American Heritage History of World War I"In the Bosnian town of Sarajevo on the morning of June 28, 1914, a chauffeur misunderstood his instructions, made the wrong turn, tried too late to correct his blunder, and in so doing, delivered his passengers to a point where a waiting assassin did not have to take aim to gun them down. Two rounds from one pistol and the world rocked. The crime was the small stone that loosened brings the avalanche." So begins Brigadier General S.L.A. Marshall's compelling narrative of the American Heritage History of World War I, a book that tells the story of the Great War from Sarajevo to Versailles. Ten million men died; another 20 million were wounded. But it was not the numbers alone that made this the Great War. The flame thrower, the tank, and poison gas were introduced. Cavalry became obsolete; air combat and submarine warfare came of age. Old dynasties disintegrated; new nations appeared. In this book, renowned military historian Marshall, a World War I veteran, describes and analyzes the origins, course, and immediate aftermath of the colossal conflict. The story begins with a look backward at a complacent world ensnared in a network of alliances. Out of this setting emerged the cunning diplomats and statesmen who maneuvered and blundered their countries into positions that made the war inevitable. Once committed, the nations of Europe aligned into two, mighty opposing forces, and went jauntily into war, each confident that the conflict would be over before it really began. Marshall follows the personalities, strategies, errors, and the unremitting slaughter of the next four years. The story ends with the ill-conceived Treaty of Versailles, which sowed the seeds that would plunge the following generation into another world war. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
1st Army 2nd Army 5th Army Aisne Allied already American Anzac Cove Army’s artillery attack August Austrian battalions battle became Belgian Berchtold Bethmann-Hollweg Bolsheviks bombardment brigade Britain British British I Corps captured cavalry Château-Thierry Chemin des Dames chief Clemenceau Colonel corps decision defense east enemy Falkenhayn fight fire flank Foch forces forward France French Army Gallipoli German Army Germany’s ground Haig Haig’s Harbord high command Hindenburg Hoffmann hour infantry Joffre July kaiser Kluck knew later Lenin Liège Lloyd George Ludendorff machine gun March Marne Meuse miles military million minister mobilization Moltke night Nivelle numbers offensive operations Paris peace Pershing Pershing’s Pétain regiments reserve retreat River Russian salient Sarajevo sector Serbia ships Sir John Sir John French soldiers Somme staff took treaty troops Turkey Turkish Turks U-boat Verdun victory war’s Western Front Wilhelm Wilson Ypres