This is a compelling account of the First World War. It offers clear analysis of the war on land, sea, and air, and considers the impact of the war on Europe's civilian population. Issues addressed include the relationship between war and industrialisation, trench warfare, the long term effects of the war on changing social structures, and economic and demographic consequences. The main text is supplemented by a rich selection of primary source material (from songs, soldiers' slang, to diary accounts).
1. War Known and War Imagined
PART TWO: LIMITED WAR, 1914-15
2. 1914: Oops! The Plans Fail
3. Taking Stock
4. The war in 1915: Badly planned Disasters
5. The Home Fronts
PART THREE: TOTAL WAR
6. 1916: Attrition and the Well-Planned Disaster
7. Organizing for Victory
8. Technology and Tactics
9. 1917: ‘Mere Unspeakable Suffering’
PART FOUR: ‘GOING ON OR GOING UNDER’
10. The bitter End: 1918
PART FIVE: ASSESSMENT
PART SIX: DOCUMENTS
Biography
Stuart Robson is Professor Emeritus of History at Trent University, Ontario, Canada.
"This book is eminently suitable for use in high schools, two-year colleges and basic introductory courses at four-year colleges and universities."
Jesse Kauffmann, Stanford University
