Guns of August

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Summary: When military plans are written in stone, tragedy is destiny
Review: The Guns of August is an epic history of the first month of the first World War. Many history books are little more than forums for boring professors to argue with each over historical theories or to prove thier own brillant historical thesis and explain their "insights" in condenseding fashion to a "less educated" audiance. Let me use this forum as an oppurtunity to tell all of these authors who write these types of books, histography SUCKS!! Take a lesson from Tuchman and write history with some emotion, like you have some blood in your veins. Nobody cares about long winded discussions about how other historians wrote history, and why they wrote it the way they did, and what affect their writing of history had on history, and on and on and on. The study of history is supposed to be about studing history, not studing historians. Somehow historians have gotten their role and history's role reversed, historians are supposed to study history not use history to study themselves and the history of their profession. Historians themselves are not interesting, but history is. Anyway, back to the Guns of August, Tuchman is a great writer and this book almost seems like a novel execpt for the fact that all of this actually occured. Tuchman is a narrative historian who explains the facts and what happened and when. She writes with a lot of personality, (God Forbid) and inserts her own opinions throughout the text. She takes the reader through a time portal until the reader feels that he side by side with the leading statesmen of Europe who are making uncertain decisions on incomplete information that will affect the lives of millions of people who have no say in anything. The reader will feel like they too are marching with the doomed French teenagers who thought war to be a game, and find out that War is, especially modern war, nothing but a contest of attrition and they are disposable meat. The myth of glory and glamor that conceal the truth about war is quickly dispelled when these French troops attempt to storm entranched machine gun positions with single shot rifles and bayonets. Diplomacy failed because each nation feared that by trusting the other and halting preparations for war they would leave their own nations in weakened circumstances that could be exploited by their enemies. Their are numerous times when the situation could have been brought under control but no one had the guts to risk a military disadvantage by seeking to dely the war. For example,the French,British and German all had elaborate military contingency plans based on their enemies movements. If the Germans mobilized by this hour then the French must be mobilized by this hour. If the Germans did this, then the French must do that, and vice versa. This kind of strict adherence to pre formulated military doctrines is the most insidious trap in human history and if Tuchman has a point with this book beyond telling a great story it is to express this. Their are no pretentious lectures on why this or that happended and how it was all the result of impersonal historical forces which she then goes on to name. The reader is presented with the facts and left to draw their own conclusions because Tuchman does not tell them what to think, (imagine that, allowing readers to think for themselves because perhaps the historian does not understand everything as well as they might think). As for those who say the Germans are treated unjustly in this book, what planet are you living on? Without a doubt Britain and France were imperialist oprressors but the Germans were the worst of the worst, except maybe for the Russians. This book is a page turner despite the fact that it is history and the reader knows how it will turn out. World War 1 is understudied and a lot of the information she provides will come as news to many readers. Tuchman paints historical potraits of battles, individuals, events, etc. She is a creative genuis that uses history as her artform. Many acadmics are well read but small minded and almost all lack imagination which Tuchman possess in vast quanities. This book is an example of history the way it should be written. The Germans in this book had a plan that was so much better than the French and their fighting tactics where contemporary and not outdated. It is a mircle that the Germans did not conquer Paris in 1914. This book is so full of suspense it is unbearable, at times the scope of what is occuring will hit the reader all at once like a ton of bricks, and I constantly thought, how in the world did she manage to write this difficult story this well. The atmosphere is so well transmitted to the reader that he or she can practically smell the gunsmoke, hear the footfalls of the seemingly unstopable German army on the march, and see the supposed great men who rule nations tremble with indecision in the corriders of power. Tuchman has a flair for the dramatic and often ends chapters with famous quotes that sum up what has occured beautifully. After reading this book the reader will understand World War 1 in a way that surpasses intellectual comphrension, the reader will posses a viseral understanding that hits them in the heart, in the stomach, that colors their soul. This might seem like overstatment but believe me, the best way to understand an event is to experienc it first hand, and this book is as close as anyone can get to doing that.

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Summary: No Grand Design
Review: First, I would like to admit that I became curious about this book because of the movie "Thirteen Days." President Kennedy has always been one of my favorite heroes and so when his character mentioned the book in the movie, I became intrigued. I now understand why this book was so important to President Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Barbara Tuchman has done a masterful job in making clear to the reader that historical events take place because of accidents and blunders. It is sad to realize that an entire generation (no exaggeration folks) of people died in World War I because the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Russia (both civilian and military) were so misinformed and imbecilic. Each of the leaders believed that he knew exactly what his adversary was going to do, even when facts were
produced that showed his perceptions to be mistaken. For example, the Chief of Staff of France believes that it doesn't matter how many soilders Germany concentrates in her right flank, opposite Belgium, since it makes his plan for an offensive against the German center that much more likely to succeed. He even strips troops from each of his flanks to concentrate in the center of his lines, leaving too few soilders to oppose the German war machine. The outcome, in a matter of days, Germany takes over Belgium and then proceeds to crush every French army it meets in a matter of weeks.

