I don't have a lot to say, but it would be a shame if we didn't acknowledge the 100 year anniversary of the end of WWI. It did so much to form the world we live in now and to change the way industrial powers establish their military.
WWI -- 100 Years later
- Thread starter Gameface
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That was awesome.
I am looking for audiobooks and podcasts all the time now. I will absolutely check this out. Thanks!
Stars Fan
Well-Known Member
Grandfather served in the American Expeditionary Force at Chateau Thierry during the Second Battle of the Marne, also known as the Battle for Belleau Wood. My Grandfather made it back, but many American's did not. This was the first battle with heavy American casualties. It signaled the determination of the AEF to be a major force in the fighting. It is also the battle commemorated by the ceremony that the U.S. President decided to skip.
The Thriller
Well-Known Member
I'm really interested in everyone's favorite books and podcasts on this subject. In so many ways WWI is still so relevant today. From the rise of nationalism to how East Europe and the Middle East were created out of the fallen empires.
Some of my favorite books/audiobooks on this subject. I list these for those interested in reading. Most of the books can be read without too much background knowledge and without days locked up in a library reading. I hope you enjoy them and I hope to learn your own book/podcast suggestions. I learn a lot from ya'll. Here's my list:
#1 The War that Ended Peace: Best setup I've ever read on WWI. Gives deep background information and isn't too academic. Kaiser Wilhelm had many things in common with Trump. Moody, narcissistic, thought he knew everything, etc.
#2 A World Undone: highly recommend as an audiobook since it's long. It gives an exhaustive account on the military and political issues of the time. Definitely gives a ton of details from the German front.
#3 Lenin: it focuses on Lenin but the final 1/3rd of the book is awesome WWI stuff. Awesome perspective from the Russian side.
#4 Nicholas and Alexandra: focuses on the last tsar but at least half the book is tied to WWI and the downfall of the Romanovs.
#5 Lawrence of Arabia: recommend as an audiobook since it's long. Fantastic as far as telling WWI from the Middle-East side. A side that is almost never told since everyone focuses on the western-front.
#6 All is Quiet on the Western Front: Historical fiction but written by a German WWI vet. Should be read by all politicians contemplating war.
#7 Hero of the Empire: A book about Winston Churchill and the Boer War fought between 1899-1902. This book really emphasizes the lethality of modern-day weapons. It gives Europeans the false sense that an industrialized war would be quick and decisive. Instead, WWI proves that Germans with artillery and machine guns can be just as lethal as their French and British counterparts. Not only that, but an industrialized war can be sustained over a long period of time due to the increased ability to manufacture war material. But, once a country reaches an exhaustive point, that country is SCREWED (Like Germany and Russia).
Finally, the BBC World Service had a FANTASTIC one hour episode about WWI. They had interviews from vets on all sides and told about the war from the African perspectives. Again, few books or movies show that Africans and Indians fought with the British against the triple alliance.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p016tmg1/episodes/player
In many ways I find WWI to be more interesting than WWII. I know that WWII gets a lot more attention due to America's increased involvement, the Holocaust, the death, technology, etc. But WWI in many ways is more transformative. The death of monarchies and empires. The independence of African states, Baltic and Balkan states rising, and the making of the modern-day Middle East.
I'll admit, I've never read "The Guns of August" which is one of the most famous books on WWI. I have it I just haven't had time. It was read at the time by JFK prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Apparently it gave him pause and helped him to think long and hard about quick and thoughtless decisions made by countries that could have major long-term impacts. Thank goodness he thought long and hard about that in the fall of 1962 otherwise western civilization might be far different today.
Some of my favorite books/audiobooks on this subject. I list these for those interested in reading. Most of the books can be read without too much background knowledge and without days locked up in a library reading. I hope you enjoy them and I hope to learn your own book/podcast suggestions. I learn a lot from ya'll. Here's my list:
#1 The War that Ended Peace: Best setup I've ever read on WWI. Gives deep background information and isn't too academic. Kaiser Wilhelm had many things in common with Trump. Moody, narcissistic, thought he knew everything, etc.
#2 A World Undone: highly recommend as an audiobook since it's long. It gives an exhaustive account on the military and political issues of the time. Definitely gives a ton of details from the German front.
