The twelve essays in this book explore in depth for the first time the publishing and reading practices which were formed and changed by the First World War. Ranging from an exploration of British and Australian trench journals and the reading practices of Indian soldiers to the impact of war on the literary figures of the home front in Britain, these essays provide crucial new historical information about the production, circulation and reception of reading matter during a period of international crisis.

Far from the battlefront, hundreds of thousands of workers toiled in Bohemian factories over the course of World War I, and their lives were inescapably shaped by the conflict. In particular, they faced new and dramatic forms of material hardship that strained social ties and placed in sharp relief the most mundane aspects of daily life, such as when, what, and with whom to eat. This study reconstructs the experience of the Bohemian working class during the Great War through explorations of four basic spheres-food, labor, gender, and protest-that comprise a fascinating case study in early twentieth-century social history.

The experiences of American soldiers in World War I differed enormously from those of European combatants. With the U. S. emerging from its previous isolation, soldiers arrived in the European theater late, fought briefly, and soon found themselves among the victors. Exposed for the first time to a foreign culture and bombarded by the messages of America's first concerted propaganda campaign, doughboys and other American participants struggled to make sense of their role and participation in the war.

Mark Meigs here juxtaposes more official views--as expressed in speeches and in The Stars and Stripes, army handbooks, and unit histories--with informal, widely disseminated sources, such as popular songs, jokes, and postwar fiction, together with the soldiers' own letters and journals. Optimism at Armageddon begins with an exploration of how Americans rationalized their involvement and goes on to examine the effects of veterans' experiences during the war, focusing on combat, cultural and sexual contact with their European hosts, and death and concludes with the doughboys' account of their return to American society.

The Sunday Times bestselling author of Dresden on the most important city of the 20th century.

An almighty storm hit Berlin in the last days of April 1945. Enveloped by the unstoppable force of East and West, explosive shells pounded buildings while the inhabitants of a once glorious city sheltered in dark cellars - just like their Fuhrer in his bunker. The Battle of Berlin was a key moment in history; marking the end of a deathly regime, the defeated city was ripped in two by the competing superpowers of the Cold War.

In Berlin, bestselling historian Sinclair McKay draws on never-before-seen first-person accounts to paint a picture of a city ravaged by ideology, war and grief. Yet to fully grasp the fall of Berlin, it is crucial to also explore in detail the years beforehand and to trace the city being rebuilt, as two cities, in the aftermath. From the passionate and austere Communists of 1919 to the sleek and serious industrialists of 1949, and from the glitter of innovation from artists such as George Grosz to the desperate border crossings for three decades from 1961, this is a story of a city that shaped an entire century, as seen through the eyes not of its rulers, but of those who walked its streets.

Three invaluable and exciting accounts of the German U-Boats of the Great War
Following the success of the original Leonaur volume concerning the U-Boat War 1914-1918, the Leonaur editors have brought together three more interesting and vital accounts for the sake of good value and because, in view of their comparatively small size, they are unlikely to see individual re-publication in modern times. Here, in volume two, the first account is the journal of a U-Boat Commander at war and its author eloquently describes his patrols and his attacks on merchant shipping. K nig's account of the 'Deutschland' may be a revelation to many. K nig captained an unarmed commercial submarine until his vessel was eventually commissioned into the Imperial German Navy. It plied a highly successful and lucrative submersible merchant trade to the still neutral United States of America under the waters of a hostile Atlantic Ocean patrolled by the Royal Navy. The final piece in this trilogy of U-Boat accounts is an interesting and immediate account which draws the reader inside the close community of the submariners and contains much vital detail, dialogue and inevitable humour. A tour-de-force for submarine enthusiasts, this special Leonaur edition is available in softcover and hardcover with dust jacket.

A comprehensive reference work containing all the essential facts and figures for anyone needing a quick, easy to use guide to the First World War.

The Great War traumatized a generation and shaped the whole of the twentieth century. This book covers all aspects of the First World War from its origins and the course of the war, to the peace settlements and the crises it generated. Alongside the political events, Colin Nicolson also considers the social, cultural, and economic consequences of the war. He explores the battle fronts as well as the home fronts, emergent nations, and the settlement & costs of the conflicts. He has also included a section of biographical sketches of key protagonists and participants.

