The Great War: 1914-1918 1405812524, 9781405812528

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The Great War 1914–1918

MODERN WARS IN PERSPECTIVE General Editors: H. M. Scott and B. W. Collins This ambitious series offers wide-ranging studies of specific wars, and distinct phases of warfare, from the close of the Middle Ages to the present day. It aims to advance the current integration of military history into the academic mainstream. To that end, the books are not merely traditional campaign narratives, but examine the causes, course and consequences of major conflicts, in their full international political, social and ideological contexts. also in this series The Anglo–Dutch Wars of the Seventeenth Century J. R. Jones The Wars of Louis XIV John A. Lynn The Wars of Frederick the Great Dennis Showalter The War of the Austrian Succession, 1740–1748 M. S. Anderson

England’s Colonial Wars 1550–1688: Conflicts, Empire and National Identity Bruce Lenman Britain’s Colonial Wars 1688–1783 Bruce Lenman The Great War (Second Edition) Ian F. W. Beckett Austria’s Wars of Emergence Michael Hochedlinger

The Wars of Napoleon Charles J. Esdaile

The French Civil Wars R. J. Knecht

The Spanish–American War: Conflict in the Caribbean and the Pacific 1895–1902 Joseph Smith

Russia’s Wars of Emergence, 1460–1730 Carol B. Stevens

China at War, 1901–1949 Edward L. Dreyer The Wars of French Decolonization Anthony Clayton A Noble Cause? America and the Vietnam War Gerard J. DeGroot The Northern Wars Robert I. Frost

The English Revolution and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1638–1652 Ian Gentles Ottoman Wars 1700–1870: An Empire Besieged Virginia H. Aksan The Seven Years War in Europe, 1756–1763 Franz A. J. Szabo

The Great War 1914–1918 SECOND EDITION

Ian F. W. Beckett

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ISBN: 978-1-4058-1252-8 QCL

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Typeset in 10/13.5pt Sabon by 35

Contents

List of maps and plates Preface and acknowledgements Abbreviations Chronology Maps 1

Another country?

viii x xiv xix xxxi 1

Industrialisation and the state 4 Ideology and the nation-state 9 2

Guns in August

22

Alliances and the European state system 23 Imperial Germany and Weltpolitik 25 Imperialism, capitalism and militarism 27 Vienna and the domestic imperative 31 From ‘Third Balkan War’ to world war 34 3

Over by Christmas

55

Expectations of war 56 War plans 61 The failure of the war plans in the west 70 The Eastern Front 74 4

Widening horizons The contribution of empire 90 The Balkans and beyond 102 Distant waters 112 The economics of belligerency and neutrality 122

89

vi

CONTENTS

5

Westerners and Easterners

149

Civil–military relations 149 The politics of coalition 162 Strategy and war aims: the Entente 171 Strategy and war aims: the Central Powers 183 6

New ways of war

214

Science and war 214 The exercise of command 218 The war on land 223 The war at sea 242 The war in the air 254 7

Nations in arms

282

Conscription and manpower 283 The voluntary spirit and its limits 289 The experience of military service 295 Morale and discipline 302 8

War and the state

344

The growth of government 347 Economic management 357 War and industrial mobilisation 361 Food supply 374 State welfare 382 Management of morale 392 9

War and society

437

Life and death 438 Class 445 Labour 450 Women 454 Social mores and leisure pursuits 471 10

War, politics and revolution Leadership 499 Opposition 503 Revolution 511

498

CONTENTS

11

Victors and vanquished

541

Defeat and revolution 541 The Paris peace conference and the peace settlements 551 Political values and the politics of the ‘front generation’ 567 12

Wastelands?

597

Memory and commemoration 598 War and culture 616 War and the silver screen 637 War and history 643 Epilogue Bibliography Index

671 673 797

vii

List of maps and plates

Maps 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Europe in 1914 The Western Front The Russian Front The Balkans Africa The Middle East The Italian Front The Dardanelles Europe in 1919

xxxi xxxii xxxiii xxxiv xxxv xxxvi xxxvii xxxviii xxxix

Plates 1

2

3 4

5

European monarchs photographed at Windsor on 20 May 1910 while visiting for the funeral of King Edward VII A seemingly apprehensive crowd outside the Winter Palace in St Petersburg on 29 July 1914, the day before Russia announced full mobilisation German infantrymen pictured somewhere in East Prussia in December 1914 Maximilian von Spee’s East Asian Squadron in line ahead formation off the Chilean coast between 26 and 29 November 1914 The official British cameraman, Lieutenant Geoffrey Malins, films British leaders leaving Beauquesne Chateau on 12 August 1916 during King George V’s visit to France

10

40 72

116

180

LIST OF MAPS AND PLATES

6

7 8

9

10 11

12

A dramatic photograph taken from one of the German Gotha bombers during their second raid on London on 7 July 1917 A British soldier captured by the Germans during the March offensive in 1918 One of the ubiquitous food queues, mostly women and children, which became common in Britain in 1917 and which were a feature of the experience of war in Germany and Austria-Hungary as well Two members of the new Women’s Auxiliary Corps tending fat boilers at an army camp outside Rouen on 24 July 1917 German Foreign Minister, Richard von Kuhlmann, signs the Treaty of Brest Litovsk on 3 March 1918 Showing no concept of defeat, men of the German 150th Infantry Regiment return in triumph to Berlin from the East in December 1918 The Australian official photographer, Frank Hurley, puts finishing touches to one of the large photomontages of his work being exhibited at the Cartwright Hall in Bradford in January 1919