Each of us would like to believe that the leaders of our countries are intelligent and rational people. That during an international crisis (like war), because of their extensive schooling, experience and training they can handle themselves in a calm rational manner. We are wrong. It is becoming more apparent as I study history, that the leaders of our societies are just as failable to inpatience and irrational behavior. This literally keeps me awake at nights worried that something like the events of August 1914 could happen again. I hope this book becomes required reading for anyone mad enough to become the leader of thier country.

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Summary: The ants go marching...
Review: Scanning through the lists, I see that I'm clearly the contrarian when it comes to reviews of this book on Amazon - but I know I wouldn't have wasted an evening reading the first 50 pages of it if I had seen a few negative reviews such as this. Maybe I can save one or two of you some time as well.

If you are looking for a perspective on World War I which enacts its "artistic" license by comparing the German invasion of Belgium to a swarm of ants, that demonizes the Kaiser and glorifies the stalwart French and British generals - this is the book for you! I have to wonder, though -- if you think those are central elements of a description of what took place in August of 1914, why bother? You already know the history and are just looking for someone to arrange it in elegantly crafted lines. But if you believe that such lively metaphor and monochrome white-hat/black-hat perspectives could hardly explain the historical world any better than they do our own era, stay clear.

I'm no expert by any means - but I've developed an interest in the war and the era, and a year of reading WWI-related books, has led me to two conclusions: (1) it was a darn complicated chunk of history - the leading-up-to, the four-years-slaughter, and the reverberating after-effects and (2) attempts to "spin" the story have been entwined with the factual record to such a degree that they are themselves an intriguing piece of the history. Tuchman's tale neither explores the complications nor acknowledges the spin. She tells a simple tale in wonderfully dramatic language that's as good as anything Tom Clancy can produce, but its designed more for the heart than the head.

There are many, many books about WWI from the inter-war period and some of them can still stand a look. But there has also been an intriguing resurgence of interest in and publishing on the war during the last decade which, itself, is a phenomenon that hints at something fascinating about who writes history and when (and how)they write it.

If you are looking for books with a perspective that goes beyond the 'swarm of ants' approach I'd recommend Mosier's 'The Myth of the Great War' and Ferguson's 'The Pity of War'. The former is startlingly pro-German (and pro-American - quite a combination, that) and the latter, although leaking some of the usual pro-Brit tone, constructs a quite-detailed pathway to thinking about the big 'what-if' ' if Germany had won the war. Keegan's section about the Somme in 'The Face of Battle' goes beyond the usual military history (but avoid his two 'Histories' of the war itself) and the recent '14-18, Understanding the Great War' by Audoin-Rouzeau is flawed but demonstrates how even a Francophile perspective can at least explore different realms.

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Summary: Can I really add anything to the reviews already written?
Review: The answer can only be no...but all the same, I feel compelled to write a short review about this excellent piece of historical work. This is the second book written by Tuchman that I've read and is indeed a timeless masterpiece. I thought beforehand that I knew something about WWI, but all I knew after reading this book is how little I really knew.
The narrative is fast, although one is doubtful of this in the beginning of the book-after all it deals with 30 days on 440 pages, but she keeps the narrative fast and flowing throughout.
One of Tuchman's strong points is character description. The best example of this is in the descriptions of the often eccentric and always outspoken Kaiser, who ecchoed the sentiments of Germans and quite possible the true cause of the war when he said "All the long years of my reign, my colleagues, the Monarchs of Europe, have paid no attention to what I have to say. Soon, with my great Navy to endorse my words, they will be more respectful." A vivid description of characters is essential in books on historical matters, and this is one of the places were Tuchman gets it right. The description of the Tannenberg battle stood out, with exciting, fast narrative and the ususal Tuchman trademark of descriptive characters that took part in that decisve battle (Tannenberg saw the signifcant introduction of Hindenburg and Ludendorff to commanding position in the war, although because of the short span of the book, we -sadly- can't see what effect this has on the western front later in the war).
Thuchman's (self admitted) strenghts lie in the narrative of the story she's telling and her excellent writing skills (she has described herself as a writer first and historian second) and in this book she is at her best, flexing her literary muscles so well that the reader hardly can put the book down. How often can one say that after reading history?

