Home Before the Leaves Fall: A New History of the German Invasion of 1914 (General Military)

The German invasion of France and Belgium in August 1914 came within an ace of defeating the French armies, capturing Paris, and ending the First World War before the autumn leaves had fallen. But the German armies failed to score the knock-out blow they had planned. The war would drag on for four years of unprecedented slaughter. There are many accounts of 1914 from the British point of view. The achievements of the British Expeditionary Force were the stuff of legend, but in reality there were only four divisions in the field; the French and Germans had more than 60 each. The real story of the battle can only be told by an author with the skill to mine the extensive German and French archives. Ian Senior does this with consummate skill, weaving together strategic analysis with diary entries and interview transcripts from the soldiers on the ground to create a remarkable new history. In addition, all previous classic histories on the subject either focus virtually exclusively on the British experiences or are now very out-of-date such as Barbara Tuchman's Guns of August (1962) or Sewell Tyng's Campaign of the Marne (1935). Supported by up numerous sketch maps, extensive archival research and poignant first-hand accounts, Home before the leaves fall is an accessible, narrative account of the German invasion that came within an ace of victory, that long hot summer. The result of years of research in British, French and German archives, this is a new critical history of how close Germany came to winning the First World War in 1914.The German invasion of France and Belgium in August 1914 came close to defeating the French armies, capturing Paris and ending the First World War before the autumn leaves had fallen. But the German armies failed to score the knock-out blow they had planned and the war would drag on for four years of unprecedented slaughter.There are many accounts of 1914 from the British point of view, and the achievements of the British Expeditionary Force are the stuff of legend. But in reality, there were only four British divisions in the field, while the French and Germans had more than 60 each. The real story of the battle can only be told by an author with the skill to mine the extensive German and French archives. Ian Senior does this with consummate skill, weaving together strategic analysis with diary entries and interview transcripts from the soldiers on the ground to create a remarkable new history. 1. Verdenskrig. Bogen er en overbevisende fortælling om den tyske invasion af Frankrig i august 1914. Ved at anvende officielle kilder, dagsbogsnotater og nedskrevne interviews fra soldater, der deltog i krigen (Frankrig og Tyskland hver med mere end 60 divisioner den britiske ekspeditionsstyrke med fire divisioner), har forfatteren skrevet en beretning om den tyske invasion, der oprindeligt var tænkt som en kort bevægelseskrig, der skulle afgøre Frankrigs skæbne i løbet af 1914, men som endte som en stillingskrig indtil våbenhvilen i november 1918 "[This] narrative .. focuses on the experiences of French and German troops in the long hot summer of 1914 as the outcome of war hung in the balance, revealing how the defiant French opposition and failings in the German invasion plans ultimately foiled the German war machine and changed the course of the war."--Dust jacket. The German invasion of France and Belgium in August 1914 came close to defeating the French armies, capturing Paris and ending the First World War before the autumn leaves had fallen. But the German armies failed to score the knock-out blow they had planned. This book tells the real story of the battle.