ENTENTE POWERS

[Jill]

We seldom think of China as part of the Entente but this was indeed a World War.

The Siege of Tsingtao

by Jonathan Fenby (no photo)

Synopsis:

n 1914, Europe was not the only continent coming to terms with a new form of conflict. Through a mix of complex alliances and global ambition, the war had spread to northern China, where the German-held port of Tsingtao became a key battleground. To strike a blow at Kaiser Wilhelm's naval forces, Britain and its ally Japan lay siege to the port during October and November. In The Siege of Tsingtao, the first of the Penguin China Specials on the First World War, celebrated historian Jonathan Fenby examines the causes of the battle, the ulterior motives for it, and the path it helped set East Asia on for decades to come.

[Jerome, Assisting Moderator - Upcoming Books and Releases]

An upcoming book:
Release date: March 7, 2017

The World Remade: America in World War I

by G.J. Meyer

Synopsis:

After years of bitter debate, the United States declared war on Imperial Germany on April 6, 1917, plunging the country into the savage European conflict that would redraw the map of the continent—and the globe. The World Remade is an engrossing chronicle of America’s pivotal, still controversial intervention into World War I, encompassing the tumultuous politics and towering historical figures that defined the era and forged the future. When it declared war, the United States was the youngest of the major powers and militarily the weakest by far. On November 11, 1918, when the fighting stopped, it was not only the richest country on earth but the mightiest.

With the mercurial, autocratic President Woodrow Wilson as a primary focus, G. J. Meyer takes readers from the heated deliberations over U.S. involvement, through the provocations and manipulations that drew us into the fight, to the battlefield itself and the shattering aftermath of the struggle. America’s entry into the Great War helped make possible the defeat of Germany that had eluded Britain, France, Russia, and Italy in three and a half years of horrendous carnage. Victory, in turn, led to a peace treaty so ill-conceived, so vindictive, that the world was put on the road to an even bloodier confrontation a mere twenty years later.

On the home front, Meyer recounts the break-up of traditional class structures, the rise of the progressive and labor movements, the wave of anti-German hysteria, and the explosive expansion of both the economy and federal power, including shocking suspensions of constitutional protections that planted the seeds of today’s national security state. Here also are revealing portraits of Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, Robert La Follette, Eugene Debs, and John J. “Black Jack” Pershing, among others, as well as European leaders such as “Welsh Wizard” David Lloyd George of Britain, “Tiger” Georges Clemenceau of France, and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.

Meyer interweaves the many strands of his story into a gripping narrative that casts new light on one of the darkest, most forgotten corners of U.S. history. In the grand tradition of his earlier work A World Undone—which centered on the European perspective—The World Remade adds a new, uniquely American dimension to our understanding of the seminal conflict of the twentieth century.

[Jerome, Assisting Moderator - Upcoming Books and Releases]

The British Army and the First World War

by Ian Beckett (no photo)

Synopsis:

This is a major new history of the British army during the Great War written by three leading military historians. Ian Beckett, Timothy Bowman and Mark Connelly survey operations on the Western Front and throughout the rest of the world as well as the army's social history, pre-war and wartime planning and strategy, the maintenance of discipline and morale and the lasting legacy of the First World War on the army's development. They assess the strengths and weaknesses of the army between 1914 and 1918, engaging with key debates around the adequacy of British generalship and whether or not there was a significant 'learning curve' in terms of the development of operational art during the course of the war. Their findings show how, despite limitations of initiative and innovation amongst the high command, the British army did succeed in developing the effective combined arms warfare necessary for victory in 1918

[Dimitri]

Jerome wrote: "The British Army and the First World War

by Ian Beckett (no photo)
"

Anything from the 'Armies of the Great War' series is a must. Let's just hope there's not too much overleaf with a.o. :

& by Tim Travers (no photo)

by Robin Neillands

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Thank you both.

[Dimitri]

Not a bad collection of French oral history. Originally published in 2012, Pen and Sword books is reprinting it (according to the Waterstone's UK website) on 30 november:

They Shall Not Pass: The French Army on the Western Front 1914-1918

by Ian Sumner(no photo)

Synopsis:

This graphic collection of first-hand accounts sheds new light on the experiences of the French army during the Great War. It reveals in authentic detail the perceptions and emotions of soldiers and civilians who were caught up in the most destructive conflict the world had ever seen.

[Jerome, Assisting Moderator - Upcoming Books and Releases]

An upcoming book:
Release date: March 1, 2022

More Precious Than Peace: A New History of America in World War I

by Justus D. Doenecke

Synopsis:

The entry of America into the "war to end all wars" in April 1917 marks one of the major turning points in the nation's history. In the span of just nineteen months, the United States sent nearly two million troops overseas, established a robust propaganda apparatus, and created an unparalleled war machine that played a major role in securing Allied victory in the Fall of 1918. At the helm of the nation, Woodrow Wilson and his administration battled against political dissidence, domestic and international controversies, and their own lack of experience leading a massive war effort.

In More Precious than Peace, the long-awaited successor to his critically acclaimed work Nothing Less Than War, Justus Doenecke examines the entirety of the American experience as a full-scale belligerent in World War I. This book covers American combat on the western front, the conscription controversy, and scandals in military training and production. Doenecke explores the Wilson administration's quest for national unity, the Creel Committee, and patriotic crusades. Weaving together these topics and many others, including the U.S. reaction to the Russian revolutions, Doenecke creates a lively and comprehensive narrative. Based on impressive research, this balanced appraisal challenges historiographical controversies and will be of great use to students, scholars, and any reader interested in the history of World War I.