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The Guns of August (1962) (also published as August 1914) is an enormously popular military history book written by Barbara Tuchman. It primarily describes the events of the first month of World War I. The focus of The Guns of August is to provide the history of World War I from the declaration of war through the start of the Franco-British offensive that stopped the German advance through France. In addition, the book provides a brief history of the plans, strategies, world events and international sentiments prior to and during the war. This is a picture of the book the guns of August. This image is a book cover. ...
Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (January 30, 1912 – February 6, 1989) was an American historian and author. ...
For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ...
The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
Military history is composed of the events in the history of humanity that fall within the category of conflict. ...
This article is about the study of time in human terms. ...
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Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Military history is composed of the events in the history of humanity that fall within the category of conflict. ...
Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (January 30, 1912 – February 6, 1989) was an American historian and author. ...
“The Great War †redirects here. ...
“The Great War †redirects here. ...
Combatants France United Kingdom German Empire Commanders Joseph Joffre John French Helmuth von Moltke Karl von Bülow Alexander von Kluck Strength 1,071,000 1,485,000 Casualties Approximately 263,000: 250,000 French casualties (80,000 dead) 13,000 British casualties (1,700 dead) Approximately 250,000 total...
The book is broken down into four sections—Plans, Outbreak, Battle and Afterward.
Plans
The first five chapters are devoted to describing the major powers of the war (Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, omitting Austria and Turkey) and the events that led to the conflict. Tuchman describes in detail the societal forces behind the events in The Proud Tower. The opening chapters provide the necessary background for the discussion of the battles and their commanders, although some events (notably the Dreyfus Affair and military engagements prior to 1914, especially the Franco-Prussian War) are assumed to be prior knowledge, and are referenced without explanation. European military alliances in 1915. ...
The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World, 1890-1914 is a 1966 book by Barbara Tuchman, collecting essays she had published in various periodicals during the mid 1960s. ...
A German trench in the swamp area near the Mazuric Lakes on the Eastern Front. ...
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal which divided France from the 1890s to the early 1900s. ...
Combatants Second French Empire North German Confederation allied with South German states (later German Empire) Commanders Napoleon III François Achille Bazaine Patrice de Mac-Mahon, duc de Magenta Otto von Bismarck Helmuth von Moltke the Elder Strength 400,000 at wars beginning 1,200,000 Casualties 150,000...
The book opens with the death of King Edward VII, whose funeral on May 20, 1910 marked "the greatest assemblage of royalty and rank ever gathered and, of its kind, the last." (p. 15). Following chapters describe Edward VII King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Emperor of India His Majesty King Edward VII (9 November 1841–6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of the Commonwealth realms, and the Emperor of India. ...
Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...
Woodrow Wilson and the American peace commissioners during the negotiations on the Treaty of Versailles. ...
Encirclement is a military term for the situation when one sides force or target is isolated and surrounded by other sides forces. ...
For German colonial territories, see German Colonial Empire. ...
Alfred Graf von Schlieffen For the French counter-plan, see Plan XVII The Schlieffen Plan was the German General Staffs overall strategic plan for victory on the Western Front against France, and was executed to near victory in the first month of World War I; however, a French counterattack...
Imperial Province of Elsaß-Lothringen Alsace-Lorraine (German: , generally Elsass-Lothringen) was a territorial entity created by the German Empire in 1871 after the annexation of most of Alsace and parts of Lorraine in the Franco-Prussian War. ...
The offensive French military strategy in World War I known as Plan XVII was initially created by Ferdinand Foch. ...
For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...
Outbreak These chapters discuss from June 28, 1914 (the assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie) through August 3, 1914 and play out the opening days of the war—the commencement of France's offensive Plan XVII, the struggle by Russia to ensure her ally (France) would join in the war and France's attempts to win a guarantee from Britain of her involvement; as well as Germany's ultimatum to Belgium-unit. Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...
Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ...
The offensive French military strategy in World War I known as Plan XVII was initially created by Ferdinand Foch. ...
Battle The remainder of the book is essentially devoted to the battles and tactical planning on the two fronts. Intertwined with this are the effects of leaders' egos and insubordination, as well as the perceptions of the rest of the world, including the events that cemented these views.
Tuchman continues by covering the two major theatres of war, the Western Front and the Russian Eastern Front, but starts the section by covering the search for the German battlecruiser Goeben by Allied forces in the Mediterranean. The Goeben finally took refuge in the Dardanelles while Turkey was still neutral and thus precipitated its entry into the war on the side of Germany, cutting off Russian import/export through the year-round ports of the Black Sea. For most of World War I, Allied Forces, predominantly those of France and the United Kingdom, were stalled at trenches on the Western Front. ...
