by Belloc · Cluster: History · Catholicism · Europe
Abstract
The opening volume of Belloc’s popular military history of the Great War, tracing the deep political causes (the German drive for supremacy, the Prussian ‘Frederician Tradition’, the Hapsburg position) and contrasting the opposed forces. It narrates the first operations of 1914 up to early September, using simplified maps and clear outlines rather than exhaustive detail.
Connections
Forms & Genres: History, Essay, Nonfiction Themes & Concepts: War and its Cost, Nationalism and Patriotism, Empire and Imperialism, Power and Corruption, Fanaticism Motifs: Battlefield (2), Flag, Swords and Weapons Historical References: First World War, Battle of the Marne, Frederick the Great, French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars the Navy Settings: France, Germany, Battlefield, Europe Characters: Kaiser Wilhelm II, Frederick the Great, Napoleon, Bismarck Archetypes: Tyrant Topoi: Life as a Battle, War as Glory