PDF Collision of Empires The War on the Eastern Front in 1914 General Military Prit Buttar Books
PDF Collision of Empires The War on the Eastern Front in 1914 General Military Prit Buttar Books
Download As PDF : Collision of Empires The War on the Eastern Front in 1914 General Military Prit Buttar Books
The fighting that raged in the East during the First World War was every bit as fierce as that on the Western Front, but the titanic clashes between three towering empires--Russia, Austro-Hungary, and Germany--remains a comparatively unknown facet of the Great War.
With the one hundredth anniversary of the beginning of the war in 2014, Collision of Empires is a timely exposé of the bitter fighting on this forgotten front--a clash that would ultimately change the face of Europe forever. Drawing on firsthand accounts and detailed archival research, this is a dramatic retelling of the tumultuous events of the first year of the war, with the battles of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes in East Prussia followed by the Russo-Austrian clashes in Galicia and the failed German advance toward Warsaw.
PDF Collision of Empires The War on the Eastern Front in 1914 General Military Prit Buttar Books
"The title of Winston Churchill's 1932 book on the Eastern Front in World War I, "The Unknown War," was a very apt one. With the exception of Churchill's book, and a few others, the Eastern Front has been largely neglected by the English speaking world. The current volume goes a long way towards filling this gap.
The author sets the stage by examining the armies of the three great imperial antagonists, offers many valuable insights into their organization and ethos and traces the development of the war plans of all three powers. Germany started the war focused on its plans, developed by von Schlieffen, to quickly overwhelm France first, and then turn eastwards. Austria-Hungary's planning was dominated by its chief of staff, Conrad, who overestimated the capabilities of his forces, was haunted by the specter of the Redl spy scandal and couldn't make up his mind whether to deploy primarily against Russia or Serbia. Russia was still trying to absorb the lessons of its disastrous war against Japan a decade earlier, and its high command was riven by the antagonism between the adherents and opponents of the War Minister, Sukhomlinov. All three armies were wedded to the concept of offensive warfare, ensuring that the resultant collision would be one of titanic violence.
As perhaps only to be expected, the author devotes a great deal of space to the Tannenberg campaign, the best known of all Eastern Front battles, but he goes far beyond this military classic. He also recounts the follow up First Battle of the Masurian Lakes, which ended the Russian invasion of East Prussia, and provides detailed accounts of literally every battle that was fought in the East in 1914. From the battles that pitted Austria-Hungary against Russia in Galicia, to the autumn campaign in Poland that culminated in the Battle of Lodz, to Austria's bungled invasions (yes, multiple, unsuccessful invasions!) of Serbia, the author makes these often complex maneuverings and battles comprehensible. He wraps the book up with recounting the futile attempts by the Germans to expand further into Poland as winter set in, and a truly obscure little Austrian victory in Galicia just before Christmas which gave the reeling Hapsburg legions a badly needed morale boost. In short, nothing that happened in the East in 1914 is neglected, a true tour-de-force!
As we watch the armies in action, their strengths and weaknesses become glaringly obvious. The author does not practice advocacy on behalf of any of the belligerents, but the Germans definitely come across as the most capable as well as the most successful of the combatants. One of the greatest of their strengths was the independent initiative of German corps and division commanders, which in the case of von Francois, amounted to insubordination, but almost invariably resulted in success on the battlefield. Another strength of the Germans was the bond between officers and men, which extended all the way to the top; we see Kaiser Wilhelm congratulating a successful division commander and making sure to tell him to pass his royal thanks along to the rank and file in his division. Little wonder that the morale of the German army was still high at the end of 1914.