250 310

390

466 520

569

647

ix

Preface and acknowledgements

I

n endeavouring to convey to students the significance and complexities of a conflict fought on such a vast scale as the Great War, the author can adopt two potential approaches – either chronological or thematic. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. The chronological approach requires students to make the appropriate connections, and it can become little more than a narrative heavily biased towards military and political events. The thematic approach is generally more analytical and, consequently, more rewarding, but it requires students to have some grasp of the chronology. The analytical approach is consciously chosen for this volume in the knowledge that there are a number of chronological narratives available, but all too few thematic analyses. Moreover, of the latter, none treat the war in sufficient depth or at sufficient length to reveal the wider political, diplomatic, social, economic, military and cultural contexts. It is also intended to introduce students to the enormous amount of new research, which has so greatly expanded academic knowledge of the war and taken the ‘new military history’ into so many new and exciting areas. Consequently, the footnotes are designed to be as comprehensive as possible. It is hoped that the true global significance of a war that shaped the twentieth century will emerge from this volume and that, at the same time, it will go some way to demythologising the popular memory of a war which is widely misunderstood. It is that popular memory which first aroused my own interest in the war since, although my father and his generation had so recently fought in the Second World War, it was the earlier conflict that seemingly held more significance for so many of those among whom I grew up. I never knew my maternal grandfather. A regular soldier in the Royal Artillery, he arrived in France with the 85th Battery, 11th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, attached to the Third Indian (Lahore) Division, in October 1914 and saw service at Festubert, Aubers Ridge and Loos in 1915, on the Somme in 1916, at Arras in 1917, and again on the Somme in 1918. He

PREFCE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

died as a result of his war injuries in 1938. My maternal grandmother was employed on war work, as was her sister, and I remember vividly my great uncle’s account of being aboard HMS Aboukir when it was torpedoed in September 1914. Subsequently, he served with the Dover Patrol and in the monitor, HMS Lord Clive, which, among other duties, bombarded German coastal batteries in support of the raids on Zeebrugge and Ostend in April 1918. There were many men in the village in which I was born – Whitchurch in Buckinghamshire – who had seen service with the Royal Bucks Hussars at Gallipoli and in Palestine or with the Bucks Battalions of the Territorial Force in France and Italy. The names of families still well represented within the village appeared on the war memorial in the church. Since turning professionally to the subject of the Great War over twenty years ago, I have benefited enormously from the expertise of many friends and colleagues. There has also been the challenge of teaching students brought up on the received ‘myth’ of the war as well as testing out arguments before the knowledgeable audiences at branch meetings of the Western Front Association. A series of lectures to schools delivered in Sydney and Newcastle (Australia) at the invitation of Alf Pickard and the New South Wales History Teachers Association in 1998 was also a valuable opportunity to try out various theories. I was lucky that colleagues at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, included such distinguished historians of the war as John Keegan, Christopher Duffy, Paddy Griffith, Richard Holmes, Keith Simpson and, later, Gary Sheffield, Stephen Badsey and Paul Harris. That ‘lost company’ may exist now only in memory, but fortunately its members and many other friends are frequently to be found at meetings of the British Commission for Military History and the military history seminars run at the Institute of Historical Research by Brian Bond and Michael Dockrill of the Department of War Studies at King’s College, London. My thoughts on the interconnection between strategy and war aims were greatly assisted by my visiting period in the Department of Strategy at the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island in 1992–93, in the company of scholars such as Douglas Porch, George Baer, David Kaiser, William Fuller and John Maurer. It is difficult to include everyone who has done so much to help me towards an understanding of the war over the years, but mention should be made of Jim Beach, John Bourne, Lisa Budreau, Mark Connelly, David French, John Gooch, Toby Graham, Keith Grieves, Matthew Hughes, Keith Jeffery, John Lee, Chris McCarthy, Alf Peacock, Nick Perry, Bill Philpott, Peter Scott, Matthew

xi

xii

PREFCE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Seligmann, Peter Simkins, Sally Sokoloff, Edward Spiers, Hew Strachan, Rod Suddaby, Tim Travers, Jay Winter and David Woodward. I have also benefited from the work of my former postgraduate students, Tim Bowman, Mike Senior, Bill Mitchinson Jim McDermott, Chris Northcott and Denise Poynter. This is, I hope, a better book for the insights of all these. None, of course, is responsible for the failings that remain. For the first edition, I was grateful to the series editor, Bruce Collins, and successive Longman editors, Andrew MacLennan, Hilary Shaw and Heather McCallum, and finally the project editor, Jill Birch for their great patience. For this second edition, my thanks also go to Christina WipfPerry, Mary-Clare Connellan, Hetty Reid and Casey Mein at Pearson, and Karen Mclaren and Linda Dhondy for their even greater patience. Almost as soon as the first edition of this book was published, new work was already appearing and there has been an extraordinary growth of Great War studies over the past five years. To give but one example, at the time of original publication only one article had appeared in what was to become a lively debate on the true nature of the Schlieffen Plan. Much more has been done since 2001 on German occupation policies, neutrals, on more distant belligerents such as Japan and China, on cultural aspects of the war, and so on. The gratifying response to the first edition, therefore, has encouraged me to revise and update it in the light of this new work. I am grateful to the various readers and reviewers who commented upon the original edition, enabling me not only to correct some errors but also to expand coverage in areas where it was felt the first edition deficient, and to take up suggestions for improving the user-friendliness of the volume as a whole. Thus, for example, there is now more on naval operations and upon the experiences of prisoners of war. There is also a chronology and a full bibliography, supplementing the detailed footnotes of the original edition. Note: Place names are rendered in the form most familiar to English readers. Where they have changed substantially, the modern name is given in parentheses. Until February 1918, Russia used the Old Style or Julian calendar, which, at the time of the Great War, was thirteen days behind the western, New Style, or Gregorian calendar. All dates are given according to the Gregorian calendar. In the case of some particularly significant dates in 1917, however, the Julian date is given in parentheses. Bulgaria adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1916, Greece in 1924, and Turkey in 1927. Ian F. W. Beckett

