[1] (Additionally, a tie-in book of participant letters and diaries — A War in Words (2003) by Svetlana Palmer and Sarah Wallis — was published for the series.)

The series was narrated and produced by Jonathan Lewis and was directed by Corina Sturmer, Marcus Kiggell, and Simon Rockell.

It places the war in a truly global military context as never before, exploring many of the little-known campaigns, battles, and actions as well as the better-known conflict on the Western Front.

The series combines previously unseen footage from newly accessible archives in Central and Eastern Europe with the exclusive film of many of the battlefields as they are today, studies of key participants and weaponry, and diary entries and letters home from soldiers, officers, and commanders.ABC Australia comments that:[3] Television has tended to look at the First World War through a veil of tears, seeing only a tragic waste of life in the mud of Flanders.

The events and people are relayed in great detail, though it isn't until the final ten minutes that the documentary takes on a life of its own.