EUCOM Battle Knowledge Centers

Almost 100 years after the Treaty of Versailles was signed, World War I continues to be badly understood and greatly oversimplified. This work contains a selection of articles and book chapters written by major scholars of World War I, giving readers perspectives on the war that are both historical and contemporary.

Synthesizing the latest scholarship, acclaimed military historian Gary Sheffield cuts to the heart of the conflict that involved every major economic power in the world. With an emphasis on the Western Front, Sheffield explores such key issues as the causes of war; the search for peace and the peace settlements; the political, social, and economic consequences; the impact of “total war" on the war efforts of the belligerents; and the place of the War in the history of warfare. Accessible and incisive, this is the ultimate introduction for anyone wanting a clear understanding of what happened.

Osprey's study of the Battle of the Marne, which was one of the decisive encounters of World War I (1914-1918), saving France from a catastrophic defeat that would almost certainly have knocked her out of the war. Germany's failure to defeat the French committed her to a war on two fronts, which would lead to trench warfare and the war of attrition that the General Staff had hoped to avoid. The conduct of the battle served to make and break the reputation of commanders and subordinates alike. Although not an decisive defeat, the battle was a strategic Allied victory. Further attempts by each side to outflank the other led to the formation of a continuous front from the North Sea to Switzerland, which set the pattern for the rest of the war. This title presents the origins of the campaign, followed by a brief chronology, before detailing the opposing commanders and armies. It then breaks out the French orders of battle and the German's opposing plans, the outcome of the fighting and the aftermath of the battle. The book concludes with a look at the battlefield today and suggestions for further reading.

The book describes the victories of twenty of history's greatest military minds, spanning two thousand years, including Robert E. Lee, Erwin Rommel, Moshe Dayan, Henry V, and Napoleon.

Volume II includes maps of: First Phase of the Russian Campaign, AUG-SEP 1914; Battle of Tannenberg, 26-28 AUG; Second Battle of Louvain, 10-12 SEP - Advance of the Begians; Second Battle of Louvain, 12-13 SEP - Retreat of the Belgians; General Position in France after the German Retreat from the Marne; Battle of St. Mihiel, 20 SEP; Battle of St. Mihiel, 23-24 SEP; Battle of St. Mihiel, 24-25 SEP; German Attacks on the Center of the Allied Line between 19 and 26 SEP; Castlenau's Flanking Movement; General Position in Belgium and Northern France between 3 and 6 OCT; Operations in Flanders between 9 and 16 OCT; French's Pivoting Movement - General Position on 11-13 OCT; French's Pivoting Movement - General Position on 13-15 OCT; End of French's Pivoting Movement - General Position on 16 OCT; Siege Fronts in France in OCT 1914; Battle of the Yser, 16-31 OCT; Various Commands in Northern France and Belgium Composing the Left Wing of the Allies, OCT-NOV 1914; Battle of the Ypres

Nearly a century has passed since the assassination of Austria-Hungary's Archduke Ferdinand, yet the repercussions of the devastating global conflict that followed echo still. In this provocative book, historian Ian Beckett turns the spotlight on twelve particular events of the First World War that continue to shape the world today. Focusing on episodes both well known and scarcely remembered, Beckett tells the story of the Great War from a new perspective, stressing accident as much as strategy, the small as well as the great, the social as well as the military, and the long term as much as the short term.The Making of the First World War is global in scope. The book travels from the deliberately flooded fields of Belgium to the picture palaces of Britain's cinema, from the idealism of Wilson's Washington to the catastrophic German Lys offensive of 1918. While war is itself an agent of change, Beckett shows, the most significant developments occur not only on the battlefields or in the corridors of power, but also in hearts and minds. Nor may the decisive turning points during years of conflict be those that were thought to be so at the time. With its wide reach and unexpected conclusions, this book revises—and expands—our understanding of the legacy of the First World War..