A wide-ranging and incisive collection of articles covering all aspects of World War I, written by some of the leading academics in the field.World War I changed the face of the 20th century. For four long years the major European powers, later joined by America, fought in a life or death struggle that would topple the crowned heads of Europe and redraw the map of the Continent.It was a conflict unparalleled in its scale, which in turn fuelled devastatingly rapid developments in military technology, technique and innovation as the belligerent powers sought to break the deadlock on the Western Front and elsewhere.In the centenary of the outbreak of the conflict, 14 renowned historians from around the world examine some of the key aspects of the war, providing a wide-ranging analysis of the whole conflict beyond but including the stalemate in the trenches of the Western Front.

ContributorsForeword by Professor Gary SheffieldChapter 1 Commanding Through ArmageddonAllied Senior Leadership in World War IProfessor Michael S. NeibergChapter 2 German Operational Thinking in World War IMajor Dr Thorsten LochChapter 3 The Expansion of the British Army During World War IMajor Bruce GudmundssonChapter 4 World War I AviationFrom Reconnaissance to the Modern Air CampaignDr James S. CorumChapter 5 The Global War at Sea, 1914-18Professor Dr Michael EpkenhansChapter 6 The French Army Between Tradition and ModernityWeaponry, Tactics, and Soldiers 1914-18Professor Dr François CochetChapter 7 German Tactical Doctrine and the Defensive Battle on the Western FrontDr Matthias StrohnChapter 8 The Rollercoaster of Austria-Hungary's World War I Experience Professor Dr Lothar HöbeltChapter 9 The Imperial Russian Army and the Eastern Front in World War I, 1914-17Dr Stephen WalshChapter 10 ANZACs and the Rocky Road to Tactical Effectiveness, 1916-17Dr Andrew MacdonaldChapter 11 A Sideshow of a Sideshow?The Arab Revolt (1916-18) and the Development of Modern Desert WarfareDr David MurphyChapter 12 The Reluctant PupilThe American Army on the Western Front, 1917-18Professor Andrew WiestChapter 13 The German Occupation of the Ukraine, 1918 Blitzkrieg and InsurgenciesDr Peter LiebEndnotesBibliography Index