Main content

Episode 4

Austria-Hungary delivers its ultimatum to Serbia. Meanwhile British attention is diverted by the threat of civil war in Ireland. France is gripped by a sensational murder trial.

Austria-Hungary delivers its ultimatum to Serbia. Meanwhile British attention is diverted by the threat of civil war in Ireland. In France the nation is gripped by a sensational murder trial.

Margaret Macmillan chronicles the events leading up to the First World War. Each episode draws together newspaper accounts, diplomatic correspondence and private journals from the same day exactly one hundred years ago, giving a picture of the world in 1914 as it was experienced at the time.

The series tracks the development of the European crisis day by day, from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand through to the first week of the conflict. As well as the war, it gives an insight into the wider context of the world in 1914 including the threat of civil war in Ireland, the sensational trial of Madame Caillaux in France and the suffragettes' increasingly violent campaign for votes for women.

Margaret Macmillan is Professor of International History at Oxford University.

Readings: Andrew Byron, Stephen Greif, Felix von Manteuffel, Jaime Stewart, Simon Tcherniak
Jane Whittenshaw

Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore

Producer: Russell Finch
A Somethin' Else production for ±«Óãtv Radio 4.

Available now

15 minutes

Broadcast

  • Sun 27 Jul 2014 23:00

1914: Day by Day cartoons

Twelve cartoonists respond to world events in the lead-up to WW1

World War One on TV and Radio

Marking the centenary of World War One across the ±«Óãtv

37 Days: Countdown

How did an assassination in Sarajevo lead to war?

Podcast