PREFCE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Publisher’s acknowledgements We are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyright material: Map 1 and Map 4 from The Origins of the First World War, Longman (Joll, J. 2000); Map 2 adapted from The First World War, Hutchinson (Keegan, J. 1999), used by permission of The Random House Group Ltd; Map 5 and Map 6 adapted from Britain and the First World War, Routledge (Allen & Unwin) (Turner 1988). Plates 1–12 reproduced by permission of the Imperial War Museum. While every effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright material, in a few cases this has proved impossible and we take this opportunity to offer our apologies to any copyright holders whose rights we have unwittingly infringed.

xiii

Abbreviations

AEF AEG AFL AHR AIF ANMEF Anzac AOK Asdic AT&T ATS AZS BBC BEF BHR BIHR BLESMA BSP BUF Bufa CEF CEH CGT CGW CHR

American Expeditionary Force Allgemeine Elektrizität Gesellschaft (General Electric Company) American Federation of Labor American Historical Review Australian Imperial Force Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force Australian and New Zealand Army Corps Armee-Oberkommando (Austro-Hungarian Army High Command) Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee American Telephone and Telegraph Company Auxiliary Territorial Service Abteilung für Zurückstellungswesen (Exports and Exemptions Section) British Broadcasting Corporation British Expeditionary Force Business History Review Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research British Limbless Ex-serviceman’s Association British Socialist Party British Union of Fascists Königliche Bild-und-Film Amt (Royal Picture and Film Bureau) Canadian Expeditionary Force Central European History Confédération Générale du Travail (General Labour Confederation) Comrades of the Great War Canadian Historical Review

ABBREVIATIONS

CID CIGS CJH CRB CTA CUP CWC DHV DMO DORA DSIR EcHR EEQ EHR ESR FANY GHQ GMCC GOC GQG HJ HJFRT HS HWJ IHR ILP INV IRA IRB ISB IUX IV IWGC IWMR JAH JBS JCH JICH JMH

Committee of Imperial Defence Chief of the Imperial General Staff Canadian Journal of History Commission for the Relief of Belgium County Territorial Association Committee of Union and Progress Clyde Workers Committee Deutscher Handlungsgehilfen-Verband (German Clerks Association) Director of Military Operations Defence of the Realm Act Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Economic History Review Eastern European Quarterly English Historical Review European Studies Review First Aid Nursing Yeomanry General Headquarters Guerres Mondiales et Conflits Contemporains General Officer Commanding Grand Quartier Général (French General Headquarters) Historical Journal Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television Historical Studies History Workshop Journal International History Review Independent Labour Party Irish National Volunteers Irish Republican Army Irish Republican Brotherhood International Socialist Bureau International Union of Ex-servicemen Irish Volunteers Imperial War Graves Commission Imperial War Museum Review Journal of African History Journal of British Studies Journal of Contemporary History Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History Journal of Modern History

xv

xvi

ABBREVIATIONS

JMilH JRUSI

Journal of Military History Journal of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies JSAHR Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research JSS Journal of Strategic Studies KEA Kriegsernährungsamt (War Food Office) KPD Kommunistischen Partei Deutschlands (German Communist Party) KRA Kriegsrohrstoffabteilung (Raw Materials Section of German War Office) KUA Kriegsüberwachungsamt (War Surveillance Office) MA Military Affairs MI Mobilitazione Industriale (Industrial Mobilisation) MID Munitions Invention Department MM Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen MRC Military Revolutionary Committee (Russian) NADSS National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers NAMPI National Association of the Motion Picture Industry NAWSA National American Woman Suffrage Association NCF No Conscription Fellowship NCO Non-commissioned officer NFDSS National Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Sailors and Soldiers NOT Nederlandsche Overzee Trustmaatschappij (Netherlands Overseas Trust Company) NUX National Union of Ex-servicemen NWAC National War Aims Committee OHL Oberste Heersleitung (German General Headquarters) P&P Past and Present PLP Parliamentary Labour Party QAIMNS Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service RAF Royal Air Force RFC Royal Flying Corps RIC Royal Irish Constabulary RIHM Revue Internationale d’Histoire Militaire RNAS Royal Naval Air Service RSL Returned Services League RSSADL Returned Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Australian Democratic League RSSILA Returned Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Imperial League of Australia