The Eastern Front refers to a theatre of war during the first World War in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. ...
[[Image:HMS Hood and HMS Barham. ...
SMS Goeben was a Moltke-class battlecruiser of the Kaiserliche Marine (German Navy), launched in 1911 and named after the Franco-Prussian War general August von Goeben. ...
The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ...
Map of the Dardanelles The Dardanelles (Turkish: Çanakkale BoÄŸazı, Greek: ΔαÏδανÎλλια, Dardanellia), formerly known as the Hellespont (Greek: Eλλήσποντος, Hellespontos), is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. ...
Crossing Belgium Tuchman chronicles the sweep of the Germans through Belgium focusing on the battle at Liège and the efforts of King Albert to mount the best defense possible against overwhelming forces as well as his attempts, in vain, to alert the head of the French forces, General Joseph Joffre, of the massive size of the German force. As with most major events, she describes the effect of the successes in this defense on the world view of the new war. Geography Country Belgium Community French Community Region Walloon Region Province Liège Arrondissement Liège Coordinates , , Area 69. ...
Albert I (April 8, 1875 – February 17, 1934) was the third King of the Belgians. ...
Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 - 3 January 1931) was a Catalan French general who was Commander-in-Chief of the French Army between 1914 and 1916 during World War I. He is most known for regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans at the strategically...
The Front in France As they crossed the Belgium frontier into France, the German armies were engaged by 7 French armies and 4 British divisions known as the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The French were laboring under the delusion that Gualist elan and derring do would prove decisive in countering any action the Germans might mount against them. The French High Command had made little plans for dealing with such a large massed attack quickly bearing down on them. It was only through the actions of one corp commander who (without permission from Joffre who repeatedly ignored his frantic pleas) withdrew his forces from certain envelopment and redeployed them from a more tenable position that the entire French line was saved from complete collapse. The Battle of the Borders was brutal, and the Allies were forced to slowly retreat under the German onslaught until finally the Germans were within 40 miles of Paris. The city was saved through the courage and verve of a semi-retired territorial general who brilliantly marshaled his limited resources and saved the day. The city was preparing for siege and possible complete destruction, the government had fled south, and when 2 divisions of reserves suddenly arrived they were rushed to the front by the city's fleet of 600 taxi cabs. Tuchman cynically notes that Joffre later took complete credit for saving Paris and the French army after having the commander who ordered the tactical retreat relieved of duty and the older commander pushed back into obscurity. Tuchman is also careful to point out that although many of Joffre's actions were shameful, when finally pushed into action, he showed great skill in guiding the hastily improvised counter blow that was sent crashing into the invader's flank. The Germans greatly contributed to their own undoing by over running their supply line, pushing their infantry into physical collapse, and deviating from the original invasion plan which called for the right flank to be protected from counter attack. Both sides were plagued by poor communication and a general staff that was heavily invested with politics and sycophancy. Dire warnings from commanders in the field were ignored when they did not fit preconceived notions of quick victory at low cost(a recurring problem that has beset armies up to this day). Image File history File links Broom_icon. ...
The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British army sent to France and Belgium in World War I and British Forces in Europe from 1939–1940 during World War II. The BEF was established by Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War in case the...
Tuchman carefully introduces us to all the key players, the Allied commanders (French, Russian and British) and the German commanders. With her characteristic attention to detail we learn of their personalities, strengths and weaknesses. Many of the names are unfamiliar: Joseph Joffre, the French General; Lord Kitchener, the British War Minister; Moltke's, Chief of the General Staff; von Kluck the commander of the German's far right wing. But some of the names are more familiar: Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, President Raymond Poincaré, Lord of the British Admiralty Winston Churchill, and a young soldier named Charles de Gaulle who fought for France (only given honorable mention), among others. Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 - 3 January 1931) was a Catalan French general who was Commander-in-Chief of the French Army between 1914 and 1916 during World War I. He is most known for regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans at the strategically...
Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum (June 24, 1850 - June 5, 1916) was a British Field Marshal and statesman. ...
Helmuth von Moltke Chief of the General Staff Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke (May 25, 1848–June 18, 1916), also known as Moltke the Younger, was a nephew of Field Marshal Count Moltke and served as the Chief of the German General Staff from 1906 to 1914. ...
Alexander Heinrich Rudolph von Kluck (May 20, 1846 - October 19, 1934) was a German general during World War I. He was born in Münster, Westphalia. ...
German Emperor Wilhelm (born Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht, Prince of Prussia 27 January 1859–4 June 1941), was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia (de: Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen), ruling from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. ...
Raymond Poincaré, President of the French Republic during the Great War. ...
