Over There, Over There: History’s ‘The Great War’ Documents America’s Entry Into World War I

David Bloomer/The HISTORY Channel

This year marks the 110th anniversary of the start of World War I. The “War to End All Wars” lasted over four years and resulted in more than 9 million soldiers killed and over 20 million wounded, and between 7 and 13 million civilians dead.

The United States entered the “Great War” in 1917 on the side of the Allies (France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy and Japan), who were in conflict with the Central Powers of the German empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. Ultimately, the U.S. suffered more than 116,000 military deaths.

The Great War, History’s four-hour cinematic documentary airing in two-hour installments over consecutive evenings beginning on Memorial Day Monday, May 27 at 8pm ET/PT, focuses on America’s involvement in the fighting during the critical year of 1918. It follows Gen. John J. Pershing, leader of the American Expeditionary Forces, who is charged with training and deploying an army almost from scratch; Michael B. Ellis, a young man fighting with the Army’s soon-to-be-legendary Big Red One (the 1st Infantry Division); and a group of African American soldiers, including Henry Johnson and Horace Pippin, whose courage in battle helped their regiment be christened the Harlem Hellfighters.

The documentary weaves together the stories of these men, accompanied by insights from academics and military experts, to tell a larger, more complex tale of how America joined World War I as an underdog and came out the leader of the 20th century.