The Purpose of the First World War: War Aims and Military Strategies (Schriften des Historischen Kollegs Book 91)

Nearly fourteen million people died during the First World War. But why, and for what reason? Already many contemporaries saw the Great War as a "pointless carnage" (Pope Benedict XV, 1917). Was there a point, at least in the eyes of the political and military decision makers? How did they justify the losses, and why did they not try to end the war earlier? In this volume twelve international specialists analyses and compares the hopes and expectations of the political and military leaders of the main belligerent countries and of their respective societies. It shows that the war aims adopted during the First World War were not, for the most part, the cause of the conflict, but a reaction to it, an attempt to give the tragedy a purpose - even if the consequence was to oblige the belligerents to go on fighting until victory. The volume tries to explain why - and for what - the contemporaries thought that they had to fight the Great War. Table of Content Danksagung List of Abbreviations Introduction What Was the Great War about?War Aims, Military Strategies and Political Justifications during the First World War Military Operations and National Policies, 1914–1918 War Aims and Strategies of the Entente Powers of 1914 French War Aims and Strategy British Strategy and War Aims in the First World War War as Legitimisation of Revolution, Revolution as Justification of War. Political Mobilisations in Russia, 1914–1917 Serbian War Aims and Military Strategy, 1914–1918 War Aims and Strategies of the Central Powers of 1914 Strategy, Politics, and the Quest for a Negotiated Peace. The German Case, 1914–1918 “A Life and Death Question”: Austro-Hungarian War Aims in the First World War Reflection Mourir pour Liège? World War I War Aims in a Long-Term Perspective War Aims and Strategies of Powers Entering the Conflict Later than August 1914 Ottoman Strategy and War Aims during the First World War “An Act of Madness”? Italy’s War Aims and Strategy, 1915–1918 President Wilson and the War Aims of the United States Conclusion World War List of Authors

Die "Schriften des Historischen Kollegs" werden herausgegeben vom jeweiligen Vorsitzenden des Kuratoriums des Historischen Kollegs: bis 2011 durch Lothar Gall, von 2012 bis 2017 durch Andreas Wirsching, von 2017 bis 2020 durch Martin Schulze Wessel, seit Oktober 2020 durch Hartmut Leppin in Verbindung mit Florian Albert, Birgit Emich, Thomas O. Höllmann, Hartmut Leppin, Susanne Lepsius, Diana Mishkova, Bernhard Löffler, Frank Rexroth, Willibald Steinmetz und Gerrit Walther.

Zum Historischen Kolleg: http://www.historischeskolleg.de/

Ten million soldiers died during the First World War. But why, and for what reason? The Great War is widely seen as a "pointless carnage" (Pope Benedict XV). Was there a point, at least in the eyes of the political and military decision makers? International specialists analyse the hopes and expectations of the political and military leaders and try to explain why the contemporaries thought that they had to fight the Great War. Ten million soldiers died during the First World War. But why, and for what reason? Was there a point, at least in the eyes of the political and military decision makers? This book analyses the hopes and expectations of the political and military leaders and explains why the contemporaries thought that they had to fight the Great War. Die'Schriften des Historischen Kollegs'werden herausgegeben vom jeweiligen Vorsitzenden des Kuratoriums des Historischen Kollegs: bis 2011 von Herrn Professor Dr. Lothar Gall, ab 2012 durch Herrn Professor Dr. Andreas Wirsching. Zum Historischen Kolleg: http://www.historischeskolleg.de/