Plenty of books detail the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, so it’s hard to imagine that another book would add much to our understanding. But with “Ring of Fire: A New History of the World at War: 1914,” Alexandra Churchill and Nicolai Eberholst manage to do just that.
The basic story, of course, is familiar. Once war was declared, widespread fighting broke out immediately. In the west, Germany quickly crushed Belgium and moved into northern France, only to be stopped at the gates of Paris when French taxis ferried troops to the front lines to help defend the capital. In the east, the Germans routed the Russian army at Tannenberg. Meanwhile, Austro-Hungarian troops failed badly in their attack on Serbia and then against Russia.
Yet two things distinguish “Ring of Fire.” First, the authors emphasize the global nature of the war from the earliest days of fighting, and second, they dig deep into archives to describe what the men and women who were caught up in the inferno thought and felt as the largely peaceful world they had been living in suddenly and violently collapsed.
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division/Courtesy of Pegasus Books
Why We Wrote This
It was called “The Great War,” and its onset was swift and its reach global. A new history examines the conflict not only through the large battles, but also through the lives of ordinary people. In letters from the battlefield and home front, individuals spelled out the real costs of war.
World War I took place mostly in Europe, but it was truly a global conflict. Much of the fighting outside Europe was driven by the desire of Germany, Britain, and France to retain or acquire additional territory in Africa. Indeed, the first British officer killed in action during the war didn’t die in Europe, but rather, in West Africa while attacking a German outpost.
It wasn’t just the traditional European powers that sought to grab overseas land. Some smaller countries used the conflict to try to build an empire. Japan quickly joined the war on the side of the Allies and immediately attacked German and Chinese outposts in hopes of gaining territory. While Japan overwhelmed its opponents, it was inevitably disappointed by the Treaty of Versailles that ended the war. The treaty helped lay the groundwork for the vast Japanese military expansion that preceded World War II.
The major combatants used residents of their colonial possessions as soldiers. Both France and Britain sent troops from Africa to the European front lines. A large contingent of Indian soldiers set sail for Europe to aid Britain, even though it was feared that the war would end before the troops arrived. Germany did not have a big empire to rely on for troops, but it nonetheless pushed for help from any potential source. The Germans press-ganged neutral Denmark into helping their war effort.
Naval battles were fought around the globe. Many of these were small engagements of little strategic importance, but they underscored that fighting could suddenly break out anywhere.
Other countries that sought to remain neutral were tested. Before the war, neutrality simply meant “not participating on either side,” and this was relatively easy when battlefields were geographically limited. But global trade undermined neutrality. Countries with exports such as iron ore could easily find themselves caught between both sides and struggling to stay neutral.
Taking aim at some of the countries that wanted to remain neutral, the authors note: “There were no depths of dishonesty, intrigue and outright skullduggery that they would not stoop to in their own interests.” Sweden, for example, claimed to be neutral but quietly aided the Germans.
In addition to underscoring the way the conflict affected every corner of the globe, Churchill and Eberholst provide detailed insights into how individuals from all walks of life experienced the war. Even noncombatants were robbed of homes, jobs, safety, and dignity by the war and “its malevolent creep into every aspect of people’s lives.”
By making extensive use of diaries, personal letters, and unpublished documents from around the world, the authors illustrate how soldiers, sailors, shopkeepers, housewives, writers, refugees, priests, and even children experienced the war. The observations are often eloquent and deeply moving, especially considering the dire circumstances under which they were frequently recorded. If sometimes gruesome, these observations are likely to stay with the reader long after the book has been put down.
This volume covers just the first two months of the war. Despite the short time frame, it is astonishing how much happened, how quickly, and in how many different places.
For all combatants, military doctrine at the war’s outbreak emphasized fast and powerful attacks to vanquish enemy defenses. Overwhelming force would, it was assumed, crush any defense.
But advances in military hardware, including machine guns and quick-firing artillery, strengthened the hand of defenders. Heavily fortified defensive positions were quickly established. Yet both sides still launched large-scale frontal attacks, usually with disastrous results.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo/Alamy Stock Photo/Courtesy of Pegasus Books
This emphasis on offensive action even as defensive positions were bolstered highlights another legacy of World War I – a level of casualties that would have been unimaginable in any previous conflict. Churchill and Eberholst note that “the sheer volume of bloodshed in the first months of the war” was unprecedented.
After just three weeks fighting in Serbia in August, Austro-Hungarian troops had recorded over 100,000 men killed and about 220,000 wounded; 100,000 more were captured. And by year’s end, the French army tallied some 350,000 killed in action. But as the combatants continued to hurl their soldiers against entrenched defensive lines, these casualties were a downpayment on the bill that would be paid before the conflict ended in November 1918.
