Commemorating Veterans Day
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The vanquished : why the First World War failed to end
Summary:Contains primary source material.,"An epic, groundbreaking account of the ethnic and state violence that followed the end of World War I– conflicts that would shape the course of the twentieth century. For the Western allies, November 11, 1918 has always been a solemn date– the end of fighting that had destroyed a generation, but also a vindication of a terrible sacrifice with the total collapse of the principal enemies: the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. But for much of the rest of Europe this was a day with no meaning, as a continuing, nightmarish series of conflicts engulfed country after country. In The Vanquished, a highly original and gripping work of history, Robert Gerwarth asks us to think again about the true legacy of the First World War."–Provided by publisher. -
The First World War
Summary:The First World War created the modern world. A conflict of unprecedented ferocity, it abruptly ended the relative peace and prosperity of the Victorian era, unleashing such demons of the twentieth century as mechanized warfare and mass death. It also helped to usher in the ideas that have shaped our times–modernism in the arts, new approaches to psychology and medicine, radical thoughts about economics and society–and in so doing shattered the faith in rationalism and liberalism that had prevailed in Europe since the Enlightenment. With The First World War, John Keegan, one of our most eminent military historians, fulfills a lifelong ambition to write the definitive account of the Great War for our generation. -
With our backs to the wall : victory and defeat in 1918
Summary:Most histories of the Great War focus on the avoidability of its beginning. This book brings a laser-like focus to its ominous end–the Allies’ incomplete victory, and the tragic ramifications for world peace just two decades later. -
Hundred days : the campaign that ended World War I
Summary:“In the late summer of 1918, after four long years of senseless, stagnant fighting, the Western Front erupted. The bitter four-month struggle that ensued–known as the Hundred Days Campaign–saw some of the bloodiest and most ferocious combat of the Great War, as the Allies grimly worked to break the stalemate in the west and end the conflict that had decimated Europe. In Hundred Days, acclaimed military historian Nick Lloyd leads readers into the endgame of World War I, showing how the timely arrival of American men and materiel–as well as the bravery of French, British, and Commonwealth soldiers–helped to turn the tide on the Western Front.” -
The greatest day in history : how, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the First World War finally came to an end
Summary:Unlike 1945, the First World War did not end neatly with the unconditional surrender of the Germans. After a dramatic week of negotiations, military offensives and the beginning of a Communist revolution, the German Imperial regime collapsed. The Allies eventually granted an armistice to a new German government, and at eleventh hour on the 11th of November, the guns officially ceased fire, but only after 11,000 casualties had been sustained—almost as many as on D-Day. Nicholas Best tells the story in sweeping, cinematic style, revealing that events were far from pre-ordained. From the generals’ headquarters to the frontline trenches, from the factories to the farms, he reveals the twists and turns that led to the end of the Great War. -
Sons of freedom : the forgotten American soldiers who defeated Germany in World War I
Summary:“The heroic American contribution to World War I is one of the great stories of the twentieth century, and yet is largely overlooked by history. In Sons of Freedom, historian Geoffrey Wawro presents the dramatic narrative of the courageous American troops who took up arms in a conflict 4,000 miles across the Atlantic, and in doing so ensured the Allies’ victory. Historians have long dismissed the American war effort as too little too late: a delayed U.S. Army – although rich in manpower and matériel – fought a dismal, halting battle that was certainly not decisive nor even really necessary. Historians generally assign credit for the Allied victory to improved British and French tactics, the British blockade, and German exhaustion. But drawing on extensive research in US, British, French, German, and Austrian archives, Wawro contends that the Allies simply would not have won the war without the help of the Americans.”