The new Bolshevik government installed in Russia by the October Revolution was not regarded at the time as permanent, but merely as a new provisional government.

Lenin and the Bolsheviks, however, were intent on keeping power. One means of accomplishing this would be to end the war, which was the Bolsheviks’ signature campaign promise. And so, an armistice was quickly arranged.

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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Piano Concerto No. 2 in G
Composed in 1880 by Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme 

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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.

In the nation of Iran (which English speakers of the time called “Persia”), both Britain and Russia have a military presence, with Turkish troops crossing the border. As a result, Iran suffered famine, disease, and hardship during the war, despite formally remaining neutral.

In Greece, the question of whether to join the Allies split the government and led to what is known as the “National Schism.”

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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

String Quartet in F Major
Composed in 1903 by Maurice Ravel. Public domain.
Performed by The Musicians from Marlboro and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme 

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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.

By early 1917, the British are advancing into Ottoman Palestine, with an assist from the Arab Revolt.

Later in the year, as British troops approach Jerusalem, the British Government declares its support for “a national home for the Jewish people.” It is not clear exactly what that means.

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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Hatikvah”
Composed in 1888 by Samuel Cohen and Naftali Herz Imber. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Navy Band. Public domain recording. Source. 

“Hava Nagila”
Composed in 1915 by Abraham Zevi Idelsohn. Public Domain.

Closing War Theme 

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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.

In 1917, just as the U.S. enters the Great War, the evangelist Billy Sunday, the biggest name in American religion, holds his largest revival ever in New York City.

On the other side of the Atlantic, in Portugal, three peasant children tell a story of visions of the Virgin Mary that will amaze, fascinate, and sometimes divide Catholics for the rest of the century.

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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Bringing in the Sheaves”
Composed in 1880 by George Minor and Knowles Shaw. Public Domain.

“When the Roll is Called Up Yonder”
Composed in 1893 by James Milton Black. Public Domain.

Ave Maria
Composed in 1825 by Franz Schubert. Public Domain.
Performed by Bradley Chapman and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.

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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.

Internally, China struggles to modernize and to resolve the conflict between democratization and one-man rule. Externally, the Chinese government seeks to enter the Great War, as a way of winning back German and Austrian concessions as well as earning a place as a peer of the Allies.

The Allies were reluctant at first, but manpower shortages encouraged their acceptance of Chinese assistance behind the lines. Then a U-boat attack killed hundreds of Chinese, giving China its own casus belli.

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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Chinese Buddhist Ritual
Recorded by Les Cartes and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. Source. 

Closing War Theme 

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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.

In the old days of the Belle Époque, in Paris, Mata Hari made a name for herself for her alluring and risqué dances, as well as for her exotic (and often invented) life story.

When the Great War came, being a mysterious woman with an invented past and no obvious means of support no longer drew curiosity and admiration but suspicion and hostility. It might even draw a firing squad.

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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Prelude from Carmen
Composed in 1875 by Georges Bizet. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source. 

Carmen Suite No. 2
Composed in 1875 by Georges Bizet, adapted by Ernest Guiraud. Public domain.
Performed by Papalin, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme 

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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.

It took the Italian Army eleven bloody offensives, and hundreds of thousands of casualties, but by mid-1917, they were halfway to Trieste and it looked as if the Austrian Army was collapsing.

Germany was forced to intervene. The result was the Battle of Caporetto, a humiliating defeat for Italy.

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Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Cello Sonata in E minor
Composed c. 1725 by Antonio Vivaldi. Public domain.
Performed by the Telemann Trio. Public domain recording. Source. 

Closing War Theme 

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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.

By mid-1917, the Allies were in a precarious situation. The Nivelle Offensive had failed. Russia’s ability to keep up the fight was in doubt. The Americans weren’t even close to ready.

And so it fell to the British Army, commanded by Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, to keep up the pressure on the Germans. Haig was eager to begin a new offensive, though the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, questioned the wisdom of such an operation.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Second Suite for Military Band
Composed in 1911 by Gustav Holst. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band. Public domain recording. Source. 

Closing War Theme 

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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.