ABBREVIATIONS

RWA SANLC SAZ

Reichswirtschaftsamt (Imperial Economic Office) South African Native Labour Corps Ständige Ausschuss für Zusammenlegungen (Standing Committee on Consolidations) SDAP League of Social Democrats SPD Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (German Social Democratic Party) SR Socialist Revolutionary SSAU Soldiers, Sailors and Airmens’ Union STE Service Travaux de l’État STPU Service des Travaux de Première Urgence SWC Supreme War Council TF Territorial Force TFNS Territorial Force Nursing Service TNT Trinitrotoluene TsVPK Tsentral’nyi Voenno-Promyshlennyi Komitet (Central War Industries Committee) TUC Trades Union Council UDC Union of Democratic Control UF Union Fédérale (Federal Union) Ufa Universum-Film-Aktiengesellschaft (Universal Film Joint Stock Company) UGAPE Union des Grandes Associations contre la Propagande Ennemie (Union of Associations against Enemy Propaganda) UNC Union Nationale des Combattants (National Union of Veterans) UNMR Union Nationale des Mutilés et Réformés (National Union for the Disabled and Discharged) USPD Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (German Independent Social Democratic Party) UVF Ulster Volunteer Force VAD Voluntary Aid Detachment VPK Voenno-Promyshlennya Komitet (War Industries Committee) VTC Volunteer Training Corps WAAC Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps W&S War and Society WEWNC War Emergency Workers’ National Committee WH War in History WIB War Industries Board WPS Women’s Police Service

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ABBREVIATIONS

WPV WRAAF WRNS WSF WSPU WUMBA YMCA ZAB

Women’s Police Volunteers Women’s Royal Auxiliary Air Force Women’s Royal Naval Service Women’s Suffrage Federation Women’s Social and Political Union Waffen und Munitionsbeschaffungsamt (Weapons and Munitions Procurement Office) Young Men’s Christian Association Zivilarbeiter Bataillonen (Civil Labour Battalions)

Chronology

1914 28 June 5 July 23 July 28 July 29 July 31 July 31 July 1 August 1 August 2 August 3 August 3 August 4 August 5 August 5 August 5 August 6 August 6 August 7 August 7 August 8 August 8 August 9 August 10 August 12 August 16 August

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Germany issues its ‘blank cheque’ to Austria-Hungary Austro-Hungarian ultimatum to Serbia Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia Russia orders partial mobilisation Closure of London Stock Exchange Assassination of Jaurès in Paris Germany declares war on Russia St Petersburg renamed Petrograd Germany sends ultimatum to Belgium Germany declares war on France and invades Belgium Italy declares neutrality Britain declares war on Germany Montenegro declares war on Austria-Hungary Appointment of Kitchener as Secretary of State for War Creation of Union of Democratic Control in Britain Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia Currency and Bank Notes Act authorises issue of the ‘Bradbury’ Notes Kitchener’s call for the ‘First 100,000’ volunteers for his ‘New Armies’ Russians invade East Prussia Defence of Realm Act (DORA) in Britain Establishment of KRA in Germany HMS Birmingham sinks U-15 in the North Sea German warships Goeben and Breslau enter Dardanelles Britain and France declare war on Austria-Hungary Disembarkation of British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France completed

xx

CHRONOLOGY

20 August 20 August 22 August 23 August 23 August 25 August 26 August 26 August 26 August 27 August 30 August 30 August 2 September 3 September 5 September 5 September 5 September 7 September 9 September 9 September 12 September 13 September 14 September 15 September 17 September 18 September 18 December 22 September 22 September 3 October 10 October 19 October 20 October 29 October 1 November 2 November 5 November

Britain imposes economic blockade on Central Powers German occupation of Brussels Austria-Hungary declares war on Belgium Battle of Mons Japan declares war on Germany Royal Flying Corps aircraft becomes first to force down an opponent Battle of Le Cateau German destruction of Louvain Surrender of German forces in Togoland Start of Battle of Tannenberg First German bombing of Paris Start of Battle of Lemberg French government leaves Paris for Bordeaux Election of Pope Benedict XV Declaration of London by Britain, France and Russia agreeing not to make a separate peace Start of Allied counter-attack on the Marne HMS Pathfinder sunk by U-21 in North Sea Start of Battle of Masurian Lakes Start of German retreat from the Marne Publication of September Programme in Germany Sazonov’s Thirteen Points Start of Battle of the Aisne Falkenhayn succeeds Moltke as German Chief of Staff Suspension of Irish Home Rule and Welsh Church Bills for duration Surrender of German New Guinea Hindenburg appointed German CinC in the East Britain proclaims protectorate over Egypt RNAS bombs Zeppelin sheds Sinking of HMS Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue Germans invade Poland Fall of Antwerp to Germans Start of First Battle of Ypres First merchant ship (Glitra) sunk by submarine (U-17) Goeben and Breslau bombard Russian ports in Black Sea Battle of Coronel Russia declares war on Turkey Britain and France declare war on Ottoman Turkey

CHRONOLOGY

5 November 7 November 9 November 11 November 12 November 17 November 22 November 22 November 3 December 8 December 16 December 18 December 24 December 25 December

Britain formally annexes Cyprus Fall of Tsingtao to British and Japanese forces German cruiser Emden sunk by HMAS Sydney off Cocos Islands Turkey declares war on Britain and France Straits Agreement between Britain, France and Russia Launch of First British War Loan End of First Battle of Ypres British and Indian forces occupy Basra Creation of No Conscription Fellowship in Britain Battle of the Falkland Islands German Naval Bombardment of Scarborough and Hartlepool British proclamation of protectorate over Egypt First German bombing raid on Dover ‘Christmas Day Truce’ on the Western Front

1915 3 January 4 January 18 January 19 January 24 January 1 February 15 February 18 February 19 February 5 March 10 March 17 March 18 March 19 March 30 March 22 April 25 April 26 April 28 April

