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I made a serious gaffe about WWI.
Did you put Italy or Japan on the wrong side?
I was hoping you’d weigh in and I’m grateful that you did. However, I am to embarrassed to say what it was.
I have a degree in history. However, my areas of concentration were the ancient and medieval eras. Today in Sunday school I made a serious gaffe about WWI. WWI knowledge is a weakness of mine. Any recommendations of a single volume treatment of the war?
All you need to know is that the Americans showed up late, but we would have won anyway.
Not a sure thing, at all.
I'm sure we all appreciate the American contribution (if grudgingly).
It amazes me how after the war Belgium didn't better fortify their border. At least during WW1 they were able to defend the land, but then years later during WW2 the Germans literally just stormed right through.Not a sure thing, at all. With the Germans able to move the troops previously engaged in the East to the Western Front, things were turning bad for the British and French empires. And the British and French wouldn't have been able to bolster the Italians for the fall, 1918 offensive against the Austrians. (The Italians had been doing pretty poorly on their own).
Speaking of the western front, the French troops were willing to defend their trenches, but refusing to advance shortly before the Americans began to arrive in France (although it was a number of months before the Americans actually went into action on a large scale.)
That's what happens when you don't think history will repeat and an international committee will help.It amazes me how after the war Belgium didn't better fortify their border. At least during WW1 they were able to defend the land, but then years later during WW2 the Germans literally just stormed right through.
Tuchman's a lefty, but the Guns of August might be a good start. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guns_of_August
If you want to star a bit earlier on the buildup and shifting alliances, Dreadnought might be useful.
https://www.amazon.com/Dreadnought-Britain-Germany-Coming-Great/dp/0345375564
If you are looking for play - by - play of the battles, you will need to probably divide it into smaller chunks. The good thing is that a lot of the British memoirs are now in the public domain and can be acquired for free. Of course, most of those are self-serving, but they can provide insight if you read competing accounts.
It amazes me how after the war Belgium didn't better fortify their border.
The bigger issue was that the French didn't extend the Maginot line northward.
Probably because airplanes were beginning to make the Maginot Line irrelevant.