With our backs to the wall [electronic resource] : victory and defeat in 1918 / David Stevenson.
2011
D531 .S73 2011eb
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Title
With our backs to the wall [electronic resource] : victory and defeat in 1918 / David Stevenson.
Author
Stevenson, D. (David), 1954-
ISBN
9780674063198 electronic book
0674063198 electronic book
9780674062269
0674062264
0674063198 electronic book
9780674062269
0674062264
Imprint
Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2011.
Language
English
Description
1 online resource (xxi, [21], 688 p., [16] p. of plates) : ill., maps.
Call Number
D531 .S73 2011eb
Dewey Decimal Classification
940.4/34
Summary
With so much at stake and so much already lost, why did World War I end with a whimper-an arrangement between two weary opponents to suspend hostilities? After more than four years of desperate fighting, with victories sometimes measured in feet and inches, why did the Allies reject the option of advancing into Germany in 1918 and taking Berlin? Most histories of the Great War focus on the avoidability of its beginning. This book brings a laser-like focus to its ominous end-the Allies' incomplete victory, and the tragic ramifications for world peace just two decades later.In the most comprehensive account to date of the conflict's endgame, David Stevenson approaches the events of 1918 from a truly international perspective, examining the positions and perspectives of combatants on both sides, as well as the impact of the Russian Revolution. Stevenson pays close attention to America's effort in its first twentieth-century war, including its naval and military contribution, army recruitment, industrial mobilization, and home-front politics. Alongside military and political developments, he adds new information about the crucial role of economics and logistics.The Allies' eventual success, Stevenson shows, was due to new organizational methods of managing men and materiel and to increased combat effectiveness resulting partly from technological innovation. These factors, combined with Germany's disastrous military offensive in spring 1918, ensured an Allied victory-but not a conclusive German defeat.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 547-658) and index.
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Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description
Description based on print version record.
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With our backs to the wall.
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Table of Contents
Deadlock, 1914-1917
On the defensive, March-July 1918
On the attack, July-November 1918
The new warfare: intelligence, technology, and logistics
The human factor: manpower and morale
Securing the seas: submarines and shipping
The war economies: money, guns, and butter
The home fronts: gender, class, and nation
Armistice and after.
On the defensive, March-July 1918
On the attack, July-November 1918
The new warfare: intelligence, technology, and logistics
The human factor: manpower and morale
Securing the seas: submarines and shipping
The war economies: money, guns, and butter
The home fronts: gender, class, and nation
Armistice and after.