#3 Lenin: it focuses on Lenin but the final 1/3rd of the book is awesome WWI stuff. Awesome perspective from the Russian side.
#4 Nicholas and Alexandra: focuses on the last tsar but at least half the book is tied to WWI and the downfall of the Romanovs.
#5 Lawrence of Arabia: recommend as an audiobook since it's long. Fantastic as far as telling WWI from the Middle-East side. A side that is almost never told since everyone focuses on the western-front.
#6 All is Quiet on the Western Front: Historical fiction but written by a German WWI vet. Should be read by all politicians contemplating war.
#7 Hero of the Empire: A book about Winston Churchill and the Boer War fought between 1899-1902. This book really emphasizes the lethality of modern-day weapons. It gives Europeans the false sense that an industrialized war would be quick and decisive. Instead, WWI proves that Germans with artillery and machine guns can be just as lethal as their French and British counterparts. Not only that, but an industrialized war can be sustained over a long period of time due to the increased ability to manufacture war material. But, once a country reaches an exhaustive point, that country is SCREWED (Like Germany and Russia).
Finally, the BBC World Service had a FANTASTIC one hour episode about WWI. They had interviews from vets on all sides and told about the war from the African perspectives. Again, few books or movies show that Africans and Indians fought with the British against the triple alliance.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p016tmg1/episodes/player
In many ways I find WWI to be more interesting than WWII. I know that WWII gets a lot more attention due to America's increased involvement, the Holocaust, the death, technology, etc. But WWI in many ways is more transformative. The death of monarchies and empires. The independence of African states, Baltic and Balkan states rising, and the making of the modern-day Middle East.
I'll admit, I've never read "The Guns of August" which is one of the most famous books on WWI. I have it I just haven't had time. It was read at the time by JFK prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Apparently it gave him pause and helped him to think long and hard about quick and thoughtless decisions made by countries that could have major long-term impacts. Thank goodness he thought long and hard about that in the fall of 1962 otherwise western civilization might be far different today.
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The Thriller
Well-Known Member
Interesting.
My great grandfather served as a "doughboy" but died long before I could ever ask him about where he fought. After the war he settled down in the Napa Valley. He didn't own a vineyard but made a good living building ships that would later serve in WWII at the Mare Island Navy Port in Vallejo, California.
In his lifetime he saw Teddy Roosevelt, saw the invention of the automobile and airplane, read/heard about the Titanic, of the fought in WWI, saw the building of the Golden Gate Bridge, served by building ships during WWII... Just an incredible time to be alive.
The late 19th and early 20th century is just so fascinating to me.
If we could go back just 101 years we'd see real kings/queens (not the constitutional monarchs we see in the UK today) in Europe, a real question as to how much democracy should be permitted (women let alone blacks didn't have a right to vote), and the maps of Europe, Africa, and Asia were so much different than today. It's almost as if 1918 marked the end of monarchs and empires. The end of the last 300 years.
Just so interesting.
The Thriller
Well-Known Member
This picture is crazy in that many of the countries going to war were led by monarchs who were related to each other. England, Germany, and Russia in particular.
This is a cool website:
https://www.theatlantic.com/projects/world-war-i-in-photos/
I've actually been listening to that for about the last 6 weeks. It's fantastic.
That looks really cool.
Red
Well-Known Member
My grandfather on my mother's side was a crewman on the USS Georgia, part of a fleet of battleships that Teddy Roosevelt sent on a round the world voyage from 1907-1909. They were all painted white, hence they were known as the Great White Fleet. It was Teddy Roosevelt's way of demonstrating "walk softly and carry a big stick", and "gunboat diplomacy". The crew of the USS Georgia was allowed to visit the Sphinx and pyramids when the fleet was in Egypt, and my grandfather and his crew mates can be seen in my avatar, which is a colorized postcard made from a black and white photo. I have a copy of that original photo, which my grandmother gave to me.
@The Thriller, I believe your first photo in comment #10 in this thread was taken at the time of the Great White Fleet's stopover in Egypt. I believe only the crew of the USS Georgia was granted leave to visit the Giza Plateau. I have a closeup photo of my grandfather on camel back similar to the one you show there. Edit: I may be mistaken in that your photo in question may actually be from WWI. Those do not look like Navy men in that photo.
Voyage of the Great White Fleet:
https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/exploration-and-innovation/world-cruise.html
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