America and World War I

A Selected Annotated Bibliography of English-Language Sources

David Woodward

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781135864798
• Edition: 2
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World History
• Index: History

America and World War I, the first volume in the new Routledge Research Guides to American Military Studies series, provides a concise, annotated guide to the vast amount of resources available on the Great War. With over 2, 000 entries selected from a wide variety of publications, manuscript collections, databases, and online resources, this volume will be an invaluable research tool for students, scholars, and military history buffs alike. The wide range of topics covered include war films and literature, to civil-military relations, to women and war.

Routledge Research Guides to American Military Studies will include concise, easy-to-use bibliographic volumes on different American military campaigns throughout history, as well as tackling timely subjects such as women in the military and terrorism.

IV
Military Aspects of the War

A. General Sources of the European War, 1914–1918

165. Adams, R. J. Q., ed. The Great War, 1914–1918: Essays on the Military, Political and Social History of the First World War. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1990. 195 pp.

This collection includes essays by Charles Shrader on the logistical support of American forces serving with the British; Edward M. Coffman on the role of the school of Leavenworth and the War College in preparing American officers for the war; and Paolo E. Coletta on the U.S. Navy during the period of neutrality.

166. Albrecht-Carrié, René. The Meaning of the First World War. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1965. 181 pp.

The author attempts to assess the significance of the Great War for the twentieth century. There is a brief bibliography.

167. Aron, Raymond. The Century of Total War. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1954. 379 pp.

A central thesis of Aron’s thought-provoking study is that World War I was the catalyst for ruinous forces which have reshaped the world, especially in the area of human behavior.

168. Baldwin, Hanson W. World War I: An Outline History. New York: Harper & Row, 1962. 181 pp.

Written in a clear and dramatic style, this short work by the distinguished military analyst for the New York Times ranks with Barnett’s, Taylor’s, and Marshall’s illustrated histories as a brief introduction to the war general reader.

169. Barnett, Correlli. The Great War. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1979. 192 pp.

This illustrated history of World War I is written by a distinguished British historian. The illustrations and maps, many of them in color, are outstanding. And the commentary is frequently full of insight. This is more than a survey of military operations because the aims of war and the impact of total war, among other topics, are touched upon.

170. Beckett, Ian F. W. The Great War: 1914–1918. Harlow, U.K.: Pearson Education, 2001. 508 pp.

Beckett uses a thematic approach in this extremely well-researched history of the Great War. The “Notes and References” sections that accompany each chapter are worth the price of the book.

171. Best, Geoffrey. Humanity in Warfare. New York: Columbia University Press, 1980. 400 pp.

The author traces efforts to humanize war as the machine age and the advent of total war raised the price in blood which belligerents paid and produced “uncivilized” weapons such as poison gas and policies such as strategic bombing. The Red Cross and the Hague Convention are shown to have been two of the positive results of this movement prior to the Great War.

172. Bond, Brian, ed. The First World War and British Military History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. 330 pp.

This collection of essays is a reaction to the “butchers and bunglers” school. Reflecting modern scholarship on Britain’s involvement in the Great War, it is tailor made for use in a graduate seminar.

173. Buchan, John. A History of the Great War. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1922. 4 vols.

These volumes are chiefly of interest because they constitute one of the first serious efforts to cover the history of the war. However, they suffer from the serious defect of having been written before many essential sources were available to the author. The style is colorful, but the author’s interpretations are frequently neither fair nor balanced.

174. Cameron, James. 1914. New York: Rinehart, 1959. 278 pp.

The public mood in 1914 was almost carefree when compared to 1939. “Business as usual,” for example, continued in Great Britain. This British journalist succeeds very well in his depiction of the reaction of the French, Germans, and especially the British to the outbreak of general war.

175. Chickering, Roger, and Stig Förster, eds. Great War, Total War: Combat and Mobilization on the Western Front, 1914–1918. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. 521 pp.

This collection of 25 essays focuses on the western front from the perspective of society, command, and culture. An extensive bibliography provides an overview of recent scholarship.

176. Churchill, Winston S. The World Crisis, 1911–1918. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1927–1930. 4 vols.

Churchill begins his account with the 1911 Agadir Crisis and concludes with the collapse of Germany in 1918. This is very personal history because it was written by one of the leading participants in the war. The literary quality of this wide-ranging narrative is outstanding.

177. Clayton, Anthony. Paths of Glory: The French Army 1914–18. London: Cassell, 2003. 238 pp.

The French Army’s contributions to Germany’s defeat are well described by Clayton. This work has not been footnoted but a comprehensive annotated bibliography is provided. For a more impressive work of scholarship on French military operations, see Robert A. Doughty.

178. Coffman, Edward M., et al. Cantigny at Seventy-Five: A Professional Discussion. Chicago: Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation, 1994. 146 pp.

