The World Crisis, 1911-1918

by Churchill, Winston; Gilbert, Martin

• ISBN13: 9780743283434
• ISBN10: 0743283430
• Edition: Abridged
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-10-06
• Publisher: Free Press

Summary

As first lord of the admiralty and minister for war and air, Churchill stood resolute at the center of international affairs. In this classic account, he dramatically details how the tides of despair and triumph flowed and ebbed as the political and military leaders of the time navigated the dangerous currents of world conflict.Churchill vividly recounts the major campaigns that shaped the war: the furious attacks of the Marne, the naval maneuvers off Jutland, Verdun's "soul-stirring frenzy," and the surprising victory of Chemins des Dames. Here, too, he re-creates the dawn of modern warfare: the buzz of airplanes overhead, trench combat, artillery thunder, and the threat of chemical warfare. In Churchill's inimitable voice we hear how "the war to end all wars" instead gave birth to every war that would follow, including the current war in Iraq. Written with unprecedented flair and knowledge of the events,The World Crisisremains the single greatest history of World War I, essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the twentieth century.

Author Biography

Winston S. Churchill was prime minister of Great Britain from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955.

Table of Contents

Table of Maps and Plans	xiii
Introduction	xv
Preface	xix
Part I. 1911--1914
The Vials of Wrath	3	(11)
Milestones to Armageddon	14	(12)
The Crisis of Agadir	26	(22)
At the Admiralty	48	(23)
The North Sea Front	71	(14)
Ireland and the European Balance	85	(9)
The Crisis	94	(17)
The Mobilization of the Navy	111	(12)
War: The Passage of the Army	123	(18)
The Invasion of France	141	(11)
The Marne	152	(17)
The War at Sea	169	(19)
Antwerp and the Channel Ports	188	(23)
Lord Fisher	211	(15)
Coronel and the Falklands	226	(25)
The Bombardment of Scarborough and Hartlepool	251	(22)
Turkey and the Balkans	273	(18)
Part II. 1915
The Deadlock in the West	291	(12)
The Origin of Tanks and Smoke	303	(14)
The Choice	317	(13)
The Action of the Dogger Bank, January 24	330	(17)
Second Thoughts and Final Decision	347	(13)
The Genesis of the Military Attack	360	(13)
Fall of the Outer Forts and the Second Greek Offer	373	(10)
The New Resolve	383	(11)
The Eighteenth of March	394	(11)
Admiral De Robeck's Change of Plan	405	(10)
The First Defeat of the U-Boats	415	(10)
The Increasing Tension	425	(7)
The Battle of the Beaches	432	(12)
After the Landing	444	(12)
The Fall of the Government	456	(18)
The Darkening Scene	474	(15)
The Battle of Suvla Bay	489	(18)
The Ruin of the Balkans	507	(18)
The Abandonment of the Dardanelles	525	(10)
The Consequences of 1915	535	(14)
Part III. 1916--1918
The Blood Test	549	(19)
Falkenhayn's Choice	568	(12)
Verdun	580	(19)
Jutland: the Preliminaries	599	(20)
Jutland: the Encounter	619	(33)
The Battle of the Somme	652	(17)
The Roumanian Disaster	669	(15)
The Intervention of the United States	684	(14)
General Nivelle's Experiment	698	(22)
At the Ministry of Munitions	720	(16)
Britain Conquers the U-Boats	736	(17)
The German Concentration in the West	753	(10)
The Twenty-First of March	763	(16)
The Climax	779	(12)
The Surprise of the Chemin Des Dames	791	(10)
The Turn of the Tide	801	(14)
The Teutonic Collapse	815	(8)
Victory	823	(22)
Appendix	845	(4)
Index	849