Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War I

Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War I by Watson, Alexander. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780465018727.

A prize-winning, magisterial history of World War I from the perspective of the defeated Central Powers For the Central Powers, the First World War started with high hopes for an easy victory. But those hopes soon deteriorated as Germanys attack on France failed, Austria-Hungarys armies suffered catastrophic losses, and Britains ruthless blockade brought both nations to the brink of starvation. The Central powers were trapped in the Allies ever-tightening Ring of Steel. In this compelling history, Alexander Watson retells the war from the perspective of its losers: not just the leaders in Berlin and Vienna, but the people of Central Europe. The war shattered their societies, destroyed their states, and imparted a poisonous legacy of bitterness and violence. A major reevaluation of the First World War, Ring of Steel is essential for anyone seeking to understand the last century of European history.