The interesting papers in this slim volume are a result of a symposium to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Cantigny. Topics range from an examination of Pershing’s key staff officers to the emergence of American armor.

179. Cruttwell, C. R. M. F. A History of the Great War 1914–1918. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1964. 655 pp.

Of considerable literary merit, this history of the war by an Oxford University historian is a classic. This broad and comprehensive survey treats diplomatic, political, and military aspects of the war. Because it was written for an English audience, the easterner-westerner strategical debate is given extensive coverage, as is the war in the outer theaters. First published in 1934, it remains one of the most readable accounts of the war.

180. De Groot, Gerard J. The First World War. Houndsmills, U.K., and New York: Palgrave, 2000. 225 pp.

This readable summary of the Great War is one of the volumes in a series on twentieth-century wars, edited by Jeremy Black.

181. Doughty, Robert A. Pyrrhic Victory: French Strategy and Operations in the Great War. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005. 578 pp.

This long-awaited study of the French Army during 1914–1918 does not disappoint. Years in the making, this volume fills a huge void in English-language literature on the Great War. This thoroughly researched and balanced account provides insight on Joffre’s leadership and many other topics.

182. Edmonds, Brig.-Gen. Sir James E. A Short History of World War I. New York: Oxford University Press, 1951. 454 pp.

Written by one of the leading authorities on the war, this volume concentrates on the western front and is full of the insight of a man who has seriously studied the war for more than 30 years. Edmonds, however, is often an apologist for the generals. An extreme westerner, he, like Terraine, argues that the war in the outer theaters had no military effect on the outcome of war other than to weaken the British effort in the “principal theatre” which was in France.

183. Esposito, Brig.-Gen. Vincent J., ed. A Concise History of World War I. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1964. 414 pp.

Esposito, with the assistance of eight other authorities, has compiled a valuable collection of essays on various aspects of the war, such as the “Comparative Strength of the Belligerents” and “The War at Sea.” There is an annotated bibliography, and the appendices include important statistical material. Ernest R. May and Cyril Falls are among the distinguished contributors.

184. Falls, Cyril. The Great War 1914–1918. New York: Capricorn Books, 1961. 447 pp.

Written by a decorated veteran and a member of the team of historians who wrote the British official history of the war, this volume remains one of the best general histories of the war. Captain Falls’ purpose is to demolish “a myth as preposterous as it is widely believed”: that the generals on both sides were generally incompetent, displaying little tactical or strategic brilliance. This book is exceptionally well written.

185. Ferguson, Niall. The Pity of War. New York: Basic Books, 1999. 563 pp.

Although frequently insightful on such subjects as war finance and why men fought, this book is really not a history of the war. Ferguson, an economist, adopts a counter-factual approach. This is interesting but not always helpful in shedding light on some of the great issues of the war. He has been much criticized for his view that Britain would have been better served by sitting out the conflict.

186. Ferro, Marc. The Great War 1914–1918. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1973. 239 pp.

This is the English translation of the 1969 French edition. It is a different history of World War I that focuses on economic, political, and social forces. One should look elsewhere for a treatment of military operations. There is a limited bibliography and no footnotes.

187. Fuller, J. F. C. The Conduct of War, 1789–1961: A Study of the Impact of the French, Industrial, and Russian Revolutions on War and Its Conduct. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1961. 352 pp.

This single-minded work by a British military historian and advocate of the tank offers insight into the conduct of total war during 1914–1918.

188. Gilbert, Martin. The First World War: A Complete History. New York: Henry Holt, 1994. 615 pp.

Gilbert includes personal accounts to enliven his narrative. Many maps and illustrations add to the worth of this broad-ranging account.

189. Halsey, Francis Whitling. The Literary Digest History of the World War. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1919–1920. 10 vols.

These volumes, which are based on American and foreign sources, are valuable for their contemporary treatment of the important events and personalities of the war. Vol. 4 discusses both the American decision for war and preparations for war. There are numerous maps and illustrations. Halsey died as he was finishing the tenth and final volume of this series.

190. Hardach, Gerd. The First World War, 1914–1918. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977. 328 pp.

This is the English translation of a pioneer economic survey of the war (“the ‘crisis’ of the capitalist world economy”) by a European Marxist. Not surprisingly, Hardach sees the war as an imperialistic conflict. It would seem that in his lights the most important and hopeful event of the war was the Bolshevik Revolution. This study is well documented, has an extensive bibliography, and provides numerous tables.

191. Hayes, Carlton J. H. Brief History of the Great War. New York: Macmillan, 19...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• I. Reference Works and Internet
• II. Manuscript Depositories and Libraries
• III. Origins and Outbreak of the War
• IV. Military Aspects of the War
• V. Home Front
• VI. Social and Cultural Impact of the War
• VII. Diplomacy of the War
• VIII. The Peace Settlement
• Journal Abbreviations
• Author Index
• Subject Index