The Failure to Prevent World War I: The Unexpected Armageddon (Military Strategy and Operational Art)

World War I represents one of the most studied, yet least understood, systemic conflicts in modern history. At the time, it was a major power war that was largely unexpected. This book refines and expands points made in the authora (TM)s earlier work on the failure to prevent World War I. It provides an alternative viewpoint to the thesis of Christopher Clark, Fritz Fischer, Paul Kennedy, among others, as to the war's long-term origins. By starting its analysis with the causes and consequences of the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War and the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, the study systematically explores the key geostrategic, political-economic and socio-cultural-ideological disputes between France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Russia, Japan, the United States and Great Britain, the nature of their foreign policy goals, alliance formations, arms rivalries, as well as the dynamics of the diplomatic process, so as to better explain the deeper roots of the 'Great War'. The book concludes with a discussion of the war's relevance and the diplomatic failure to forge a possible Anglo-German-French alliance, while pointing out how it took a second world war to realize Victor Hugoa (TM)s nineteenth-century vision of a United States of Europe-a vision now being challenged by financial crisis and Russia's annexation of Crimea. The Insecurity-security Dialectic And The Unexpected Armageddon -- Origins Of The Franco-prussian War -- Global Consequences Of The Franco-prussian War -- French Calls For Revanche And Bismarck's Nightmare Of Coalitions -- Britain's Intervention In Egypt And The Threat Of A Continental Alliance -- Bismarck's Strategy And Anglo-german Alliance Talks -- The Failure Of The Caprivi's New Course -- 1894: The Year Of German Alienation From England -- Fissures Within The Continental Alliance -- The Failure Of Anglo-german Alliance Talks -- Britain's Quest For New Allies (1902-07) -- The Anglo-german Détente And Eurasian Conflicts -- The Question Of Alsace-lorraine -- Stumbling Into Armageddon -- Conclusions: The Failure To Prevent World War I. Hall Gardner. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This book refines and expands points made in the author’s earlier work on the failure to prevent World War I. It provides an alternative viewpoint to the thesis of Paul Kennedy, Fritz Fischer, among others, as to the war's long-term origins.