The Guns Of August
The Guns of August
In her novel, The Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman reviews the strategic planning, misfortune, and pure luck that shaped the opening days of World War I. Most historians trace the origins of World War I to January 18, 1871. On that date, at the palace of Versailles#, diplomats were signing a treaty that would end the Franco-Prussian War#. During the conference, delegates from Prussia and other German states announced the formation of a united German nation. This announcement drastically changed European and World Politics.
The emergence of the German Empire and the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian and Austro-Prussian# Wars greatly upset the balance of power on the continent. France became very eager to regain prestige, and the territory of Alsace-Lorraine, that had been lost in the Franco-Prussian War. The new German state was an industrial giant, wielding great economic and political power. Austria had been on the short end of the Prussian
unification of Germany. Franz Josef# was forced to adopt the Dual Monarchy and his empire in the Balkans had become as decadent as that of the Ottoman Turks#. Britain and Russia had successfully maintained
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