First use of gas by Germans at Bolimov London Stock Exchange reopens for trading Japan presents ‘Twenty One Demands’ to China First Zeppelin Raid on Great Yarmouth Battle of the Dogger Bank Bread and flour rationing introduced in Germany Mutiny of 5th (Indian) Light Infantry at Singapore Germans begin submarine blockade of Britain Britain and France commence Dardanelles naval operation Shells and Fuses Agreement in Britain Start of Battle of Neuve Chapelle Opening of War Service Register for Women in Britain British and French ships fail to force the Dardanelles Treasury Agreements in Britain King George V announces abstinence for the duration Start of Second Battle of Ypres Landing of Allied forces at the Dardanelles Treaty of London between Entente and Italy Opening of Women’s International Peace Conference at The Hague

xxi

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CHRONOLOGY

1 May 7 May 9 May 14 May 15 May 23 May 25 May 31 May 10 June 16 June 29 June 2 July 9 July 13 July 17 July 18 July 29 July 6 August 8 August 15 August 21 August 27 August 3 September 5 September 7 September 25 September 5 October 11 October 12 October 15 October 18 October 19 October 30 October 10 November 19 November 22 November 30 November 7 December 15 December

Start of Battle of Gorlice-Tarnow Sinking of the Lusitania by U-20 Start of Battle of Festubert The Times publicises the ‘Shell Scandal’ Resignation of Fisher as First Sea Lord Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary Formation of Asquith Coalition Government First Zeppelin Raid on London Establishment of Central Control Board (Liquor Traffic) Lloyd George becomes Minister of Munitions Start of First Battle of the Isonzo Establishment of Ministry of Munitions Surrender of German South West Africa Launch of Second British War Loan ‘Women’s Right to Serve’ Demonstration in London Start of Second Battle of the Isonzo Germans use flamethrowers at Hooge Crater British land at Suvla Bay on Gallipoli Opening of International Socialist Conference in Berne National Register taken in Britain Italy declares war on Turkey Germans suspend unrestricted submarine warfare Leefe Robinson shoots down German dirigible over Cuffley Opening of Zimmerwald Conference TUC votes against conscription Opening of Battle of Loos British and French forces land at Salonika Bulgaria invades Serbia Edith Cavell executed by Germans in Belgium Britain and France declare war on Bulgaria Start of Third Batle of the Isonzo Italy and Russia declare war on Bulgaria Briand succeeds Viviani as French Prime Minister Start of Fourth Battle of the Isonzo Start of British advance on Baghdad Start of Battle of Ctesiphon in Mesopotamia Start of Serbian ‘Great Retreat’ Start of Turkish siege of Kut Resignation of French as CinC of BEF

CHRONOLOGY

19 December 19 December 21 December

Appointment of Haig as CinC of BEF Start of British evacuation of Suvla Bay and Anzac Cove Appointment of Robertson as CIGS

1916 4 January 8 January 10 February 15 February 18 February 21 February 6 March 9 March 15 March 20 April 24 April 25 April 29 April 1 May 9 May 15 May 21 May 25 May 31 May 4 June 5 June 7 June 14 June 29 June 1 July 7 July 26 July 6 August 21 August 27 August

Simon resigns as Home Secretary in opposition to conscription Completion of evacuation of Gallipoli peninsula Military Service Act comes into force Start of Fifth Battle of the Isonzo German surrender in Cameroon Start of Battle of Verdun Establishment of Women’s National Land Service Corps in Britain Germany declares war on Portugal Austria-Hungary declares war on Portugal Arrest of Casement Start of Easter Rising in Dublin German Naval Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft Fall of Kut to Turks Arrest of Liebkneckt in Berlin Sykes-Picot Agreement to partition Middle East Start of Trial of Casement Introduction of British Summer Time Military Service Act (No 2) becomes law Start of Battle of Jutland Start of Brusilov Offensive Kitchener lost in HMS Hampshire Start of Arab Revolt against the Turks Start of Allied Economic Conference in Paris Casement sentenced to death Start of Battle of the Somme Lloyd George becomes Secretary of State for War Establishment of Mesopotamia and Dardanelles Commissions in Britain Start of Sixth Battle of the Isonzo Opening of The Battle of the Somme film in London Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary

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CHRONOLOGY

28 August 28 August 29 August

30 August 31 August 1 September 14 September 15 September 9 October 21 October 1 November 5 November 7 November 17 November 18 November 21 November 23 November 28 November 30 November 1 December 4 December 4 December 6 December 7 December 11 December 18 December 18 December 22 December 26 December

Germany declares war on Romania Italy declares war on Germany Dismissal of Falkenhayn as German Chief of Staff and appointment of Hindenburg with Ludendorff as First Quartermaster General Turkey declares war on Romania Bulgaria attacks Romania without declaration of war Bulgaria declares war on Romania Start of Seventh Battle of the Isonzo First use of tanks at Flers-Courcellette on the Somme Start of Eighth Battle of the Isonzo Assassination of Count Stürgkh in Vienna Start of Ninth Battle of the Isonzo Germany and Austria-Hungary declare Polish independence Woodrow Wilson wins re-election Murder of Rasputin End of Battle of the Somme Death of Emperor Franz Joseph and succession of Karl Greek Provisional Government declares war on Germany and Bulgaria First bombing raid by aircraft on London British and French forces land at Piraeus Establishment of Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Auxiliary Service Law comes into effect in Germany Asquith resigns as Prime Minister Fall of Bucharest to Germans Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister Establishment of Ministry of Labour End of Battle of Verdun Woodrow Wilson circulates Peace Note Establishment of Ministries of Food, Pensions, and Shipping Resignation of Joffre as French CinC

1917 19 January 1 February 2 February

Explosion at Silvertown in East London Germany declares unrestricted submarine warfare Corn Production Act

