TOM GREGG'S MILITARY HISTORY ONLINE
 

♦  THE GREAT WAR  ♦

The Anatomy of an Historical Tragedy
♦

Prefatory Note

To mark the centenary of the Great War and its catastrophic consequences, I began publishing on line a series of articles about the war’s causes, character and course. Some of this material was written long ago, when I was a graduate student in history at the University of Notre Dame. Some is of more recent date, set down in the years of my retirement as an intellectual exercise. The academic portions originally included footnotes and sources; these I’ve deleted, though at some point I plan to provide a bibliographical essay for the benefit of those who wish to learn more about the subject. The main series of articles is a chronological account of the military course of the war, alternating among the various fronts. These will be supplemented by articles on specific topics, such as the armies of specific belligerents, the evolution of weapons and tactic, the literature of the war, and so forth.

This project is dedicated to my lifelong friend, Michael F. Felong, M.D., Ph.D., who died most tragically in 2018, the victim of a traffic accident. Intellectual curiosity was prominent among Mike's virtues, and our dialogues on the Great War were of great help to me in clarifying my views and opinions.
 

Table of Contents
 

General Introduction

Evolution of the Catastrophe  •  The Armies of 1914  •  The Myth of the Master Plan
 

Campaigns & Battles

Opening Round in the West (1)  •  Opening Round in the West (2)

Opening Round in the East (1)  •  Opening Round in the East (2)  •  Opening Round in the East (3)

Opening Round in the East (4)  •  Opening Round in the East (5)  •  Opening Round in the East (6)

Opening Round in the West (3)  •  Opening Round in the West (4)  •  Opening Round in the West (5)

Conclusion of the Opening Round

The War at Sea (1)  •  The War at Sea (2)
 

Special Studies

The Russian Army  •  The Austro-Hungarian Army  •  The British Expeditionary Force 1914

Trench Warfare on the Western Front

 Warships of the Great War: Part One  •  Warships of the Great War: Part Two

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