The Austrians and Russians come across in a far less flattering light. Conrad, after finally deciding to deploy the bulk of his forces to face the Russians, stripped the gears of the clunky Austrian railway network trying to transfer troops north from the Serbian front, thus contributing to the Russian victories in Galicia. He continued to set impossible goals for his troops and was unwilling or unable to inspire them, remaining ensconced in his headquarters castle in Teschen. He acquiesced in the dismissal of Auffenberg, one of the few successful Austrian generals in the early stages of the war, but allowed Potiorek to botch three invasion attempts against Serbia. By the end of the year, the low morale of the Hapsburg forces was the polar opposite of their German allies. The Russians, for their part, were plagued by the factional rivalry described above and by utter failure of the Russian generals to cooperate or coordinate with each other on the battlefield, the Rennenkampf-Samsonov communications void at Tannenberg being the best known, but certainly not the only case in point. The Russian army was further hampered by shortages of artillery shells and rifles. Tactically, the Russian soldier was stolid and unyielding on defense, but clumsy on the offense, which contributed to atrocious casualties. One German officer could not help but reflect that Russian troops actually seemed happy to be taken prisoner.
In short, with its comprehensive coverage of all the action on the Eastern Front in 1914, enlivened by letters, diaries and other accounts of the participants, this is the ultimate book on the subject. The dust jacket promises that this is the first of a three volume set on WWI in the East, and I, for one can't wait to read the next volume! Where else am I going to find a detailed account of the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes?"
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Collision of Empires The War on the Eastern Front in 1914 General Military Prit Buttar Books Reviews :
Collision of Empires The War on the Eastern Front in 1914 General Military Prit Buttar Books Reviews
- The title of Winston Churchill's 1932 book on the Eastern Front in World War I, "The Unknown War," was a very apt one. With the exception of Churchill's book, and a few others, the Eastern Front has been largely neglected by the English speaking world. The current volume goes a long way towards filling this gap.
The author sets the stage by examining the armies of the three great imperial antagonists, offers many valuable insights into their organization and ethos and traces the development of the war plans of all three powers. Germany started the war focused on its plans, developed by von Schlieffen, to quickly overwhelm France first, and then turn eastwards. Austria-Hungary's planning was dominated by its chief of staff, Conrad, who overestimated the capabilities of his forces, was haunted by the specter of the Redl spy scandal and couldn't make up his mind whether to deploy primarily against Russia or Serbia. Russia was still trying to absorb the lessons of its disastrous war against Japan a decade earlier, and its high command was riven by the antagonism between the adherents and opponents of the War Minister, Sukhomlinov. All three armies were wedded to the concept of offensive warfare, ensuring that the resultant collision would be one of titanic violence.
As perhaps only to be expected, the author devotes a great deal of space to the Tannenberg campaign, the best known of all Eastern Front battles, but he goes far beyond this military classic. He also recounts the follow up First Battle of the Masurian Lakes, which ended the Russian invasion of East Prussia, and provides detailed accounts of literally every battle that was fought in the East in 1914. From the battles that pitted Austria-Hungary against Russia in Galicia, to the autumn campaign in Poland that culminated in the Battle of Lodz, to Austria's bungled invasions (yes, multiple, unsuccessful invasions!) of Serbia, the author makes these often complex maneuverings and battles comprehensible. He wraps the book up with recounting the futile attempts by the Germans to expand further into Poland as winter set in, and a truly obscure little Austrian victory in Galicia just before Christmas which gave the reeling Hapsburg legions a badly needed morale boost. In short, nothing that happened in the East in 1914 is neglected, a true tour-de-force!
As we watch the armies in action, their strengths and weaknesses become glaringly obvious. The author does not practice advocacy on behalf of any of the belligerents, but the Germans definitely come across as the most capable as well as the most successful of the combatants. One of the greatest of their strengths was the independent initiative of German corps and division commanders, which in the case of von Francois, amounted to insubordination, but almost invariably resulted in success on the battlefield. Another strength of the Germans was the bond between officers and men, which extended all the way to the top; we see Kaiser Wilhelm congratulating a successful division commander and making sure to tell him to pass his royal thanks along to the rank and file in his division. Little wonder that the morale of the German army was still high at the end of 1914.
