Cataclysm The First World War as Political Tragedy

by Stevenson, David

• ISBN13: 9780465081851
• ISBN10: 0465081851
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-05-11
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

David Stevenson's widely acclaimed history of World War I changes forever our understanding of that pivotal conflict. Countering the commonplace assumption that politicians lost control of events, and that the war, once it began, quickly became an unstoppable machine, Stevenson contends that politicians deliberately took risks that led to war in July 1914. Far from being overwhelmed by the unprecedented scale and brutality of the bloodshed, political leaders on both sides remained very much in control of events throughout. According to Stevenson, the disturbing reality is that the course of the war was the result of conscious choicesincluding the continued acceptance of astronomical casualties. In fluid prose, Stevenson has written a definitive history of the man-made catastrophe that left lasting scars on the twentieth century.Cataclysmis a truly international history, incorporating new research on previously undisclosed records from governments in Europe and across the world. From the complex network of secret treaties and alliances that eventually drew all of Europe into the war, through the bloodbaths of Gallipoli and the Somme, to the arrival of American forces, and the massive political, economic, and cultural shifts the conflict left in its wake,Cataclysmis a major revision of World War I history.

Author Biography

David Stevenson is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics. He is the author of numerous publications on this subject, including The First World War and International Politics and The Outbreak of the First World War: 1914 in Perspective. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Maps	ix
Abbreviations	xi
Note on Military and Naval Terminology	xv
Introduction	xvii
Part One Outbreak
The Destruction of Peace	3	(34)
The Failure of the War of Movement, Summer-Winter 1914	37	(44)
Part Two Escalation
Making a New World, Spring 1915-Spring 1917	81	(6)
The Widening of the War	87	(16)
War Aims and Peace Negotiations	103	(20)
The Land War in Europe: Strategy	123	(22)
Technology, Logistics, and Tactics	145	(16)
Manpower and Morale	161	(18)
Armaments and Economics	179	(20)
Naval Warfare and Blockade	199	(16)
The Politics of the Home Fronts	215	(28)
Part Three Outcome
The Third Phase, Spring 1917-Autumn 1918	243	(4)
The February Revolution and American Intervention, Spring 1917	247	(16)
Towards Exhaustion, Summer-Autumn 1917	263	(40)
The Central Powers' Last Throw, Autumn 1917-Summer 1918	303	(40)
The Turn of the Tide, Summer-Autumn 1918	343	(36)
Ceasefire	379	(30)
Part Four Legacy
Peacemaking, 1919--1920	409	(22)
Rebuilding, 1920--1929	431	(26)
Demolition, 1929--1945	457	(20)
Conclusion: The War Becomes History	477	(12)
Bibliography	489	(22)
Notes	511	(38)
Index	549