CHRONOLOGY

3 February 27 February 28 February 8 March 11 March 14 March 15 March 20 March 26 March 28 March 30 March 6 April 7 April 9 April 11 April 16 April 17 April 17 April 10 May 12 May 13 May 15 May 21 May 23 May 25 May 29 May 3 June 7 June 12 June 13 June 19 June 27 June 6 July 14 July

US breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany Dismissal of Conrad as Austrian Chief of Staff Publication of Zimmermann Telegram Start of food riots in Petrograd Fall of Baghdad to British Establishment of Russian Provisional Government Abdication of Tsar Nicholas II Ribot succeeds Briand as French Prime Minister Start of First Battle of Gaza Establishment of Ministry of National Service Russian Provisional Government recognises Polish independence United States declares war on Germany Panama and Cuba declare war on Germany Start of Battle of Arras Founding of USPD in Germany Start of Nivelle Offensive First mutinies in French army Start of Second Battle of Gaza First experimental convoy leaves Gibraltar for Plymouth Start of Tenth Battle of the Isonzo Opening of Socialist Peace Conference in Stockholm Appointment of Pétain as French CinC Opening of first National Kitchen in London Dismissal of Tisza as Hungarian Prime Minister First Bombing Raid by Gotha heavy bombers on Folkestone King George V’s proclamation to encourage voluntary bread reduction Italy declares protectorate over Albania British capture of Messines Ridge Abdication of King Constantine of Greece First Bombing Raid by Gotha heavy bombers on London British Royal Family renounces Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and becomes House of Windsor Greece officially declares war on Austria-Hungary and Turkey Arab forces take Aqaba Dismissal of Bethmann-Hollweg as German Chancellor and replacement by Michaelis

xxv

xxvi

CHRONOLOGY

19 July 19 July 20 July 22 July 31 July 1 August 4 August 14 August 17 August 5 September 9 September 12 September 15 October 15 October 24 October 26 October 29 October 30 October 2 November 5 November 6 November 7 November 7 November 10 November 14 November 16 November 18 November 20 November 20 November 29 November 29 November 1 December 6 December 7 December 9 December 9 December 15 December

Reichstag Peace Resolution Kerensky becomes Russian Prime Minister Declaration of Corfu for post-war union of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Siam (Thailand) declares war on Germany and AustriaHungary Start of Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) Papal Peace Note Liberia declares war on Germany China declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary Start of Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo German capture of Riga Resignation of Ribot as French Prime Minister Painlevé becomes French Prime Minister Britain recognises Polish National Committee Execution of Mata Hari Start of Battle of Caporetto Brazil declares war on Germany Orlando becomes Italian Prime Minister Dismissal of Michaelis as German Chancellor and replacement by Hertling Balfour Declaration Bolshevik Coup in Petrograd Capture of Passchendaele village by Canadians Establishment of (Allied) Supreme War Council Dismissal of Cadorna as Italian Chief of Staff End of Third Battle of Ypres Resignation of Painlevé as French Prime Minister Clemenceau becomes French Prime Minister Latvia declares independence Start of Battle of Cambrai Ukraine declares independence Lansdowne’s ‘Peace Letter’ Establishment of Women’s Royal Naval Service First meeting of Supreme War Council Finland declares independence United States declares war on Austria-Hungary British capture of Jerusalem Romania signs armistice with Germany Armistice between Bolsheviks and Central Powers

CHRONOLOGY

22 December 31 December

Peace negotiations open between Bolsheviks and Central Powers Introduction of sugar rationing in Britain

1918 4 January 5 January 8 January 12 January 13 January 15 January 28 January 1 February 25 February 3 March 21 March 26 March 1 April 8 April 9 April 14 April 18 April 23 April 23 April 7 May 8 May 19 May 23 May 26 May 10 June 17 June 12 July 16 July

Bolsheviks recognise Finnish independence Lloyd George’s War Aims speech Woodrow Wilson announces his Fourteen Points Latvia declares independence Estonia declares independence Bread riots in Vienna Strikes in Berlin and Hamburg Central Powers recognise Ukrainian independence Introduction of meat and fats rationing in London and Home Counties Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Central Powers and Bolsheviks Start of First German Spring Offensive (Michael) Doullens Agreement establishes Allied Supreme Command Establishment of Royal Air Force and Women’s Royal Air Force Opening of Conference of Nationalities Oppressed by Austria-Hungary in Rome Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps renamed Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps Foch becomes Allied Supreme Commander Military Service (No 2) Act comes into force Zeebrugge Raid Guatemala declares war on Germany Romania signs Treaty of Bucharest with Central Powers Nicaragua declares war on Germany Last German air raid on London Costa Rica declares war on Germany Georgia declares independence Representation of the People Act Bread riots in Vienna Haiti declares war on Germany Murder of the Tsar and his family by Bolsheviks

xxvii

xxviii CHRONOLOGY

19 July 31 July 2 August 3 August 8 August 8 August 31 August 12 September 15 September 26 September 27 September 30 September 30 September 30 September 4 October 4 October 21 October 24 October 27 October 30 October 31 October 1 November 3 November 7 November 9 November 10 November 11 November 12 November 14 November 16 November 25 November 14 December