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Summary: Keep the Right Flank Strong!
Review: These were the dying words of the German Staff General von Schlieffen, author of the eponymous Prussian invasion plan for France and Belgium. Eight years later in 1914, his scheme, as modified, was executed (or mis-executed), at catastrophic cost to Germany and civilized Europe as a whole. Tuchman's narrative essentially begins with the early 1900s, where continued Franco-German rivalry was fuelling war preparations on both sides, right through to the Battle of the Marne in September 1914, which saved Paris and spelt the failure of the Schlieffen Plan. Overlaying the military machine is a brittle (and, ultimately, ineffective) diplomatic framework built around the royal houses of Europe, personified by Edward VII and his various royal cousins in such capitals as Berlin and St. Petersburg.

"The Guns of August" was and remains such a powerful narrative that it actually subsumes collective memory. Most subsequent histories of the period, as well as films or works of historical fiction, have been influenced by it; indeed "Guns of August" sways histories of other periods - most obvious example being its citation by President Kennedy's character in the Cuban Missile Crisis film "Seven Days." On the whole the actual telling of the story emphasizes the French side most, though other Allied characters such as General Henry Wilson are extremely important. Most people associate "Guns" with the story of the Schlieffen Plan and the early mobilization of August, but it also deals expecially well with incidents such as the Meditteranean voyage of the German battleship "Goeben" as well as the destruction of Louvain in Belgium, both of which were decisive events in terms of their influence on world opinion. Immaculate in every respect.

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Summary: Greatest History of the First Great War
Review: Barbra Tuchman gives a supurb history of the months of August and Septemeber of August 1914 which marked the begining of the first Great War. The political issues, as well as the personal thoughts of the worlds leaders, are extremely interesting. In order to give such a detailed yet easy to read account of the French, British, Belgium, and German war tactics Tuchman must have read the memoirs of just about every general who ever wrote them. The Guns of August allows you to take a look at all the stratagees, some good, some very poor, for example, the Russian defeat at Tiene due to the idiocy of the Russian Right "pincer", the failure of the French elan which was intended to cut the Germans in half through the middle, Shclifens plan to have the last man on the German right flank "brush the channel with his sleeve" so as to provoke Britian into a ground war and win a decesive victory before the British Navy could get into action, the Kasiers unwillingness to send reinforcements to von Kluck, von Klucks own insubordination which lead to the gap between his and von Bellows armies, the descision to depleat the Western right wing of two division by Moltke, as well as the late descision to guard against Gallienis attack on Klucks flank from Paris, just to name a few.

Among the things that I learned, and which I was entirely unaware of, was the interesting circumstances that brought the Ottoman empire into an alliance with the Central Powers, and the effect that has had on middle eastern history, by the cunning deceit of one captain and the bold action of the Goebn. I had no idea of the extent of the German atrocities that occured through Belgium, and the determination of King Albert not to allow German invasion.
I was not aware that Winston Churchill was so involved in the admirality, nor that Sir John French was so undecesive and unwilling to pursue seperior forces. So many things are revealed in this novel in such an insightful, and yet unbiased manner, as to rank it among the best American Histories (Despite its mostly being about Europe) ever written, and most assuridly the best regarding World War I.

I reccomend this book to anyone interested in History, War, Military Tactics, or the First World War.

I reccomend this book for anyone interested

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Summary: WW1 comes alive with all its blunders and madness!
Review: Written in 1962, this is a fascinating history of the beginnings of WW1 and is the result of a vast amount of research. It's all true, and all documented, and even though it's a dense read, the huge cast of characters springs to life. This is the story of a war that changed the course of history. And it's also a story of the men who make the war. The reader gets to see the blunders and the madness and the personal feuds. And the humanity of the imperfect human beings who make the decisions that result in slaughter.

There are maps in the book describing the battles. There are also photographs. But I must admit that I barely looked at the maps. And I found all the photos of the elderly generals very similar. What I did love though was the sweep of the story as well as the many details that go into waging a war. Previously, most war books I've read had to do with the experience of the soldiers. But this book is about the experience of making decisions, often based on folly. And it opened my eyes to how vulnerable the ordinary person is to the whims of the generals and the forces of pure chance. Ms. Tuchman also had a sense of irony and humor and sometimes I found myself laughing out loud.

