With its authoritative reference entries, multiple introductory and perspective essays, primary source documents, detailed chronology, and bibliography, this single-volume reference provides all the key information readers need to understand this monumental conflict. World War I was an epic conflict that toppled centuries-old empires, transformed the Middle East and Russia, and helped elevate the United States to prominence as a world power. In essence, understanding the reasons for and outcomes of the First World War provides a cornerstone for knowledge of all modern history. In World War I: The Essential Reference Guide, detailed reference entries, a comprehensive overview essay, plus additional examinations of the causes and consequences of the conflict provide readers with the context needed to understand all aspects of World War I. Important primary source documents like the Zimmerman Telegram and Balfour Declaration are included and accompanied by explanations that supply readers with key historical perspective. Biographies on major political and military leaders, such as Wilhelm II, Woodrow Wilson, Nicholas II, John Pershing, and Ferdinand Foch, offer insight into the people who played key roles in the conflict. Entries on the key confrontations of the war—many accompanied by maps—showcase the strategies of both sides in their attempts to emerge victorious, and the bibliography presents a wealth of options to students looking to conduct further research on World War I.

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This ground-breaking 5-volume reference is a comprehensive print and electronic resource covering the history of warfare from ancient times to the present day, across the entire globe. Arranged in A-Z format, the Encyclopedia provides an overview of the most important events, people, and terms associated with warfare - from the Punic Wars to the Mongol conquest of China, and the War on Terror; from the Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman ‘the Magnificent’, to the Soviet Military Commander, Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov; and from the crossbow to chemical warfare. Individual entries range from 1,000 to 6,000 words with the longer, essay-style contributions giving a detailed analysis of key developments and ideas. Drawing on an experienced and internationally diverse editorial board, the Encyclopedia is the first to offer readers at all levels an extensive reference work based on the best and most recent scholarly research. The online platform further provides interactive cross-referencing links and powerful searching and browsing capabilities within the work and across Wiley-Blackwell’s comprehensive online reference collection. Learn more at www.encyclopediaofwar.com. Selected by Choice as a 2013 Outstanding Academic Title Recipient of a 2012 PROSE Award honorable mention

This is the first truly definitive history of the First World War, the war that has done most to shape the twentieth century. The first generation of its historians had access to only a limited range of sources, and their focus was primarily on military events. More recent approaches have embraced cultural, diplomatic, economic, and social history. In Hew Strachan's authoritative and readable history these fresh perspectives are incorporated with the military and strategicnarrative. The result is an account that breaks the bounds of national preoccupations to become both global and comparative.To Arms, the first of three volumes in this magisterial study, examines not only the causes of the war and its opening clashes on land and sea, but also the ideas that underpinned it, and the motivations of the people who supported it. It provides full and pioneering accounts of the war's finances, of the war in Africa, and of the Central Powers' bid to widen the war outside Europe.

When he took ship for France in the spring of 1918, Horace Baker was ill prepared for war. A private in the American Expeditionary Forces, the unassuming Mississippi schoolteacher joined the renowned Thirty-second Division and learned his soldiering skills from men who’d already fought in the Aisne-Marne offensive. Before long, he was to put those skills to use in the largest and most costly battle ever fought by the U.S. Army. This poignant memoir recalls the great battle of the Meuse-Argonne, an epic conflict waged by well over a million men that saw casualties of 26,277 killed and 95,786 wounded. Many books have been written about General Pershing’s planning of the offensive; this one tells what happened to the soldiers who had to carry out his orders. The Thirty-second was a shock division made up largely of National Guard units—farm boys from the Upper Midwest. But as casualties mounted, replacements were rushed into battle with little training—and devastating results. Baker knew friends and tent mates who were alive one day, dead the next, and he kept track of the battle in diary entries tucked into his Bible—and made evasively short in case of capture. He shares his and his comrades’ thoughts about fighting in a harsh climate and terrain, relates their ongoing problems with short supplies, and tells how they managed to overcome their fears. It is a straightforward narrative that doesn’t glorify battle or appeal to patriotism yet conveys the horrors of warfare with striking accuracy. Historian Robert Ferrell’s new introduction puts Baker’s recollections in the context of the larger theater of war. Baker fleshed out his diary in a book that saw limited publication in 1927 but has remained essentially unknown. Argonne Days in World War I is a masterpiece brimming with insight about the ordinary doughboys who fought in the European trenches. It conveys the spirit of a man who did his duty in a time of trouble—and is a testament to the spirit shared by thousands like him.

Offering exhaustive coverage, detailed analyses, and the latest historical interpretations of events, this expansive, five-volume encyclopedia is the most comprehensive and detailed reference source on the First World War available today. One hundred years after the beginning of World War I in 1914, this conflict still stands as perhaps the most important event of the 20th century. World War I toppled all of the existing empires at the time, transformed the Middle East, and vaulted the United States to becoming the world's leading economic power. Its effects were profound and lasting—and included outcomes that led to World War II. This multivolume encyclopedia provides a wide-ranging examination of World War I that covers all of the important battles; key individuals, both civilian and military; weapons and technologies; and diplomatic, social, political, cultural, military, and economic developments. Suitable as a reference tool for high school and undergraduate students as well as faculty members and graduate-level researchers, World War I: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection offers accessible, in-depth information and up-to-date analyses in a format that lends itself to quick and easy use. The set comprises alphabetically arranged, cross-referenced entries accompanied by further reading selections as well as a comprehensive bibliography. A fifth volume provides chronologically arranged documents and an A–Z index.