Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary at War, 1914-1918

Product Description

For the empires of Germany and Austria-Hungary the Great War - which had begun with such high hopes for a fast, dramatic outcome - rapidly degenerated as invasions of both France and Serbia ended in catastrophe. For four years the fighting now turned into a siege on a quite monstrous scale. Europe became the focus of fighting of a kind previously unimagined. Despite local successes - and an apparent triumph in Russia - Germany and Austria-Hungary were never able to break out of the the Allies' ring of steel.

Alexander Watson's compelling history of the Great War shows all the major events of the war from the perspective of Berlin and Vienna - and tells how the genuine mass enthusiasm that flooded both these empires in 1914 turned into a devastating and nation-altering mood of disillusionment.

Winner of a 2015 'Distinguished Book Award' by the Society for Military History

'Supremely accomplished, an enormously impressive narrative.' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times, History Book of the Year

'First-rate . . . tells the story of the conflict from the other side and will be revelatory to most British readers.' Simon Heffer, New Statesman, Books of the Year

'Superlative . . . British historians have tended to view the Great War predominantly from the side of the Allies. Watson has done our understanding an inestimable service by examining these familiar events from the perspective of the Central Powers.' Miranda Seymour, Daily Telegraph

'Brilliant, truly indispensable . . . a history as much of the emotions that hardship and war produced as of politics or diplomacy.' Adam Tooze, Wall Street Journal

'Surprises and stimulates . . . it is good to see here a mirror portrait of the other side of the hill.' Max Hastings, Sunday Times