Collision of Empires: The War on the Eastern Front in 1914 (General Military)

The fighting that raged in the East during the First World War was every bit as fierce as that on the Western Front, but the titanic clashes between three towering empires--Russia, Austro-Hungary, and Germany--remains a comparatively unknown facet of the Great War. With the one hundredth anniversary of the beginning of the war in 2014, Collision of Empires is a timely exposé of the bitter fighting on this forgotten front--a clash that would ultimately change the face of Europe forever. Drawing on firsthand accounts and detailed archival research, this is a dramatic retelling of the tumultuous events of the first year of the war, with the battles of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes in East Prussia followed by the Russo-Austrian clashes in Galicia and the failed German advance toward Warsaw. Collision of Empires is the first major historical work on the Eastern Front during World War I since the 1970s.One of the primary triggers of the outbreak of World War I was undoubtedly the myriad alliances and suspicions that existed between the Russian, German, and Austro-Hungarian empires in the early 20th century. Yet much of the actual fighting between these nations has been largely forgotten in the West. Driven by first-hand accounts and detailed archival research, Collision of Empires seeks to correct this imbalance. The first in a four-book series on the Eastern Front in World War I, Prit Buttar's dynamic retelling examines the tumultuous events of the first year of the war and reveals the chaos and destruction that reigned when three powerful empires collided.A war that was initially seen by all three powers as a welcome opportunity to address both internal and external issues would ultimately bring about the downfall of them all. An account of the battles fought on the Eastern Front during World War I reveals how delays in adapting to a modern war and inadequacies in supply and support arrangements brought about the downfall of all three warring empires.