Osprey Essential Histories Compellation 2 : The First World War : The War to End All Wars

Raging for over four years across the tortured landscapes of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the First World War changed the face of warfare forever. Characterized by slow, costly advances and fierce attrition, the great battles of the Somme, Verdun and Ypres incurred human loss on a scale never previously imagined. This book covers the Fighting on all fronts, from Flanders to Tannenberg and from Italy to Palestine. A series of moving extracts from personal letters, diaries and journals bring to life the experiences of soldiers and civilians caught up in the war. Text by Geoffrey Jukes, Peter Simkins, and Michael Hickey. This book is a compellation of Osprey Essential Histories 13, 14, 22, and 23.

Contents

• Introduction
• Chronology

• The Western Front 1914-16
• The Road to War
• Outbreak : Countdown to War
• The Schlieffen Plan
• The Fighting : War on the Western Front 1914-1916
• Portrait of a Soldier : Private Archie Surfleet
• The World around War : The Home Fronts 1914-1916
• Portrait of a Civilian : Winnifred Adair Roberts
• How the Period Ended : No End in Sight

• The Western Front 1917-18
• Background to War : Strategic Choices for 1917
• Warring Sides : The Opposing Armies
• The Fighting : War on the Western Front 1917-1918
• Portrait of a Soldier : Private Frederick 'Fen' Noakes
• The World around War : The Home Fronts 1917-1918
• Portrait of a Civilian : Caroline Webb
• How the War Ended : The Final Month

• The Eastern Front 1914-18
• Russian Ambitions
• The Fighting : From War to Revolution
• Portrait of a Soldier : A Trooper, an Ensign and a Sergeant
• The World around War : The Last Days of Tsarist Russia
• Portrait of a Civilian : 'Living on Cereals and Porridge'
• How the War in the East Ended : The Bolsheviks seize Power

• The Mediterranean Front 1914-23
• The Decline of the Ottoman Empire
• The Mediterranean Front 1914-23
• Portrait of a Soldier : Cecil, Harold and Noel Wright
• The World around War : The Loose Ends of War
• The Village of Christleton
• Portrait of a Civilian : War on the Home Front
• How the War Ended : End of the Tragedy
• Conclusion and Consequences : Aftermaths