S01E01 Death Waltz
Franz Josef has been Austrian emperor since 1848, yet he remains unmarried five years into his reign. His mother, Archduchess Sophie, is determined to ensure the Habsburg line and favours her niece Helene as the...
Fall of Eagles
S01E10: The Indian Summer of an Emperor
Franz Josef fears for Austria-Hungary’s future in the hands of his reform-minded nephew and heir-presumptive Franz Ferdinand, especially because of the time that he spends with Kaiser Wilhelm. However, he soon gets news of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his lower-ranked wife, Sophie Chotek, in Sarajevo. Initially, he accepts the “providence” of the event and refuses calls to mobilise the army and to punish Serbia. However, the Kaiser quickly insists on immediate and decisive action against Serbia, dismissing the preparedness and will of Russia, downplaying the military threat from France and setting a chain of events in motion that leads to the outbreak of the First World War.
Overview
"Fall of Eagles" is a 13-part British television drama aired by the BBC in 1974. The series portrays historical events from 1848 to 1918, dealing with the collapse of the ruling dynasties of Austria-Hungary (the Habsburgs), Germany (the Hohenzollerns) and Russia (the Romanovs).
Episodes
S01E02 The English Princess
In the hope of promoting a liberal and united Germany, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert arrange for their eldest daughter Victoria ‘Vicky’ to marry Prince Frederick ‘Fritz’ of the Kingdom of Prussia. However, despite her...
S01E03 The Honest Broker
With Germany united under Prussia, Bismarck seeks a stabilizing alliance with the Austrians and Russians through the League of the Three Emperors. His plans extend to influencing the Kaiser’s grandson Wilhelm. In 1888, Wilhelm I...
S01E04 Requiem for a Crown Prince
On 30 January 1889, tragedy strikes the House of Habsburg when liberal Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary and his young mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera are found dead at the hunting lodge at Mayerling in the...
S01E05 The Last Tsar
Tsar Alexander III doubts the ability of his son and heir-apparent, Nicholas, to inherit the Russian throne. The young tsarevich is similarly apprehensive. Despite his longstanding affair with St Petersburg ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska and the...
S01E06 Absolute Beginners
Nicholas has now been tsar for nine years and refuses to share his absolute authority with a parliament urged by social reformers. Now married and in London, Lenin is founding his own more radical brand...
S01E07 Dearest Nicky
Nicholas is preoccupied by strikes and the humiliating war with Japan; the continual unsolicited advice and gifts of his cousin, Wilhelm II; and the health of his only son Alexei, who has hemophilia. A rising...
S01E08 The Appointment
When Grand Duke Sergei is murdered, Nicholas dismisses his police chief and considers Pyotr Rachkovsky as a suitable replacement even though he seems untrustworthy and is rumoured to use agent provocateurs. Both Sergei Witte and...
S01E09 Dress Rehearsal
Britain’s King Edward VII makes a visit to the Royal Russian yacht to discuss an alliance with Russia. Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister Alexander Izvolsky, begins intriguing to have the Bosphorus opened to the Black Sea...
S01E10 The Indian Summer of an Emperor
Franz Josef fears for Austria-Hungary’s future in the hands of his reform-minded nephew and heir-presumptive Franz Ferdinand, especially because of the time that he spends with Kaiser Wilhelm. However, he soon gets news of the...
S01E11 Tell the King the Sky is Falling
With the resolve and the morale of the Russian army plummeting, Nicholas decides to leave the capital to take personal command of the army, leaving Alexandra behind as his eyes and ears in Petrograd. His...
S01E12 The Secret War
As the war continues, Kaiser Wilhelm, tiring from his responsibilities, allows Ludendorff, Hindenburg, Admiral von Holtzendorff and Bethmann-Hollweg to propose riskier strategies for ‘total victory’ (such as unrestricted submarine warfare against neutral shipping). With Rasputin...
S01E13 End Game
With Franz Joseph now dead and the Romanovs murdered by the Bolsheviks, Kaiser Wilhelm is the lone eagle still standing. German troops move west from the now peaceful Russian front, but the Spring Offensive fails,...
Cast
Barry Foster
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Michael Hordern
Narrator
