War Plans of the Great Powers, 1880-1914

by Paul Kennedy (Editor)

The origins of the First World War remain one of the greatest twentieth century historical controversies. In this debate the role of military planning in particular and of militarism in general, are a key focus of attention. Did the military wrest control from the civilians? Were the leaders of Europe eager for a conflict? What military commitments were made between the various alliance blocks? These questions are examined in detail here in eleven essays by distinguished historians and the editor's introduction provides a focus and draws out the comparative approach to the history of military policies and war plans of the great powers.

Genres: World War I

282 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Paul Michael Kennedy is a British historian specialising in the history of international relations, economic power and grand strategy. He has published prominent books on the history of British foreign policy and Great Power struggles.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a series of scholarly essays on the war plans and general strategic issues of the great powers in the pre-World War I era. The reader should be aware that the book was originally published in 1979 so some of the articles are somewhat dated and that more recent research has come to differing conclusions. Nonetheless, they are well-written and of use to those interested in the origins of the First World War. I only gave it four stars because the essay on German and American naval planning against each other by Herwig and Trask has long passages and entire paragraphs in German, untranslated into English. I simply loathe academic writers who blithely assume that you understand a foreign language, and the usually superlative Paul Kennedy is to be taken to task for not insisting on a translation. Other than that, a useful and important addition to your pre-WWI library.

[Erik Riker-Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, if seemingly a little dated in places. Some of the pieces I found a bit dubious in interpretation (the argument that the US attack on the Philippines was simply activating a plan reflexively rather than a plan that very, very purposefully set in readiness and activated, f0r instance), but overall a useful book.

[Alistair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great reference book giving the background to the war plans leading to First World War.