Catastrophe 1914 : Europe Goes to War

From the acclaimed military historian, a new history of the outbreak of World War I: the dramatic stretch from the breakdown of diplomacy to the battles—the Marne, Ypres, Tannenberg—that marked the frenzied first year before the war bogged down in the trenches. In __Catastrophe 1914,__ Max Hastings gives us a conflict different from the familiar one of barbed wire, mud and futility. He traces the path to war, making clear why Germany and Austria-Hungary were primarily to blame, and describes the gripping first clashes in the West, where the French army marched into action in uniforms of red and blue with flags flying and bands playing. In August, four days after the French suffered 27,000 men dead in a single day, the British fought an extraordinary holding action against oncoming Germans, one of the last of its kind in history. In October, at terrible cost the British held the allied line against massive German assaults in the first battle of Ypres. Hastings also re-creates the lesser-known battles on the Eastern Front, brutal struggles in Serbia, East Prussia and Galicia, where the Germans, Austrians, Russians and Serbs inflicted three million casualties upon one another by Christmas. As he has done in his celebrated, award-winning works on World War II, Hastings gives us frank assessments of generals and political leaders and masterly analyses of the political currents that led the continent to war. He argues passionately against the contention that the war was not worth the cost, maintaining that Germany’s defeat was vital to the freedom of Europe. Throughout we encounter statesmen, generals, peasants, housewives and private soldiers of seven nations in Hastings’s accustomed blend of top-down and bottom-up accounts: generals dismounting to lead troops in bayonet charges over 1,500 feet of open ground; farmers who at first decried the requisition of their horses; infantry men engaged in a haggard retreat, sleeping four hours a night in their haste. This is a vivid new portrait of how a continent became embroiled in war and what befell millions of men and women in a conflict that would change everything. \*\* From the acclaimed military historian, a new history of the outbreak of World War I: the dramatic stretch from the breakdown of diplomacy to the battles -- the Marne, Ypres, Tannenberg -- that marked the frenzied first year before the war bogged down in the trenches. In Catastrophe 1914, Max Hastings gives us a conflict different from the familiar one of barbed wire, mud and futility. He traces the path to war, making clear why Germany and Austria-Hungary were primarily to blame, and describes the gripping first clashes in the West, where the French army marched into action in uniforms of red and blue with flags flying and bands playing. In August, four days after the French suffered 27,000 men dead in a single day, the British fought an extraordinary holding action against oncoming Germans, one of the last of its kind in history. In October, at terrible cost the British held the allied line against massive German assaults in the first battle of Ypres. Hastings also re-creates the lesser-known battles on the Eastern Front, brutal struggles in Serbia, East Prussia and Galicia, where the Germans, Austrians, Russians and Serbs inflicted three million casualties upon one another by Christmas. As he has done in his celebrated, award-winning works on World War II, Hastings gives us frank assessments of generals and political leaders and masterly analyses of the political currents that led the continent to war. He argues passionately against the contention that the war was not worth the cost, maintaining that Germany's defeat was vital to the freedom of Europe. Throughout we encounter statesmen, generals, peasants, housewives and private soldiers of seven nations in Hastings's accustomed blend of top-down and bottom-up accounts: generals dismounting to lead troops in bayonet charges over 1,500 feet of open ground; farmers who at first decried the requisition of their horses; infantry men engaged in a haggard retreat, sleeping four hours a night in their haste. This is a vivid new portrait of how a continent became embroiled in war and what befell millions of men and women in a conflict that would change everything. - Publisher. In 1914, Europe plunged into the 20th century's first terrible act of self-immolation- what was then called The Great War. On the eve of its centenary, Max Hastings seeks to explain both how the conflict came about and what befell millions of men and women during the first months of strife. He finds the evidence overwhelming, that Austria and Germany must accept principal blame for the outbreak. "From the acclaimed military historian, a new history of the outbreak of World War I: from the breakdown of diplomacy to the dramatic battles that occurred before the war bogged down in the trenches. World War I immediately evokes images of the trenches: grinding, halting battles that sacrificed millions of lives for no territory or visible gain. Yet the first months of the war, from the German invasion of Belgium to the Marne to Ypres, were utterly different, full of advances and retreats, tactical maneuvering, and significant gains and losses. In Catastrophe 1914, Max Hastings re-creates this dramatic year, from the diplomatic crisis to the fighting in Belgium and France on the Western front, and Serbia and Galicia to the east. He gives vivid accounts of the battles and frank assessments of generals and political leaders, and shows why it was inevitable that this first war among modern industrial nations could not produce a decisive victory, making a war of attrition inevitable. Throughout we encounter high officials and average soldiers, as well as civilians on the homefront, giving us a vivid portrait of how a continent became embroiled in a war that would change everything"-- "A magisterial chronicle of the calamity that crippled Europe in 1914. 