Relive World War I The Same Way Your Relatives Did In Groundbreaking YouTube Series

A unique World War I video series underway at YouTube has taken a clever approach to educating internet users on the so-called “Great War.”

In fact, the series is called “The Great War,” and each week it takes a look at what happened in the corresponding week starting in 1914. Each video is around 10 minutes, give or take, and utilizes a documentary style, showing old war footage and answering viewer questions to fill in any gaps along the way.

Essentially, “The Great War” allows viewers to relive World War I much like people of the early 20th Century lived it, albeit with modern convenience and without the threat of immediate death or chemical weapon attacks.

Currently, “The Great War” is on video 51, but some of their videos are multi-parters, so they’re actually on Week 31 of the war itself, and one or two of the videos run a little short, like in the one- to two-minute range.

If you’re like me, you probably think of World War I as one of the more forgotten aspects of world history. So much attention is given to Adolph Hitler and the Axis Powers of World War II that students and teachers alike have a tendency to gloss over WWII’s predecessor.

But World War I actually has a lot of compelling stuff. Air combat, trench warfare, the societal realization that war is more Hell than honorable.

It all started here.

While the subscriber base is only around 50,000, it is growing, and on Friday, “The Great War” made it to the top of Reddit.

That’s because it’s a well put-together series that even someone with a passing interest in history could find compelling. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s a sneak peek.

If you’re wondering how long a task like this one will take, the producers of “The Great War” said they plan to finish up the series by November 2018, so we’re looking at a little more than four years of agony, ecstasy, hope, and occasional glory.

Along the way, they will answer questions like whether the Austrian railways from WWI are still in use, what air combat was really like, what Europe was like just before World War I consumed it, and who some of the people you should know about are.

Will you be watching “The Great War,” and what are some other periods of history that you think could benefit from this type of format? Sound off in the comments section.