This reexamination of Habsburg decision-making from 1912 to July 1914 argues that it was Austria-Hungary, not Germany, that initiated the military steps which brought about the First World War. The Habsburg decision for war is put into the perspective of pre-war European politics and the entanglement of domestic and foreign policy confronting Habsburg statesmen in a monarchy embracing 11 nationalities. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Austria-Hungary and the Origins of the First World War (Making of the 20th Century)

Williamson, Samuel R.

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

<p>Historians have long sought to explain how the world descended into war in the wake of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife on June 28, 1914. Focusing on the interactions between two key leaders — one civilian and one military — in each of the Great Powers and Serbia, this documentary history explores how individuals, not monolithic governments and impersonal forces, contributed to the rapidly escalating crisis leading to World War I. A brief introduction outlines the background for July 1914, followed by seven chapters on events in each of the major nations involved, interwoven with over 70 documents — including memoirs, diaries, telegrams, press reports, and private letters — to illustrate how the crisis developed. An epilogue addresses the relative roles and influence of civilian and military leaders in leading the nations inexorably along the path to war. The volume also contains 14 images and two maps, a chronology, a glossary of key figures, Selected Bibliography, Questions for Consideration, and an index.</p>

July 1914: Soldiers, Statesmen and the Coming of the Great War

History

Van Wyk, Russel

Americas

Bedford/St.Martin's

The emergence of the Anglo-French entente after 1904 reshaped the international system before the First World War. After Russi's addition in 1907, the Triple Entente confronted the Triple Alliance in crisis after crisis. This study, first published in 1969, chronicles the impact of the entente upon the British decision to pursue a policy of Continental intervention and looks at the ramifications of that decision upon both British and French strategic policies.Britain's search for support against an assertive Germany represented its first acknowledgement of relative decline in the international system. The British sought to conceal the extent of their policy shift, denying the entente relationship had any military or naval dimension. In fact, from late 1905 to the war, there were secret military and naval conversations between the two governments. Mr. Williamson, focusing upon the content and conduct of the covert planning, examines the assumptions of entente strategy and its operational consequences.In the years after 1905 the military and naval talks would become a British substitute for a formal alliance commitment to the French; this use of the secret talks, which misled the British cabinet for years and the British parliament down to August 1914, possibly also explains Germany's failure to assess correctly Britain's support for France. Williamson thus helps put Fritz Fischer's arguments about German policy into a comparative framework.The Politics of Grand Strategy also examines the domestic ramifications of the secret staff planning and the ineptness of radical leadership in the British Cabinet in trying to block the Continental strategy. The author analyzes the problems of civil-military relations, the difficulty of controlling zealous staff officers, and the inherent risks of all forms of strategic planning.This second edition has a new preface that analyzes the abundant new literature appearing since 1969 on British military and intelligence operations, on the evolution of French strategic planning, and on the clashes of the entente and alliance systems.

The Politics of Grand Strategy

Military

Humanity Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Williamson, Samuel R.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Williamson, Samuel R.