The Outbreak of the First World War (First World War S.)

"To Arms" is Hew Strachan's most complete and definitive study of the opening of the First World War. Now, key sections from this magisterial work are published as individual paperbacks, each complete in itself, and with a new introduction by the author. Ever since its outbreak in 1914, the causes of the First World War have been one of the major debates in world history. For some it was a war engineered by Germany, and a pointer towards Hitler. For others it was the product of miscalculation - a verdict whose poignancy is heightened by the knowledge of what followed. "The Outbreak of the First World War" eschews either extreme. Instead, the first half of this book approaches the issues from the perspectives of those who grappled with conflicting priorities and vital national interests. The second considers the responses of their peoples and the so-called 'ideas of 1914'. This was the crisis which, more than any other, shaped the twentieth century.

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: United Kingdom, 14 October 2004

Format: Paperback / softback, 312 pages

Other Information: maps

Dimensions: 21.5 x 15 x 1.7 centimeters (0.37 kg)

Writer: Hew Strachan

Table of Contents

Introduction Part I The Origins of the War 1: Germany as a World Power 2: Austria-Hungary and the Balkans 3: The July Crisis Part II Willingly to War 4: War Enthusiasm 5: Socialism and the International 6: The Imaginings of Intellectuals 7: Popular Responses Part III Conclusion The Ideas of 1914