Honduras declares war on Germany Onondago Indian Nation declares war on Germany Britain recognises Czech National Committee British troops land at Archangel and Vladivostock Introduction of Education Bill in Britain Battle of Amiens (‘Black Day of the German Army’) Metropolitan Police Strike Battle of St Mihiel Start of Allied offensive at Salonika Start of Battle of Meuse-Argonne Breaking of the Hindenburg Line on Canal du Nord Resignation of Hertling as German Chancellor British capture of Damascus Armistice between Bulgaria and Entente Appointment of Max of Baden as German Chancellor Abdication of King Ferdinand of Bulgaria in favour of son, Boris Czechs and Slovaks declare independence Start of Battle of Vittorio Veneto Dismissal of Ludendorff as First Quartermaster General Armistice between Turkey and Entente Assassination of Tisza in Vienna Abdication of King Boris of Bulgaria Armistice between Austria-Hungary and Entente Proclamation of Bavarian Republic Abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II Romania declares war on Germany Armistice between Germany and Entente Abdication of Emperor Karl of Austria-Hungary Labour Party leaves the Coalition Government Poland and Hungary declare independence Surrender of last German forces in German East Africa British General Election

1919 18 January 28 June 12 July 19 July

Opening of Paris Peace Conferences Signing of Treaty of Versailles (Germany) End of economic blockade of Germany Peace Day Celebrations in Britain

CHRONOLOGY

10 September 27 November

Signing of Treaty of St Germain (Austria) Signing of Treaty of Neuilly (Bulgaria)

1920 30 April 4 June 10 August 11 November

End of compulsory military service in Britain Signing of Treaty of Trianon (Hungary) Signing of Treaty of Sèvres (Turkey) Unveiling of Cenotaph and Burial of Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey

1921 31 August

Order in Council officially declares end of state of war in Britain

xxix

For two who knew the face of battle My maternal grandfather, Warrant Officer Class I Master Gunner Arthur George Beer, Royal Artillery (1904–34), and my father, Randolph Alexander Beckett, 1st Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment (1939–46). By altars old their banners fade Beneath dear spires; their names are set In minster aisle, in yew tree shade; Their memories fight for England yet.

Scapa Flow

NORWAY Christiania

GREAT BRITAIN

ULSTER

IRELAND

London

LUX.

Rhine

Paris

Berlin GERMANY Frankfurt

POLAND

A LOLSA RR CE AIN E

GALICIA

F R A N C E Berne

Vienna Budapest AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

SWITZERLAND

TU GA L

R U S S I A

The Hague R

Brussels Liège BELGIUM

Spithead

Trieste

ROMANIA Bucharest

Belgrade Toulon

MONTE NEGRO

A

S P A I N

L

Rome

BI A SER

Madrid

I T

P OR

St Petersburg Stockholm

DENMARK THE Copenhagen NETHERLANDS Kiel Canal Heligoland E. PRUSSIA Hamburg

Dublin

Lisbon

S W E D

E

N

N

BULGARIA Sofia

Y ALBANIA

Algeciras

Constantinople

GREECE

Tangier Fez Agadir

TURKEY Athens

MOROCCO ALGERIA

0 0

Map 1

Europe in 1914

150 200

300 mls 400 km

CYRENAICA TRIPOLITANIA

EGYPT

PARIS

The Western Front

Seine

Montdidier

PICARDY

e

s

A Courtrai

Ly

Ghent

S

Meaux

Compiègne

Noyon

Péronne

Landrecies

Maubeuge

Petit Morin Grand M orin

Mézières

Rheims

Sedan

Me

use

M

CHAMPAGNE

CHAMPAGNE

Aisne

Chateau-Thierry Epernay

Soissons

La Fère Laon

St Quentin

PICARDY

Oise

Le Cateau

Cambrai

Namur

Louvain

Charleroi

BRUSSELS

B E L G I U M

Antwerp

M

eu

F R A N C E

St Mihiel

Verdun

Liège

Lunéville Mo s

Nancy

Metz

LORRAINE

GERMANY

G E R M A N Y

se

Map 2

Rouen

Dieppe

Amiens

Som me

Arras

ARTOIS Quéant

F R A N C E

Dixmude

Ostend

HOLLAND

Bruges

Tournai Neuve Chappelle La Bassée Mons Lens Douai Valenciennes Vimy Drocourt

Givenchy

Boulogne ARTOIS

PICARDY

Ypres

Messines

Nieuport

Dunkirk

Calais

Straits of Dover

ENGLAND

Oi s

re

nc

t

eld ch

Zeebrugge

e ell

e arn

25 40

0 0

Hindenburg Line

80 km

50 miles

11 Nov 1918: Armistice line

1918: German gains

1916–17: Allied gains

end 1914–13 June 1916: General front line (prior to Somme)

1914: limit of German advance

N

Kovno

Tilsit

N

E A S T R U S S I

DANZIG

i st u l a

P

Meiszagola

Insterburg Gumbinnen Angerburg

A

PE

Vilkomur

Tauroggen

KÖNIGSBERG

TR OG RA D

Memel

B A L T I C

Vileika Smorgon Molodetchno

VILNA

Mariampol Olita

Suvalki

N

Y

R. V

Drusskeniki Lida Grodno Ortelsburg Skidel Tannenberg Graudenz Soldau Mosty Ossowiec Chorzele Lomza Thorn Bielostok Stegna Baranovitchi Mlava Ostrolenka Prasnysz Krasnosielce Rozan Bielsk Pultusk Plock R .V N.Georgievsk Oginski i st u R la . Bu Canal g Luninetz SochaczewBlonie WARSAW Kobrun Pinsk Lowicz MOSCOW Brest-Litovsk Bolimow Kalisch ripet R. P Skierniewice LODZ Rawa