The narrative of the month of August 1914 is described hour by hour. Belgium has to make a decision to accept an awful defeat or willingly allow the Germans to march through their neutral territory. There are alliances in place that are just waiting to be broken. The Russians come into the war. So do the British, even though it is with much reluctance. The basic war is between France and Germany, almost a continuation of the defeat the French suffered at the hands of the Germans during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870.

Before I read this book, I didn't know much about WW1. Now I do. It was a war that defined the breakdown of the European nobility and set the stage for the next war, which was even more horrific. It taught me a lot, especially about how many people wind up dying because of the quest for power. It saddened me too because this quest for power is basic. So is the folly of mankind. The only thing that has changed is technology.

This book is a masterful work. It lays the groundwork for an understanding of the mechanics of war. I might not remember all of the names of the generals or the battle plans. But I will always remember the feeling of being right there, watching the decisions being made, marching for miles in spite of fatigue, handling the big guns, making courageous decisions that sometimes led to disaster. And, especially, knowing that this is the true face of war. Highly recommended.

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Summary: A Real-life Thriller. Essential.
Review: As fresh as the day it won the Pulitzer Prize 40 years ago, this is the essential primer on World War I's first, defining and tragic month. At 511 pages it is short work - the pages virtually turn themselves. Tuchman is a master of bringing the past and its characters to rich, vibrant life, and its events to edgy doubt, even though we think we know the outcomes. The main characters are cut in precise, dynamic phrasings -- Churchill, 1st Lord of the Admiralty "[at 37] impossible to ignore...[with an] astonishingly accurate prediction of the future course of the fighting"; Kaiser Wilhelm ranting, "the dead [King] Edward is stronger than the living I!" French Generalissimo Joffre, who looked "like Santa Claus and gave an impression of benevolence and naivete - two qualities not noticeably part of his character"; British Field Marshall Sir John French, whose "natural juices of courage had been invisibly drying up"; General Ludendorff with a single adjutant, charging up to "bang on the gates" and singly accept the surrender of Liege and the Belgian troops; courageous Albert, King of the Belgians, pilot, mountaineer, devourer of books, "not bourgeois, so much as bohemian royalty"; Grand Duke Nicholas, 6 foot 6 with "boots as tall as a horse's belly", whose wild optimism cost Russia annihilation at Tannenberg. The raucous war declaration sessions in England, France, Germany, described as if by a reporter on the scene. The ghastly battles, miscalculated inevitably, it seems, by the major players. At last, after hundreds of thousands dead in a single month, a brutal stalemate on the western front. Perhaps all was summed up in Sir Edward Grey's famous lament: "the lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." There is no better analysis or more dramatic reportage of the fateful month that would determine much of the rest of the 20th century. (Also recommended: Keegan's flawed but compelling "The First World War"; Massie's classic "Dreadnought"; and MacMillan's absorbing "Paris 1919").

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Summary: Tuchman's Historical Classic of The Opening of WWI
Review: I have given this great book only 4 stars instead of its deserved 5 stars in order to register my level of enjoyment rather than my rating of its absolute merit. I was very fascinated by the build up to the war and can't wait to read about this aspect in more detail in her prequel, The Proud Tower. Tuchman explores the pre-war strategic planning by both rivals Germany and France of marching through Belgium. I did not know so much forethought had gone into the invasion of Belgium nor the eventual historic struggle put up by the Belgians. I also found the discussion of various pre-war militaristic ideological witings enlightening and found their relation to Germany's later Nazi ideology chilling. I was previously unaware that the French had exploited Bergson's notion of elan for militaristic ends. I was also intrigued by other behind the scenes maneuvers and the way in which non-combatants were caught up in the war. What lowered my enjoyment of the book was the long passages about specific troop maneuvers and debates about these maneuvers between the various generals and military strategists--its just a matter of personal preference but I was bored by some of the detail of this aspect of the war. Great book but large sections not exactly to my taste--my shortcoming --not Tuchman's.

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Summary: August 1914--Not unlike today's world
Review: What else can one say about this book; it is every bit the classic that it is billed to be. The subject matter is every bit as relevant today as it was when it was first published. I couldn't help but draw parallels between the events leading up to WWI and the events surrounding the current crises in the Middle East. Read within the context of today's environment, the book has many insights to offer.

I hope that the world has learned some of the lessons that were so difficult to learn during the early stages of WWI, such as preparing an entire nation(s) for war, not just the military, entering a conflict with clear strategic objectives that are shared by allies, and adapting strategies and technologies to gel with the conflict at hand.

This book is for every student of American/European/Military history.