The World Crisis, 1911-1918

Winston Churchill

Simon and Schuster, Oct 6, 2005 - History - 857 pages

As first lord of the admiralty and minister for war and air, Churchill stood resolute at the center of international affairs. In this classic account, he dramatically details how the tides of despair and triumph flowed and ebbed as the political and military leaders of the time navigated the dangerous currents of world conflict.

Churchill vividly recounts the major campaigns that shaped the war: the furious attacks of the Marne, the naval maneuvers off Jutland, Verdun's “soul-stirring frenzy,” and the surprising victory of Chemins des Dames. Here, too, he re-creates the dawn of modern warfare: the buzz of airplanes overhead, trench combat, artillery thunder, and the threat of chemical warfare. In Churchill's inimitable voice we hear how “the war to end all wars” instead gave birth to every war that would follow, including the current war in Iraq. Written with unprecedented flair and knowledge of the events, The World Crisis remains the single greatest history of World War I, essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the twentieth century.

Contents

• The Vials of Wrath: 3
• Milestones to Armageddon: 14
• The Crisis of Agadir: 26
• At the Admiralty: 48
• The North Sea Front: 71
• Ireland and the European Balance: 85
• The Crisis: 94
• The Mobilization of the Navy: 111
• The Passage of the Army: 123
• The Escape of the GOEBEN: 138
• The Invasion of France: 141
• The Marne: 152
• The MarneThe Turnabout: 158
• The War at Sea: 169
• Home Waters 19091: 174
• Antwerp and the Channel Ports: 188
• Lord Fisher: 211
• Coronel and the Falklands: 226
• The Bombardment of Scarborough and Hartlepool: 251
• Operations of December 16 1914 26869: 259
• Turkey and the Balkans: 273
• The Deadlock in the West: 291
• The Origin of Tanks and Smoke: 303
• The Choice: 317
• The Action of the Dogger Bank January 24: 330
• Second Thoughts and Final Decision: 347
• The Genesis of the Military Attack: 360
• Fall of the Outer Forts and the Second Greek Offer: 373
• The New Resolve: 383
• The Eighteenth of March: 394
• Admiral de Robecks Change of Plan: 405
• The First Defeat of the Uboats: 415
• The Increasing Tension: 425
• The Battle of the Beaches: 432
• Proposed Admiralty Order of March 23 4023: 438
• After the Landing: 444
• The Fall of the Government: 456
• The Darkening Scene: 474
• The Battle of Suvla Bay: 489
• The Ruin of the Balkans: 507
• The Abandonment of the Dardanelles: 525
• The Consequences of 1915: 535
• 19161918: 536
• The Blood Test: 549
• Falkenhayns Choice: 568
• Verdun: 580
• Verdun February 1916: 588
• the Preliminaries: 599
• The Battle of JutlandThe First Contact: 611
• Enemy Battleships in Sight: 617
• the Encounter: 619
• Deployment Diagrams: 624
• The Battle of the Somme: 652
• The Roumanian Disaster: 669
• The Intervention of the United States: 684
• General Nivelles Experiment: 698
• At the Ministry of Munitions: 720
• Britain Conquers the Uboats: 736
• The German Concentration in the West: 753
• The Twentyfirst of March: 763
• The Climax: 779
• The Surprise of the Chemin des Dames: 791
• The Turn of the Tide: 801
• The Teutonic Collapse: 815
• Victory: 823
• Appendix: 845
• Index: 849

Popular passages

Page 697 - But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts...‎

Page 684 - President be, and he is, hereby authorized and directed to employ the entire naval and military forces of the United...‎

Page 47 - Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee ; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face : so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee.‎

Page 697 - Even hospital ships and ships carrying relief to the sorely bereaved and stricken people of Belgium, though the latter were provided with safe conduct through the proscribed areas by the German Government itself and were distinguished by unmistakable marks of identity, have been sunk with the same reckless lack of compassion or of principle.‎

Page 697 - ... a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free.‎

Page 47 - Hear, O Israel : Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, a people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak...‎

Page 684 - That the state of war between the United States and the Imperial German Government which has thus been thrust upon the United States is hereby formally declared...‎

Page 29 - But if a situation were to be forced upon us in which peace could only be preserved by the surrender of the great and beneficent position Britain has won by centuries of heroism and achievement, by allowing Britain to be treated, where her interests were vitally affected, as if she were of no account in the Cabinet of nations, then I say emphatically that peace at that price would be a humiliation intolerable for a great country like ours to endure.‎

Page 306 - Forty or fifty of these engines, prepared secretly and brought into positions at nightfall, could advance quite certainly into the enemy's trenches, smashing away all the obstructions and sweeping the trenches with their machinegun fire, and with grenades thrown out of the top. They would then make so many points d'appui for the British supporting infantry to rush forward and rally on them. They can then move forward to attack the second line of trenches. ‎

Page 21 - that it is an essential principle of the law of nations that no power can liberate itself from the engagements of a treaty, nor modify the stipulations thereof, unless with the consent of the contracting powers, by means of an amicable arrangement.‎

About the author

Winston S. Churchill was prime minister of Great Britain from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The World Crisis, 1911-1918
• Author: Winston Churchill
• Edition: abridged, illustrated, reissue, revised
• Publisher: Simon and Schuster, 2005
• ISBN: 0743283430, 9780743283434
• Length: 857 pages
• Subjects: History / General; History / Military / General; History / Military / World War I