Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War I

The study of WWI in the English speaking world has been largely dominated by British historians. While these histories are are good in relaying battles and events, most still tend to have an underlying English/Allied bias and more importantly tend cite mainly British primary sources, to varying degrees German ones (but usually only the more significant works and biographies), and use almost no Austro-Hungarian sources. Although the author is British, he doesn't fall into any of these traps, and presents a uniquely Germanic perspective. That is what makes "Ring of Steel" so essential for a more comprehensive study of the war and the complete picture of the Central Powers' experiences. The book is lengthy, but easy to read. The author's introduction is actually one of the most elegant descriptions I've read concerning the Austrian role in the outbreak of WWI, and I think the casual historian would be impressed with that right off the bat. Of the 788 pages in this book, there are 119 pages of notes and 63 for the bibliography. This book is extensively sourced and it shows in the writing, from behind the scenes communications of the military and government, to correspondence from the frontline soldier to his family (about the war and the mundane). The author effectively makes his point about WWI being "the people's war," where the civilian and military roles are deeply intertwined. This was a characteristic somewhat unique to the Central Powers (and for Russia as well) that can't be conveyed when studying the war from an Allied perspective. The effect of the blockade on the Central Powers' populace is especially detailed and poignant, and the author does a great job of providing facts and figures to both justify and debunk the the propaganda and public opinion of the time. The author is neither an apologist or a revisionist, he is able to present all the sides of the issues as they were understood at the time and obviously from an enlightened 21st century perspective. I don't think anyone can truly understand WWI without reading this book. It is so much more than just a simple relaying of battles and militaristic events as other books concerning the war are and truly cuts to the core of WWI being "the people's war." Obviously, this book wouldn't be one's only source for studying WWI, as it was truly a global event, but I can't think of any other books that do a better job of covering the war from the eyes of the Central Powers.

One hundred years ago the guns were blazing across Europe. What was to become World War I started in late July and August of 1914 and eventually involved the six major European powers, a number of smaller states within Europe, and many other nations around the world. Since history is by and large written by the winning side most of the histories of 1914-18 tend to tell the story from the Allies (Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Belgium, Serbia, the US, etc.)'s point of view. Alexander Watson's fascinating and thorough (566 pages plus extensive notes) study tells the story of World War I from "the bad guys'" (Germany and Austria-Hungary) perspective. In the summer of 1914 Germany and Austria-Hungary were two powerful, large empires dominating Central Europe. Despite general prosperity and well-financed militaries, the two Reichs felt under siege by a growing circle of enemies. If they were to have any hope of survival, they must sieze the opportunity to strike hard and fast at their foes. It almost worked: Germany came close to defeating Britain and France in the first month of the war, and Austria-Hungary, after an initial setback, eventually vanquished Serbia and recaptured territory lost to Russia. Unfortunately for the Central Powers, though, the war quickly bogged down into a long bloody slug-fest in which the Allies, with larger resources and greater access to the outside world, had an advantage. Nevertheless German military power was so vast that they came close to victory several times, even though they had to help their weaker Austrian ally and were only forced into submission when their own populations finally rebelled and demanded an end to the fighting.. Watson does an excellent job of clearly depicting the Central Powers at war, from the first exuberant victories through the long drawn out series of bloody confrontations until the final collapse. I enjoyed his descriptions of the ebb and flow of battle and its impact on the civiliain population, like the East Prussians and Galicians who had to deal with Russian invaders. His contrasting descriptions of Germany and Austria-Hungary, one a powerful nation-state with few internal divisions, the other a multi-ethnic and religion conglomeration that was held together only by endless compromises, were really interesting. It was also enlightening to learn more about the rationale for Germany's adoption of unlimited submarine warfare in early 1917, for example, or to read about the hostility with which the German and Austro-Hungarian peoples reacted to poor decisions by their leadership. Most of all I enjoyed Watson's analyses of the many ways in which World War I affected the rest of the twentieth century and into the early twenty-first, including the ways in which invasions and forced migrations eventually helped lay the groundwork for the Holocaust, or in the arrogance with which the Russians treated the Ukrainians,Poles, and Ruthenians. It's a truism that "history is always written by the winners." That's not always accurate, but it is true that studies of World War I have tended to focus on things from the Allies' point of view. Through his use of many primary sources such as diaries and soldiers' letters Watson helps us better understand what it was like to be a soldier or a civilian suffering through the war on "the other side."

This is a very readable account of WWI as experienced at the time by the German and Austro-Hungarian participants. It succeeds in being at the same time dispassionate and compassionate, chronicling the agonies of warfare with blame laid only on the relatively few on all sides who were morally guilty by the standards of the time. The author shows great skill in including just enough statistical data to explain the forces at work and just enough documentation of personal experience to engage sympathy with protagonists. A particular strength is the attention to civilian morale and the micro-economics which proved so important. The one weakness might have been that it assumes a good knowledge of the geography of, for example, Galicia and East Prussia but this is easily remedied with maps found on the internet.