The Austrians and Russians come across in a far less flattering light. Conrad, after finally deciding to deploy the bulk of his forces to face the Russians, stripped the gears of the clunky Austrian railway network trying to transfer troops north from the Serbian front, thus contributing to the Russian victories in Galicia. He continued to set impossible goals for his troops and was unwilling or unable to inspire them, remaining ensconced in his headquarters castle in Teschen. He acquiesced in the dismissal of Auffenberg, one of the few successful Austrian generals in the early stages of the war, but allowed Potiorek to botch three invasion attempts against Serbia. By the end of the year, the low morale of the Hapsburg forces was the polar opposite of their German allies. The Russians, for their part, were plagued by the factional rivalry described above and by utter failure of the Russian generals to cooperate or coordinate with each other on the battlefield, the Rennenkampf-Samsonov communications void at Tannenberg being the best known, but certainly not the only case in point. The Russian army was further hampered by shortages of artillery shells and rifles. Tactically, the Russian soldier was stolid and unyielding on defense, but clumsy on the offense, which contributed to atrocious casualties. One German officer could not help but reflect that Russian troops actually seemed happy to be taken prisoner.
In short, with its comprehensive coverage of all the action on the Eastern Front in 1914, enlivened by letters, diaries and other accounts of the participants, this is the ultimate book on the subject. The dust jacket promises that this is the first of a three volume set on WWI in the East, and I, for one can't wait to read the next volume! Where else am I going to find a detailed account of the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes? - The good
This book does a good job at telling the story of the Eastern Front during 1914. I have read "Tannenberg" by Showalter and "Fall of the Double Eagle" by Schindler, so I had a decent grasp on the opening phases of the campaign, but this is the first time I've read about the fighting in-depth after the first month or so. For this fact alone I believe the book is worth reading.
The bad
Following the narrative can be hard, and I've read a ton of military history. Someone who is new to the subject could get totally lost. Unlike Ian Senior in "Home Before the Leaves Fall," Buttar doesn't always make clear distinctions when he is talking about German/Austro-Hungarian units v. when he is talking about Russian units.* Buttar also frequently uses unit commander's names in telling the story, but that isn't always helpful. As other's have pointed out, a number of the Russian generals were Baltic Germans and a number of a Austro-Hungarian generals were Slavs. Also, there aren't enough maps. That is a pretty standard complaint for most military history books though, so I will not remove a star for it.
*For example, Senior would consistently write "the German 1st Army" or "the French 5th Army." Same goes for when he discussed corps. When referring to regiments, IR would follow German regiments and RI would follow French regiments. This made "Home Before the Leaves Fall" very easy to follow and really aided in my understanding of the campaign up to and including the Marne. - If this was a book about the eastern front in 1941 I'd turn my nose up at it and totally ignore it's existence. But since it's about the eastern front in 1914 it's as if you gave a stale loaf of bread to a starving man, to him it would taste like a four star meal. The great advantage the author has going for him is that he has no competition. Churchill in 1931 titled his book on the eastern front THE UNKNOWN WAR. Amazingly 80 years later Mr. Buttar could use the same title for this book. No war in history has had a more exciting opening than WWI with it's sweep of vast armies over open plains implementing plans that have been decades in the making. Yet western historians have totally ignored this period except where it applies to the british army. Now with the centenary of WWI upon us some feeble attempts have been made to rectify that.
While Mr. Buttar has a low hurdle to jump that doesn't mean he hasn't done an excellent job. As the title indicates the book deals with both sides equally in telling this tale of the mighty clash of millions on the eastern front. To those with some familiarity with this campaign the most surprising thing about Mr. Buttar's book is how gentle he is with Conrad von Hotzendorf the overall Austrian commander who is usually vilified in most accounts of the eastern front. While I have some quibbles with this otherwise excellent book they're generally too minor to mention, except for one. The books weakest point are clearly it's maps, with the best that could be said about them is that they are barely serviceable. This war was fought in a vast theatre that stretched from the Baltic to the Balkans and could have used a few more operational maps showing the various armies and how the battles affected them as a whole.
In short a book I highly recommend for anyone, with the good news that this is the first volume of a projected three volume history of the war in the East.
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