race for some 12,000 years, but in 1918 the nature of viruses was not well understood.

There are multiple hypotheses as to how and where the 1918 strain evolved, but wherever it started, the conditions of the Great War allowed it to spread around the world.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G
Composed in 1721 by Johann Sebastian Bach. Public domain.
Arranged and performed by Papalin. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

After Bulgaria quit the war, it was clear the Central Powers were finished. By early October 1918, both Germany and Austria were exchanging diplomatic notes with the United States, discussing peace terms.

When the news that Berlin and Vienna were in peace talks with the Allies got out, it led to a rapid collapse of both governments’ domestic political support.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Das Liebesmahl der Apostel
Composed in 1845 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

German forces in East Africa, consisting mostly of African askari soldiers, fought a tenacious guerilla war against the British and their allies.

But they could not fight forever, and the war in East Africa ended once the Germans learned of the Armistice in Europe. But the war had changed things in Africa.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Infados”
Composed and performed by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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 ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Photograph by Carol Fleming, used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The German spring offensives of 1918 failed to force an end to the war before Allied numerical superiority became decisive.

By August 1918, Allied numbers were beginning to tip the balance. German morale was deteriorating, and mobile warfare had returned to the Western Front.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Overture to Tannhauser
Composed in 1845 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

Bulgaria, after three years as part of the Central Powers coalition, was losing enthusiasm for the war. The cost to the small nation was high, and the rewards meager.

So when an Allied offensive broke the Bulgarian line in the Balkans, Bulgaria sued for peace. The loss of the line of communication to Germany and Austria forced the Ottoman Empire to follow suit.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Goldberg Variations No. 25
Composed in 1741 by Johann Sebastian Bach. Public domain.
Performed by Shelley Katz. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.