From the acclaimed military historian, a new history of the outbreak of World War I: from the breakdown of diplomacy to the dramatic battles that occurred before the war bogged down in the trenches.
World War I immediately evokes images of the trenches: grinding, halting battles that sacrificed millions of lives for no territory or visible gain. Yet the first months of the war, from the German invasion of Belgium to the Marne to Ypres, were utterly different, full of advances and retreats, tactical maneuvering, and significant gains and losses. In Catastrophe 1914, Max Hastings re-creates this dramatic year, from the diplomatic crisis to the fighting in Belgium and France on the western front, and Serbia and Galicia to the east. He gives vivid accounts of the battles and frank assessments of generals and political leaders, and shows why it was inevitable that this first war among modern industrial nations could not produce a decisive victory, resulting in a war of attrition. Throughout we encounter high officials and average soldiers, as well as civilians on the home front, giving us a vivid portrait of how a continent became embroiled in a war that would change everything.
作者简介
马克斯﹒黑斯廷斯（Max Hastings），毕业于牛津大学，BBC 电视台前记者，英国《每日电讯报》前主编，英国皇家文学学会 会员，当代杰出的战争史学家。他出生于作家世家，先后在卡尔 特修道院、伦敦大学学院和牛津大学接受教育，之后开始记者生 涯。他曾为 BBC 电视台和 《伦敦旗帜晚报》做过 11 场冲突的现 场报道，包括越南战争和 1982 年的马岛战争（英国称“福克兰 群岛战争”）。曾担任《每日电讯报》主笔将近十年，之后担任 《旗帜晚报》编辑。因为创作的作品和在记者职业上的突出表现， 他曾多次获得表彰，并与 2002 年被授予爵位。2012 年，芝加哥 普利兹克军事图书馆授予他文学终身成就奖，之后他又因创作的 军事文学作品《人间地狱》（All Hell Let Loose）被授予威斯 敏斯特勋爵奖章。著有《轰炸机司令部》（Bomber Command）《末 日之战》（Armageddon）《涅墨西斯》（Nemesis）和《绝世年代》 （Finest Years）等 20 余部作品，其中绝大多数为二战题材。
评论0