1914: These Are Our Masters
The First World War Day-By-Day, #1
Nonfiction, History, Military, World War I, World History, Modern, 20th Century
| Author: | Matt Kersley | ISBN: | 9781516331970 |
| Publisher: | Matt Kersley | Publication: | September 21, 2015 |
| Imprint: | Language: | English |
| Author: | Matt Kersley |
| ISBN: | 9781516331970 |
| Publisher: | Matt Kersley |
| Publication: | September 21, 2015 |
| Imprint: | |
| Language: | English |
This is the First World War from a brand-new angle, as you've never seen it before.
As Europe tumbles into war, dragging the rest of the world with it, follow the decisions, the debates, and the deaths day-by-day, as they happened. From the debates at General Headquarters as the chaps in charge struggled with a war of unprecedented scale, unmitigated horror, and unexpected new tactics; to the lives of the volunteers and the conscripts at the sharp end as they lived and died. In Part 1 of an ongoing series, Matt Kersley strikes a balance between comprehensive and concise, distilling the best modern scholarship into a unique and accessible story, and bringing out stories that are often passed over and marginalised.
This is not just the 1914 that saw the British Army at Ypres, the French Army at the Marne, or the German Army at Tannenberg. This is the 1914 that saw three brutal and failed invasions of Serbia by Austria-Hungary; the 1914 in which tens of thousands of black soldiers were recruited to fight a white man's war in Africa; the 1914 that finished with the Ottoman Empire and Russian Empire fighting brutal snowbound battles in the Caucasus.
The highly structured day-by-day format lends itself perfectly to being taken in small chunks at a time; a week, or a few days. This is perfect reading for the morning commute, or the evening nightcap before bed.
It's also possible to be respectful without also being overly reverent and stodgy. This is a war where British and German soldiers can hold duelling church parades a few hundred yards apart, and a war where soldiers attempt to loot champagne but end up with mineral water.
And, above all else, the question "why?" is always being asked and answered. Many things about the First World War are strange, or stupid, or silly. But very few of them are truly inexplicable; they just have to be looked at from the right angle, in the proper context. As the First World War begins after 100 years to pass out of living memory, this is the perfect time to ensure that the full story is not forgotten.
This is the First World War from a brand-new angle, as you've never seen it before.
As Europe tumbles into war, dragging the rest of the world with it, follow the decisions, the debates, and the deaths day-by-day, as they happened. From the debates at General Headquarters as the chaps in charge struggled with a war of unprecedented scale, unmitigated horror, and unexpected new tactics; to the lives of the volunteers and the conscripts at the sharp end as they lived and died. In Part 1 of an ongoing series, Matt Kersley strikes a balance between comprehensive and concise, distilling the best modern scholarship into a unique and accessible story, and bringing out stories that are often passed over and marginalised.
This is not just the 1914 that saw the British Army at Ypres, the French Army at the Marne, or the German Army at Tannenberg. This is the 1914 that saw three brutal and failed invasions of Serbia by Austria-Hungary; the 1914 in which tens of thousands of black soldiers were recruited to fight a white man's war in Africa; the 1914 that finished with the Ottoman Empire and Russian Empire fighting brutal snowbound battles in the Caucasus.
The highly structured day-by-day format lends itself perfectly to being taken in small chunks at a time; a week, or a few days. This is perfect reading for the morning commute, or the evening nightcap before bed.
It's also possible to be respectful without also being overly reverent and stodgy. This is a war where British and German soldiers can hold duelling church parades a few hundred yards apart, and a war where soldiers attempt to loot champagne but end up with mineral water.
And, above all else, the question "why?" is always being asked and answered. Many things about the First World War are strange, or stupid, or silly. But very few of them are truly inexplicable; they just have to be looked at from the right angle, in the proper context. As the First World War begins after 100 years to pass out of living memory, this is the perfect time to ensure that the full story is not forgotten.