British Images of Germany: Admiration, Antagonism & Ambivalence, 1860-1914 is the first full-length cultural history of Britain's relationship with Germany and the Germans in the key period before the First World War. Representing a recent about-face in scholarly appreciations of Anglo-German relations, Richard Scully reassesses the assumption that the relationship in the lead up to 1914 was increasingly fraught and reveals a more complex picture: that a longstanding sense of kinship felt by Britons for Germany and the Germans persisted right up to the outbreak of war, even surviving times of acute diplomatic tension. This innovative re-examination incorporates the reading of British images of Germany in maps, travel literature, fiction and political cartoons: forms which have never before been appreciated for the light they shed on this fascinating period of history

The single best work of reportage about the battlecruiser, ever, by a war correspondent who was with Beatty's Battlecruiser Squadron at Jutland. Filson Young: the Bob Woodward of battlecruisers.An excerpt: Here, then, was the ideal type for which Lord Fisher in our conversations had so often sighed; and I was secretly disappointed when, on my mentioning Fisher's name, Beatty merely smiled. And I was still more crestfallen when, a few days later, I spoke of Beatty enthusiastically to Lord Fisher, he gave me a blank, sour look and said: "Really? Never met him."I did not know the Navy as well in those days as I know it now, or I would have been less surprised than I was that the obviously ablest men in control of naval affairs were far from seeing eye to eye with one another, and even (what was more remarkable) neglected to make any real study of one another's aims and potentialities. Naval thought, where it existed, was divided into camps, each one regarding victory over the others as essential to victory over the Germans. Thus Lord Charles Beresford, whose best work in his retirement was his untiring public advocacy of naval efficiency, gave one in private a most alarming impression that the Navy was already practically in German control; and one of his mildest views of Lord Fisher was that he was a madman who, on the eve of war, had deliberately scrapped the majority of our cruisers. Winston Churchill was at one time probably one of the men most disliked by the Navy at large; but when one tried to discuss his administration seriously, one was told stories of his bad manners: as, for example, of his going on board a ship, entering the wardroom, ringing the bell and sending for the Commander - a solecism the gravity of which one must have lived in a wardroom to appreciate. And yet, one felt, it was not quite an argument against his efficiency as an administrator. But all the naval officer saw was a man to whose power our sacred naval traditions were committed, and who apparently knew or cared so little for the smallest of them that the greatest might well be in peril at his hands. The anti-Churchill camp was a very strong one. He, on the other hand, seemed to regard Lord Fisher as a dangerous genius to be caught, chained, tamed, and made careful use of; Lord Fisher regarded him (I am speaking of the two years before the war) as a politician to be fought or flattered, made or destroyed, according to his degree of adaptability to the great purpose.

Drawing on examples from Britain, France, and the United States, this book examines how scholars and scholarship found themselves mobilized to solve many problems created by modern warfare in World War I, and the many consequences of this for higher education which have lasted almost a century.

The first battles of the skies
The author of this overview and analysis of the Allied air campaign during the years of the First World War was eminently qualified for the task. He was one of the first aviators on the 'British List, ' had been a balloonist before the war and, although he was not a combatant in the truest sense, flew during the conflict on reconnaissance over the battle lines of the Western Front and took part in night raiding with the Handley Page bombers of the RAF. His work considers the development and capabilities of aircraft in a military role and the early theories for their application in the Great War. This thorough history examines air to air combat as it progressed in each year of the conflict. Zeppelin and other air raids on England are considered together with the measures employed to counter them. Bomber operations at night and the roles of reconnaissance, artillery and balloon observation and the of the newly formed Royal Naval Air Service and the aircraft's role at sea are also given consideration here. This is a fine perspective from one who was at the heart of the events he has written about. An essential total view for all those interested in the early days of the war in the air. Available in softcover and hardcover with dust jacket.

A unique 1914 trilogy in one special edition
This Leonaur special edition, published to coincide with the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, collects three of Edmund Dane's well regarded, concise histories of warfare Never before published in this form, this substantial trilogy covers events from the outbreak of hostilities in late July, 1914, to the battle of Neuve Chapelle in early March, 1915-approximately the first six months of the conflict. Germany had long planned this war. It had its well equipped army's inexorable advance mapped out in every detail, taking into account the French fortifications along it's borders and the terrain to be traversed. German commanders decided to march through the northern flank of Belgium and present this as a 'fait de complete' to the Belgians, sweetened by terms they thought would not be refused. However, the Belgians and their small archaic army, fought back. This resistance, a story of unparalleled bravery and tenacity has been substantially forgotten due to the world-wide carnage that followed. The German Army did, of course, advance through Belgium, into France and towards Paris. The French Army fought as it stubbornly retired and the small regular British Army was quickly transported to the battle line. The B. E. F stood and fought at Mons, but could not endure the seemingly endless supply of German troops thrown at it or the vast superiority in well-served artillery at the disposal of the invaders. A dogged retreat to the Marne was fought, with actions around Le Cateau that saved the British Army from annihilation. The British and French armies turned before Paris and counter-attacked driving the Germans north over the Marne and Aisne. Towards the end of the year the Germans stood at the First Battle of Ypres-a pivotal engagement that marked the beginning of the war of stalemate. From this point on the great armies of the Western Front would gain little on the tortured battleground of blood, mud and wire. Neuve Chapelle was the first of many offensives that defined the conflict-typified by an appalling loss of life for no significant gain. The days of mobility were over and the armies began to dig into the ground for the long haul to 1918.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