Churchill redirects here. ...
Please post proper article, this page was tampered with, thank you. ...
The Front with Russia Only two chapters are devoted to the Eastern Front. These chapters center on the Russian invasion of East Prussia and the German reaction to it, culminating in the battle of Tannenberg. Tuchman further completely ignores the front between Austria and Serbia and the front between Austria and Russia in Galicia (Battle of Lemberg). The Eastern Front refers to a theatre of war during the first World War in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. ...
East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
For other uses, see Galicia. ...
Combatants Russian Empire Austria-Hungary Commanders Nikolai Ivanov Conrad von Hötzendorf Strength 1,200,000 1,000,000 Casualties 255,000 300,000 casualties, 130,000 POW The Battle of Lemberg was a major battle between Russia and Austria-Hungary during the early stages of World War I in...
In these chapters, Tuchman covers the series of errors, faulty plans, poor communications and poor logistics which decidedly helped the French by causing the Germans to transfer two corps (yet another error?) to defend what the book refers to as the 'Russian Steam Roller'. It only hints of the follow-on misery of the eastern front.
The Flames of Louvain Woven into the section on battle, are the threads for the formation of world opinion of Germany as the aggressor nation, with implications that the actions would greatly affect future involvement of the United States. In the chapter The Flames of Louvain, Tuchman uses a variety of sources to convey the desire of the German Empire and what appears to be the majority view of its people. She cites the writing of Thomas Mann [page 348], saying the goal was "the establishment of the German idea in history, the enthronement of Kultur, the fulfillment of Germany's historical mission". Further on she recounts reporter Irvin S. Cobb's account of an interview with a German scientist: "Germany [is] for progress. German Kultur will enlighten the world and after this war there will be no other." For German colonial territories, see German Colonial Empire. ...
For other persons named Thomas Mann, see Thomas Mann (disambiguation). ...
Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb (1876–1944) was an American author, humorist, and columnist who lived in New York and wrote over 60 books. ...
This chapter continues to detail the "German theory of terror" [page 350] inflicted on the citizens of Belgium in a failed attempt to suppress the franc-tireur. The factual account leaves little doubt of the ferocity for which the world would view the reprisals of the German forces. Franc-tireur is an informal term for an armed fighter who, if captured, is not entitled to prisoner of war status. ...
The book ends on the French mounting an offensive, Order No. 6, September 6, 1914, on von Kluck's exposed right flank, in what is to be the first successful offensive by the Allies. In the subsequent attack, the Germans were forced back north, with both sides suffering terrible losses. While Paris had been saved, the war took on a new cast and both sides settled into a defensive trench system that cut across France and Belgium from the Channel to Switzerland. This became known as the Western Front and was to consume a generation of young men over the next four years. Alexander Heinrich Rudolph von Kluck (May 20, 1846 - October 19, 1934) was a German general during World War I. He was born in Münster, Westphalia. ...
Trench warfare is a form of war in which both opposing armies have static lines of defense. ...
For most of World War I, Allied Forces, predominantly those of France and the United Kingdom, were stalled at trenches on the Western Front. ...
Critical Analysis Throughout the aforementioned narrative, Tuchman constantly brought up the numerous misconceptions, miscalculations, and mistakes that she believed ended with the tragedy of trench warfare. Among these were: - Economic miscalculation. In Tuchman's view, both European intellectuals and leaders overestimated the power of free trade. These individuals believed that the interconnection of European nations due to this trade would stop a continent-wide war from breaking out, as the economic consequences would be too great. However, this assumption was incorrect. For example, Tuchman noted that Moltke, when warned of such consequences, refused to even consider them in his plans, arguing he was a "soldier," not an "economist."
- Unfounded belief in quick warfare. Except for a very few politicians (who were at the time ridiculed and excluded because of their views), all the leaders of the major combatants believed the war would be concluded in a matter of weeks, and by the end of 1914 at the absolute latest. Tuchman recounted the story of a British statesman who, after he warned others that the war might last two or three years, was branded a "pessimist." This false assumption had disastrous effects, especially on logistics (see below).
- Over-reliance on morale and the offensive. Tuchman details, in depth, how the leaders of the major powers, before the war, developed a philosophy of warfare based almost entirely on morale, a constant offensive, and retaining the initiative. Joffre, in particular, refused to consider going on the defensive - or even to slow the offensive - even when the realities of the battlefield demonstrated that this approach was not working.
- Failure to consider political backlash. Many war planners did not take into consideration the political and treaty-based consequences of their offensive actions. As Tuchman argues, the German leaders in particular refused to consider the consequences of moving their armies into Belgium, despite that country's neutrality. Despite Moltke's concerns, German generals insisted on moving through Belgium because they needed to maneuver. They failed (or refused) to realize that by invading Belgium, they effectively forced Britain to declare war because of existing treaties and national honor.
