A unique account of the millions of colonial troops who fought in the First World War, and why they were later air-brushed out of history.

David Olusoga quotes extensively from soldiers' diaries and other eye-witness sources, bringing to life the searing experiences of these non-white troops. THE WORLD'S WAR unveils shocking truths such as:

– The first soldier of the British Army to fire a shot in World War One was a black African.
– By the end of 1914 one third of the British sector of the Western Front was held by Indian soldiers.
– By 1917 the Western Front was the most multi-national, multi-racial, multi-faith place that had ever existed – a strange portent of Europe's future.
– Germany created a special camp with a mosque and halal food in an attempt to persuade Muslim P.O.W.s to defect.