From 1914 to 1918, religious believers and hopeful skeptics tried to find meaning and purpose behind divinely willed destruction. God on the Western Front is a history of lived religion across national boundaries, religious affiliations, and class during World War I, utilizing an expansive record of primary sources. Joseph F. Byrnes takes readers on a tour of the battlefields of France, listening to the words of German, French, and English soldiers; going behind the lines to hear from the men and women who provided pastoral and medical care; and reviewing the religious writings of priests, bishops, ministers, and rabbis as they tried to make sense of it all. The story begins with citizens at home as they responded to the obligation to make war and then focuses on the "God-talk" and "nation-talk" that soldiers used to express their foundational religious experiences. Byrnes's study attends to the words of average men who struggled to articulate their religious sentiments, alongside the generals Helmuth von Moltke, Ferdinand Foch, and Douglas Haig and the soldier theologians Franz Rosenzweig, Paul Tillich, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy. In doing so, he shows how religious and battle experience are intertwined and showcases the wide range of spiritual responses that emerged across boundaries. Going beyond the typical constraints of studies focused either on one nation or one confessional affiliation, Byrnes's international and interfaith approach breaks new ground. It will appeal to scholars and students of modern European history, religious history, and the history of war.

"This dictionary is a model of its genre in both form and content and will likely become for all large libraries the standard source on the subject in any language for decades to come." RQ

The War as I Saw It is a completely fresh point of view of the "war to end all wars", an extraordinary first-person view of a young officer in the opening battles of the American Tank Corps in World War I. Written by a young, well-educated American, these forty-six letters chronicle the birth of the Tank Corps and provide a rare glimpse into a rich and complex arena of history.

Harvey L. Harris clearly delighted in being a part of what was, then, cutting-edge technology in the Tank Corps; his letters capture the essence of American naivete and sense of adventure in Europe. A keen observer of people and events, Harris details his early training in France, the two major battles he witnessed, and his proximity to a then-unknown colonel, George S. Patton, Jr.

Because this short but meaningful period of American military history has been largely neglected, the publication of these letters provides a window into a slice of military history beautifully captured in a young officer's first-person letters to his family back home in the States.

The eightieth anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I will occur November 11, 1998. The War as I Saw It will be of particular interest to historians and, in particular, to American war/military history buffs. The War as I Saw It is the only title currently in print that extensively considers the use of American armored tanks in World War I.

This is a comparative, interdisciplinary book which explores the responses of the women's movement to World War I in all of the major belligerent nations. Working in the fields of gender studies and women's history, the contributors cover key topics including women's relationship with the state and with the nation, the status of women's war service, women's role as mothers in wartime, women's suffrage, peace and the aftermath of war, and women's guilt and responsibility.

Two views of the Great Retreat
Imperial Germany had long planned the conflict that was to become the First World War, but when the onslaught came there was little sign that the nations which would be embroiled were prepared for the storm. Germany advanced in the east and west where French and Belgian armies were forced to retire by overwhelming odds. The small British Army, the 'B. E. F', was rushed to the continent with most of its troops having less than a week between garrison life and the firing line. Under Sir John French, it was allocated the western end of the line, and at Mons it inflicted far more causalities on the enemy than its numbers would suggest. No army of its size, however, could stand against the German superiority in men (at least five to one) or artillery and machine guns. An envelopment was inevitable and so a stubbornly fought retreat was ordered. Near Le Cateau, the British turned at bay and Smith-Dorrien's determination to stand and fight undoubtedly saved the British Army from annihilation. Many people imagine the First World War as a stalemate of mud, wire and trenches, but in the first six months it was a great European war fought in much the same way that Napoleon, Wellington and Blucher had fought a century before. This Leonaur Original edition contains two concise accounts of the early campaign of the great conflict where the 'Contemptible Little Army' of the B. E. F earned undying fame in the history of military conflict.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.