Good book about the "home front" in WW I but little about the real blockade imposed on the Central Powers.

A really thorough and detailed analysis of the home front in Austria_Hungary and Germany in WW1. Especially interesting the theory that at the onset of the conflict the Dual Monarchy was not already doomed by splitting among the various nationalities, but the short-sighted decision to wage war, the disastrous military strategy of Conrad and the repressive actions against the nationalities erroneously suspected of not being loyal, in the end created what was feared. And interesting to see that Germany in thevend was reluctantly pushed to join and was not the evil force responsible of it.... and then punished ferociously at Versailles....resulting in revanche. I recommend reading it

Cherchant actuellement à étendre mes connaissances sur certains aspects peu traités de la Grande Guerre, je suis tombé par hasard sur ce bouquin. L'ouvrage semble avoir fait l'objet d'éloges importantes dans le milieu historique anglophone et remporté plusieurs prix, ce qui est assez incitatif à l'achat. Effectivement, on est sur du très lourd (et pas uniquement le nombre de pages : environ 800) car l'auteur traite de sujets rarement mis en lumière. On pourra donc rapidement passé les remarques générales sur l'Allemagne et le front de l'ouest (de grande qualité, mais déjà largement traité ailleurs) pour ce concentrer sur le reste : en l'occurrence le cas de l'Autriche-Hongrie et du front de l'est (dommage, celui d'Italie n'est que simplement mentionné à quelques reprises). Cet aspect est essentiel car on ne peut nier que l'antagonisme : Autriche-Hongrie / Russie dans les Balkans est l'élément central dans les origines de la guerre. On y découvre beaucoup de faits relativement peu connus (tout au moins dans mon cas). Sans chercher à en faire un résumé (difficile aux vues de la densité des 800 pages) : - quelques explications sur la question régulière des origines de la guerre notamment la volonté extrêmement belliciste des dirigeants Austro-Hongrois qui pousse rapidement à un conflit quelque soit les risques ; - une certaine solidité de l'Empire lors de la déclaration de guerre et de la mobilisation initiale avec une fidélité relativement importante des différentes composantes vis-à-vis de la dynastie et de l'Empereur (pas forcément étonnant vu l'ancienneté et l'âge de son dernier représentant). Quoiqu'on voit immédiatement les dangers à termes, puisque cette fidélité concerne assez peu l'Empire et espère une amélioration des représentations par cet engagement ; - les nombreux crimes contre les populations civiles durant la première année du conflit à l'Est, essentiellement côté russe et autro-hongrois, que ce soit vis-à-vis du territoire adverse ou des minorités étatiques, avec les premières réflexions sur une réorganisation ethnique de l'Europe orientale (la volonté de russification des Ruthènes - Ukrainiens est aussi intéressante par rapport à l’actualité locale). On ne peut nier une petite émotion lorsqu'on fait lecture des passages sur les "évacuations forcés" des juifs austro-hongrois des territoires menacés dont les trains passent par la gare de triage de Oświęcim (plus connue sous le nom allemand de Auschwitz) ; - quelques explications sur les faiblesses de l'armée austro-hongroise (quoiqu'on est davantage dans un ouvrage d'histoire globale que strictement militaire) liés à un commandement relativement médiocre et un aspect trop éthnique des unités (il est vrai que la double défaite sur le front de l'est, a fortement affaiblis ses cadres et son équipement. On voit qu'à partir de 1916, cette dernière devient de facto sous contrôle allemand avec la présence de nombreux officiers subalternes voir dans le haut commandement ; - la chute finale est assez bien explicité, notamment l'incapacité de nouveau Empereur à impulser une véritable transformation face à des composantes qui pensent de plus en plus à l'indépendance, ceci même au sein des autrichiens qui en forme la base et des refus hongrois à toute évolution mettant en dangers leurs intérêts propres (ce que la Hongrie payera très lourdement lors des traités de paix, davantage même que l'Allemagne sur le plan des pertes territoriales). Ces quelques éléments ne sont pas exclusifs, car on trouve bien plus notamment sur le cas allemand. Au final, il s'agit clairement d'un ouvrage à lire pour apprendre sur le cas Austro-Hongrois, le Front de l'est, mais aussi pour avoir une vision inverse à travers l'Entente. A noter à la fin quelques photographies qui sans être inédites sont toujours intéressantes (et d'une extrême qualité), ainsi que plusieurs pages de notes. La bibliographie est aussi très importante (plusieurs dizaines de pages) et fait appel à des sources en provenance de pays divers (j'ai été agréablement surprise de noter quelques livres en français). Finalement, je ne trouve qu'une seule critique à ce livre : il n'est pas traduit en français.

I found the book very well written and documented. It fills many gap in the knowledge of WWI by providing insight about how the central powers' governments and peoples reacted to the war, year after year. Especially, few has been written on Austria-Hungary and this book address it as well.