M

A

POSEN

Allenstein

Lyck

Augustovo

Eylau

P

O

L

A N

D

Ivangorod KIEV Wlodwa Rafalovka N. Alexandria Radom Lublin Sarny Kovel Josefow Czartorysk Cholm Kolki Ostrowiec Kielce Rojitche Krasnostav Zatursky Czenstochowa Krasnik Opatow Lokatchi Zamosc Luck Rovno Demidovka Dubno Rawa-Ruska Kozun Dembica Siemiawa Yaroslav Brody LEMBERG CRACOW Wielitza Mosciska Przemysl Zalozce Jaslo Krasne Ciezkowice Krosno Tarnopol Grodek Zborov Sambor Rymanov Gorlice Brzezany Dukla Sanok I A Koniuchy C I G A L DUKLA Stryj Lupkow Potutory Trembovla PASS Halicz Buczacz Husiatyn Kalusz ROSTOKI Nyiniow PASS Tlurnatz Stanislau USZOK PASS Horodenka Delatyn Okna Kolomea BESSARABIA Ungvar Toporoutz JABLONITZA Kuty Czernovitz PASS

R

Opocznow

R

SI

E

d er .O

L

E

A

S

T

R

IA

A

U

G

SI

H

U

N

G

A

The Russian Front 0

50

100 miles

0

80

160 km

Map 3

Vidzy

Sventziany Postavy L.Narotch

The Russian Front

R

Y

Marmaros Sziget

Kirlibaba Kimpolung

N Dodecanese: won by Italy, 1912

RUSSIA

Won by Romania from Bulgaria, 1913 Won by Bulgaria from Turkey, 1913 Won by Serbia, 1913 Won by Greece, 1913

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY ROMANIA

Bucharest

Belgrade

SERBIA

Sarajevo

BULGARIA MONTENEGRO

Sofia

ANIA ALB

Constantinople MACEDONIA Salonika TURKEY GREECE

Smyrna Athens

0 0

Map 4

100 100

200 miles 200 km

The Balkans

N

E G Y P T

F R E N C H

W E S T

A F R I C A

S U D A N

TOGO GOLD COAST

N I G E R I A ABYSSINIA

FRENCH EQUATORIAL CAMEROON AFRICA

(neutral)

FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFRICA

UG AN

Duala

BELGIAN CONGO

RWANDA BURUNDI

GERMAN EAST AFRICA

ANGOLA

BECHUANALAND

IQ

U

E

MO

GERMAN SOUTHWEST AFRICA

SOUTHERN RHODESIA

B

NYASALAND

NORTHERN RHODESIA

South African attack halted in September 1914 when 11,000 South African troops deserted to the Germans. After the deserters were themselves defeated, 30,000 'loyal' South Africans forced the surrender of 7,000 German settlers on 9 July 1915

KENYA

L. Victoria

M

500 Germans and 3,000 Africans captured at Duala by Anglo-French force on 27 September 1914. Remnant of German forces held out in interior until 18 February 1916

A D

ZA

26 August 1914. Surrender of 200 German and 1,000 African troops after three weeks’ fighting

SOUTH AFRICA

Pro-German rebellion by Boer extremists crushed by General Botha, September–December 1914

0

300

600 miles

0

500

1000 km

Map 5

Africa

Germans under von Lettow-Vorbeck took the offensive against Uganda, Rhodesia and the Congo. By 1916 they had a force of 20,000 Africans. Despite constant attacks by 150,000 British Empire and Belgian troops, the Germans did not surrender until 23 November 1918, twelve days after the European armistice

N

to MONTENEGRO to BULGARIA

Da

n ube

ALBANIA

B L A C K

to SERBIA

S E A

C

Salonika

A

Istanbul

S

Bursa

Angora

Kars

Izmir

SE

A N P I

AN AE GE

to GREECE

Erzerum

A

S E A

Konya Diyarbekir

Adana CRETE ITE

RR

CYPRUS EA

N

SYRIA

SE

Damascus

TRANSJORDAN

es

s

A

Mosul

r at

T ig r i

AN

h Eu p

MED

Bagdad

PALESTINE

IRAQ Cairo Basra

le Ni

PE

KUWAIT

IA

BAHRAIN ISLAND

U

G

RE

Medina

N

Z

DJA

RS

HE

E G Y P T

LF

D SEA

OMAN

Mecca

Muscat

YEMEN

Turkish territory conquered during the Balkan Wars 1912–13

T

AU AM

HA

R DH

ADEN

British sphere of influence in Arabia recognised by Turkey before the outbreak of war in 1914 Turkish territory occupied by Britain after 1878 and annexed in 1914. Egypt became independent of Britain in 1922. Cyprus in 1960. Turkish territory taken over by Arab kings and sheikhs 1917–19 Turkish territory transferred by the League of Nations to Britain and France, as Mandates in 1921 Turkey, as recognised by the Treaty of Lausanne, 1923

Map 6

The Middle East

0 0

150 200

300 miles 400 km

Map 7

The Italian Front

40

ge

0

R. A di

M. PASUBIO

Trent

O

80 km

50 miles

SOUTHERN BOR

Padua

A

Pi

R DE

C

UN

TR

Y

g li a

T

m e nto

VENICE

Zaga

M.NERO

PREDIL PASS

Tarvis

R

O

I S T R I A

S

HERMADA

TRIESTE

Monfalcone

M.S.GABRIELE M.S.DANIELE

Gorizia Vi Gradisca ppa cco C A

M.SANTO

Caporetto Tolmino Lom Cividale son Canale Plava Udine KUK

Tolmezzo

ve di Grapadopoli Latisana Li Pa ve n

IN

O

Ta

M.CROCE