1914: a year of unparalleled change. The year that diplomacy failed, Imperial Europe was thrown into its first modernised warfare and white-gloved soldiers rode in their masses across pastoral landscapes into the blaze of machine-guns. What followed were the costliest days of the entire War. But how had it happened? In Catastrophe: 1914 Max Hastings, best-selling author of the acclaimed All Hell Let Loose, answers at last how World War I could ever have begun. Ranging across Europe, from Paris to St. Petersberg, from Kings to corporals, Catastrophe 1914 traces how tensions across the continent kindled into a blaze of battles; not the stalemates of later trench-warfare but battles of movement and dash where Napoleonic tactics met with weapons from a newly industrialised age. A searing analysis of the power-brokering, vanity and bluff in the diplomatic maelstrom reveals who was responsible for the birth of this catastrophic world in arms. Mingling the experiences of humbler folk with the statesmen on whom their lives depended, Hastings asks: whose actions were justified? From the out-break of war through to its terrible making, and the bloody gambles in Sarajevo and Mons, Le Cateau, Marne and Tannenberg, this is the international story of World War I in its most severe and influential period. Published to coincide with its 100th Anniversary, Catastrophe: 1914 explains how and why this war, which shattered and changed the Western world for ever, was fought"--OverDrive "From the acclaimed military historian, a new history of the outbreak of World War I: from the breakdown of diplomacy to the dramatic battles that occurred before the war bogged down in the trenches. World War I immediately evokes images of the trenches: grinding, halting battles that sacrificed millions of lives for no territory or visible gain. Yet the first months of the war, from the German invasion of Belgium to the Marne to Ypres, were utterly different, full of advances and retreats, tactical maneuvering, and significant gains and losses. In Catastrophe 1914, Max Hastings re-creates this dramatic year, from the diplomatic crisis to the fighting in Belgium and France on the Western front, and Serbia and Galicia to the east. He gives vivid accounts of the battles and frank assessments of generals and political leaders, and shows why it was inevitable that this first war among modern industrial nations could not produce a decisive victory, making a war of attrition inevitable. Throughout we encounter high officials and average soldiers, as well as civilians on the homefront, giving us a vivid portrait of how a continent became embroiled in a war that would change everything"--Provided by publisher. Provided by publisher 1914 chronology The organisation of armies in 1914 Prologue : Sarajevo 'A feeling that events are in the air': Change and decay ; Battle plans The descent to war: The Austrians threaten ; The Russians react ; The Germans march ; The British decide 'The superb spectacle of the world bursting into flames': Migrations ; Passions ; Departures Disaster on the Drina Death with flags and trumpets: The execution of Plan XVII ; 'German beastliness' ; Lanrezac encounters Schlieffen The British fight: Mons ; Le Cateau, 'Where the fun comes in, I don't know' The retreat Tannenberg : 'Alas, how many thousands lie there bleeding!' The hour of Joffre: Paris at bay ; Sir John despairs ; Seeds of hope The nemesis of Moltke: The Marne ; 'Stalemate in our favour' 'Poor devils, they fought their ships like men' Three armies in Poland 'Did you ever dance with him?': Home fronts ; News and abuse Open country, open sky: Churchill's adventure ; 'Inventions of the devil' Ypres : 'Something that was completely hopeless' 'War becomes the scourge of mankind': Poland ; The Serbs' last triumph Mudlife Silent night, holy night. A History Of The Outbreak Of World War I, From The Breakdown Of Diplomacy To The Dramatic Battles That Occurred Before The War Bogged Down In The Trenches. 1914 Chronology -- The Organisation Of Armies In 1914 -- Sarajevo -- 'a Feeling That Events Are In The Air' -- The Descent To War -- 'the Superb Spectacle Of The World Bursting Into Flames' -- Disaster On The Drina -- Death With Flags And Trumpets -- The British Flight -- The Retreat -- Tannenberg : 'alas, How Many Thousands Lie There Bleeding!' -- The Hour Of Joffre -- The Nemesis Of Moltke -- 'poor Devils, They Fought Their Ships Like Men' -- Three Armies In Poland -- 'did You Ever Dance With Him?' -- Open Country, Open Sky -- Ypres : 'something That Was Completely Hopeless' -- 'war Becomes The Scourge Of Mankind' -- Mudlife -- Silent Night, Holy Night. Max Hastings. Originally Published In Great Britain By William Collins In 2013 As: Catastrophe. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [567]-603) And Index. Introduction 1914 chronology The organisation of armies in 1914 Prologue : Sarajevo 'A feeling that events are in the air' The descent to war 'The superb spectacle of the world bursting into flames' Disaster on the Drina Death with flags and trumpets The British flight The retreat Tannenberg : 'Alas, how many thousands lie there bleeding!' The hour of Joffre The nemesis of Moltke 'Poor devils, they fought their ships like men' Three armies in Poland 'Did you ever dance with him?' Open country, open sky Ypres : 'Something that was completely hopeless' 'War becomes the scourge of mankind' Mudlife Silent night, holy night In 'Catastrophe', Max Hastings answers how World War I could ever have begun. Ranging across Europe, from Paris to St. Petersburg, from kings to corporals, he traces how tensions across the continent kindled into a blaze of battles; not the stalements of later trench-warfare but battles of movement and dash where Napoleonic tactics met with weapons from a newly industrialised age