Book Description

The First World War was a turning point in history. It marked the birth of the modern era and established the pattern for large-scale violence, devastation and genocide throughout the wars of the 20th century. Old empires disintegrated and new nations emerged in the maelstrom of the war and its aftermath. The peace settlements reshaped national boundaries, leaving tensions and rivalries between nation states and people that resonate to the present day. Historians continue to explore and challenge many assumptions and perceptions surrounding the conflict, from its origins and causes, to the responsibility for its conduct, the reasons for Allied victory over the Central Powers, and the consequences and long-term outcomes of that victory. This book is a collection of the latest research findings by scholars from a number of nations, many of them renowned specialists in their field. They gathered for an international conference, 1918 YEAR OF VICTORY, convened by the Australian War Memorial in Canberra in November 2008 to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of the war and to share their insights into issues surrounding the ending of the war, its memory and continuing impact. Lively, authoritative and wide-ranging, the chapters span the themes of war strategy and planning; the problems of raising, training and maintaining armies in the field; developments in technology and weapons systems; the role of command; the evolution of tactics and the use of combined arms; the development of war economies; and the exploitation of human and material resources in war on the home front, on land, at sea and in the air. CONTRIBUTORS Jay Winter Yale University, USA Robin Prior University of Adelaide, Australia Gary Sheffield University of Birmingham, UK Robert Foley University of Liverpool, UK Elizabeth Greenhalgh University of New South Wales, Australia Meleah Ward University of Adelaide, Australia Ashley Ekins Australian War Memorial Peter Pedersen Australian War Memorial Glyn Harper Massey University, New Zealand Tim Cook Canadian War Museum, Canada David Stevens Defence Sea Power Centre, Australia James Goldrick Australian Defence College Peter Hart Imperial War Museum, London, UK Trevor Wilson University of Adelaide, Australia Martin Crotty University of Queensland, Australia Stephen Badsey University of Wolverhampton, UK