The Great War 1914-1918

by Beckett, Ian F.W.; Beckett, Ian F. W.

• ISBN13: 9781405812528
• ISBN10: 1405812524
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-11-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This book goes beyond military narrative to offer a much fuller analysis of 'the seminal event of the twentieth century'. The First World War is a topic that generates widespread interest for the general reader The author is a leading authority in the field

Author Biography

Professor Ian F W Beckett is an internationally known and widely published specialist on the British army and the First World War who has taught at both British and American universities.

Table of Contents

List of maps and plates	p. viii
Preface and acknowledgements	p. x
Abbreviations	p. xiv
Chronology	p. xix
Maps	p. xxxi
Another country?	p. 1
Industrialisation and the state	p. 4
Ideology and the nation-state	p. 9
Guns in August	p. 22
Alliances and the European state system	p. 23
Imperial Germany and Weltpolitik	p. 25
Imperialism, capitalism and militarism	p. 27
Vienna and the domestic imperative	p. 31
From 'Third Balkan War' to world war	p. 34
Over by Christmas	p. 55
Expectations of war	p. 56
War plans	p. 61
The failure of the war plans in the west	p. 70
The Eastern Front	p. 74
Widening horizons	p. 89
The contribution of empire	p. 90
The Balkans and beyond	p. 102
Distant waters	p. 112
The economics of belligerency and neutrality	p. 122
Westerners and Easterners	p. 149
Civil-military relations	p. 149
The politics of coalition	p. 162
Strategy and war aims: the Entente	p. 171
Strategy and war aims: the Central Powers	p. 183
New ways of war	p. 214
Science and war	p. 214
The exercise of command	p. 218
The war on land	p. 223
The war at sea	p. 242
The war in the air	p. 254
Nations in arms	p. 282
Conscription and manpower	p. 283
The voluntary spirit and its limits	p. 289
The experience of military service	p. 295
Morale and discipline	p. 302
War and the state	p. 344
The growth of government	p. 347
Economic management	p. 357
War and industrial mobilisation	p. 361
Food supply	p. 374
State welfare	p. 382
Management of morale	p. 392
War and society	p. 437
Life and death	p. 438
Class	p. 445
Labour	p. 450
Women	p. 454
Social mores and leisure pursuits	p. 471
War, politics and revolution	p. 498
Leadership	p. 499
Opposition	p. 503
Revolution	p. 511
Victors and vanquished	p. 541
Defeat and revolution	p. 541
The Paris peace conference and the peace settlements	p. 551
Political values and the politics of the 'front generation'	p. 567
Wastelands?	p. 597
Memory and commemoration	p. 598
War and culture	p. 616
War and the silver screen	p. 637
War and history	p. 643
Epilogue	p. 671
Bibliography	p. 673
Index	p. 797
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