8.5/10256 votes#1 - A Necessary War
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 3/5/2008
December 1941 - December 1942: The tranquil lives of the citizens of Mobile, Alabama; Sacramento, California; Waterbury, Connecticut; and Luverne, Minnesota are shattered on December 7, 1941, as they, along with the rest of America, are thrust into the greatest cataclysm in history.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.4/10221 votes#2 - When Things Get Tough
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 3/5/2008
January 1943 - December 1943: Americans mobilize for total war at home and overseas. Factories hum around the clock, while in North Africa and then Italy, inexperienced GIs learn how to fight. Meanwhile, in the skies over Europe, thousands of American airmen gamble their lives against preposterous odds on daylight bombing missions.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.5/10206 votes#3 - A Deadly Calling
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 3/12/2008
November 1943 - June 1944: Americans are shocked by terrible losses on the Pacific atoll of Tarawa, while in Italy Allied forces are stalled for months at Monte Cassino, and a risky landing at Anzio fails utterly. At home, as overcrowded "war towns" boom, economic transformation leads to confrontation and ugly racial violence.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.6/10205 votes#4 - Pride of Our Nation / A Volunteer Basis
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 3/12/2008
June 1944 - August 1944: On June 6, 1944, D-Day, 1.5 million Allied troops take part in the greatest invasion in history, but then bog down in the Norman hedgerows for weeks. Saipan proves the costliest Pacific battle to date, while back home dreaded telegrams from the War Department begin arriving at an inconceivable rate.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.6/10187 votes#5 - FUBAR
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 3/19/2008
September 1944 - December 1944: Victory in Europe seems imminent, but in Holland, the Vosges Mountains, and the Hurtgen Forest, GIs learn painful lessons as old as war itself - that generals make plans, plans go wrong and soldiers die. Meanwhile, on the island of Peleliu, the Marines fight one of the most brutal and unnecessary battles of the Pacific.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.6/10181 votes#6 - The Ghost Front
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 3/19/2008
December 1944 - March 1945: Americans are shocked by Hitler's massive counterattack in the Ardennes forest - but by mid-March, 1945, they are across the Rhine, while the Russians are 50 miles from Berlin. In the Pacific, after weeks of desperate fighting, Iwo Jima is secured, and American bombers begin a full-fledged air assault on Japan.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.7/10185 votes#7 - A World Without War
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 3/26/2008
March 1945 - December 1945: A few weeks after the death of President Roosevelt shocks the country, Germany surrenders. Meanwhile, American sailors, soldiers and Marines endure the worst battle of the Pacific - Okinawa. In August, American planes drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Japanese, too, surrender. Millions return home - to try to learn how to live in a world without war.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of The War Season 1
Every episode of The War Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The War Season 1!
The story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four American towns. The war touched...
Genres:DocumentaryWar & PoliticsCrime
Network:PBS
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"A Necessary War" is the best rated episode of "The War" season 1. It scored 8.5/10 based on 256 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 3/5/2008. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "When Things Get Tough".