Product Description

Italy had been allied with the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires since 1882 as part of the Triple Alliance. However, the nation had its own designs on Austrian territory in Trentino, Istria and Dalmatia. Rome had a secret 1902 pact with France, effectively nullifying its alliance. At the start of hostilities, Italy refused to commit troops, arguing that the Triple Alliance was defensive in nature, and that Austria-Hungary was an aggressor. The Austro-Hungarian government began negotiations to secure Italian neutrality, offering the French colony of Tunisia in return. However, Italy then joined the Entente in April 1915 and declared war on Austria-Hungary in May. Fifteen months later, it declared war on Germany. Faced with Russia, Austria-Hungary could spare only one third of its army to attack Serbia. After suffering heavy losses, the Austrians briefly occupied the Serbian capital, Belgrade. Serbian counterattacks, however, succeeded in driving them from the country by the end of 1914. The Serbs suffered defeat near modern day Gnjilane in Kosovo, forces being evacuated by ship to Greece. In late 1915 a Franco-British force landed at Salonica in Greece, to offer assistance and to pressure the government to declare war against the Central Powers. Only at the end of the conflict were the Entente powers able to break through, which was after most of the German and Austro-Hungarian troops had been withdrawn. Some of the first clashes of the war involved British, French and German colonial forces in Africa. On 7 August, French and British troops invaded the German protectorate of Togoland. On 10 August German forces in South-West Africa attacked South Africa; sporadic and fierce fighting continued for the remainder of the war. With the last few men who served in World War I now dying out, and the 90th anniversary of the Armistice coming in November 2008, there is no better time to revaluate this controversial war and shed fresh light on the conflict.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #313159 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Review
For all its impact, World War I remains shrouded in myth, mystery and mourning. It exists as a series of disjointed images: old photographs and fragments of poems; devasted landscapes; anonymous soldiers scrambling over the top; above all, the endless cemeteries of the Western Front. 'The History of World War I' returns that tragic conflict to the sphere of history. Based on a half-century of sophisticated research, incorporating state-of-the-art graphics, the six volumes of the series present the war on land, at sea, and in the air in a global context, and in human terms.
--Dennis Showalter

From the Publisher
With the last few men who served in World War I now dying out, and the 90th anniversary of the Armistice coming in November 2008, there is no better time to revaluate this controversial war and shed fresh light on the conflict. On the Western Front the fighting raged for nearly four and a half years, but this was only a part of what was truly a world war. From the Falkland Islands to the lakes of Africa, to the former German colonies in the Pacific, and the battles along the Isonzo river in Italy, the six volumes in the History of World War I series recreate the battles and campaigns that raged on land, at sea and in the air.
Combining accessible text written by leading academics with over 200 photographs per volume sourced from unfamiliar archives. the series provides a fresh perspective on the conflict that was much complex and varied than what we learnt at school. In this volume, which could have been titled, 'The Forgotten Fronts', extended coverage is given to those theatres rarely described in single-volume histories of the war. For example, the book examines the role of the Austrian forces on the Balkan and Italian fronts, and how the Germans were forced to aid their allies from an early stage in order to keep them in the war.

From the Back Cover
- Provides a detailed guide to the background and conduct of the war in the Balkan, Italian and African theatres from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo to the surrender of the Central Powers.
- Illustrated with over 200 stunning images, detailing the opposing forces, leading commanders and the key battles of the campaigns.
- Contains over 20 full-color maps of the main theatres of operations and engagements, including Serbia, Salonika, the African colonies, the battles of the Isonzo, Caporetto and Vittorio Veneto.
- Describes the successful resistance of Lettow-Vorbeck and his largely native force in East Africa, the thousands of Allied troops who died from disease in Salonika, the fierce Alpine fighting on the Italian border, and the involvement of German, French, British and American troops on this little-known front.
The History of World War I series is a six-volume military history of the 1914-1918 conflict.