- Outdated forms of wartime etiquette. Although the technology, aims, methods, and plans of World War I were drastically different from earlier wars, military leaders continued to insist upon a form of martial etiquette from civilians which increased resentment between the countries. To illustrate, Tuchman regularly quotes from the diaries of German generals who commandeered the homes and supplies of civilians. One recurrent theme within their diary entries was that they simply couldn't understand why the property owners refused to fully cooperate, in line with past wartime courtesy. In a somewhat comical passage, Tuchman even quotes from a general who criticized the master of a Belgian house for failing to sit with him at dinner and observe proper mealtime etiquette, despite the fact that the Germans had violated his country's neutrality, taken over his house, and stolen or destroyed much of his property.
Overall, Tuchman argued that none of the war's major combatants wanted a sustained war, but the above breakdowns caused it nonetheless. Likewise, she argued that even actions that superficially appeared successful, such as the Battle of Tannenberg (German victory) or the First Battle of the Marne (French victory), were in reality accidental victories that were won despite, not because, of military leadership or strategy. Economics (deriving from the Greek words οίκω [okos], house, and νÎμω [nemo], rules hence household management) is the social science that studies the allocation of scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants. ...
Free trade is an economic concept referring to the selling of products between countries without tariffs or other trade barriers. ...
Map of the Schlieffen Plan and planned French counter-offensives Cult of the offensive refers to the military doctrine that argues in favor of offensive over the defensive. ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
Marcus Valerius Martialis, known in English as Martial, was a Latin poet from Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. ...
It has been suggested that Office etiquette be merged into this article or section. ...
A civilian is a person who is not a member of a military. ...
== c programming[[a--203. ...
An amount of formality may be present at a dinner Dinner is a meal eaten in the evening. ...
Combatants France United Kingdom German Empire Commanders Joseph Joffre John French Helmuth von Moltke Karl von Bülow Alexander von Kluck Strength 1,071,000 1,485,000 Casualties Approximately 263,000: 250,000 French casualties (80,000 dead) 13,000 British casualties (1,700 dead) Approximately 250,000 total...
Cultural Effects The book was an immediate bestseller. The Pulitzer Prize nomination committee was unable to award it the prize for outstanding history because Joseph Pulitzer's will specifically stated that the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for history must be a book on American history. Instead, Tuchman was given the prize for general non-fiction. The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ...
Joseph Pulitzer Joseph Pulitzer (April 18, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American publisher best known for posthumously establishing the Pulitzer Prizes and (along with William Randolph Hearst) for originating yellow journalism. ...
President John F. Kennedy encouraged members of his cabinet to read The Guns of August, to help in dealing with the Cuban Missile Crisis [1]. This impacted on the management of the Cuban Missile Crisis [2]. The British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, who had served on the Western Front during the First World War, had also been profoundly affected by the book (Hennessey, 2000). In his diary for Monday 22nd October 1962 he wrote: John Kennedy and JFK redirect here. ...
President Kennedy in a crowded Cabinet Room during the Cuban Missile Crisis. ...
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British Conservative politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. ...
- Washington, in a rather panicky way, have been urging a Nato 'alert' with all that this implies (in our case, Royal Proclamation and the call up of Reservists). I told him that we wd not repeat not agree at this stage. N. [General Norstad] agreed with this and said he thought NATO powers wd take the same view. I said that 'mobilisation' had sometimes caused war. Here it was absurd since the additional forces made available by 'Alert' had no military significance.
Graham Allison, a political scientist who covered the Cuban Missile Crisis in Essence of Decision, noted the effect of the Tuchman's book on Kennedy, but also its implications for the proper study of decision-making and warfare. Allison created an entire model of decision-making, which he called the "Organizational Process Model," based on such issues covered by Tuchman, a model which directly countered game theory and other rationalistic means of explaining events. Graham T. Allison is a professor at Harvard University. ...
See also: Political Science Notable political scientists Kenneth Arrow - Nobel Memorial Prize winning economist who published influential paper on his widely cited Arrows Impossibility Theorem Robert Axelrod Duncan Black - Responsible for unearthing the work of many early political scientists, including Charles Dodgson Jean-Charles de Borda - 18th century mathematician...
Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis is an analysis, by political scientist Graham T. Allison, of the Cuban Missile Crisis. ...
Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that is often used in the context of economics. ...
References - Peter Hennessey, The Prime Minister: The Office and It's Holders Since 1945 (Penguin Books, 2000)
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