Framing the First World War - (Modern War Studies) by Michael P M Fox & Aimée Fox & David G Morgan-Owen (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

This innovative approach to the history of World War I looks at ways in which military actors saw and perceived war, and how that exerted a significant influence over the decisions they made and the actions they took.

The character of the conflict that erupted in 1914 defied the expectations of many political leaders and military analysts. Despite the mountains of books and articles published on World War I, there has been surprisingly little systematic or comparative research on how military commanders and politicians framed and interpreted the conflict--or, indeed, on how they understood war itself--and how that understanding shaped their decision-making.

Wars are fought by organizations and people who have disparate visions of the world they live in and the conflict they are fighting. In Framing the First World War, a team of leading scholars explore the gulf between imagined warfare and the realities of battle. By doing so, they investigate how the military forces that contested the First World War framed the conflict they were involved in and how those perspectives shaped and influenced the ways in which they sought to understand, conduct, and respond to the war. They use the notion of "frames" and the concept of "framing" to enable us to engage directly with the complexity and diversity of the conflict, which was fought for different reasons and in different ways, incorporating a range of issues with implications for the conduct of the war.

Improving our appreciation of how commanders saw the world around them and their views on the war they were conducting opens up valuable new approaches for understanding debates over the higher direction of the conflict and the civil-military relations that underpinned them. The contributors to Framing the First World War work towards a fuller historical appraisal of how military figures understood the war, moving beyond a purely military analysis to incorporate broader cultural and social topics, including education, medicine, politics, and law.

Review Quotes

"A brilliant intervention which makes compelling claims about new First World War military history. Showcasing the latest historical findings in exciting and thought-provoking ways, this is a must-read on a conflict that remains formative for understanding our modern world."--Heather Jones, author of For King and Country: The British Monarchy and the First World War

"This exquisite collection of essays, from three of the most talented military historians in the field, shows how rich and original the study of the First World War still can be. Its twelve beautifully curated 'frames' deepen immeasurably our understanding of politics, international order, social relations, military learning, and strategy before the war, during the war, and after the war. They also give a glimpse of what is possible for study of war in general."--Douglas E. Delaney, author of The Imperial Army Project: Britain and the Land Forces of the Dominions and India, 1902-1945

"Framing the First World War provides a truly global scope as well as social and cultural perspectives. The editors have assembled an outstanding team of scholars who shed light on the war's impact beyond the Western Front, offering valuable insights into the experiences of colonial and non-European participants."—lMichael S. Neiberg, author of When France Fell: The Vichy Crisis and the Fate of the Anglo-American Alliance

"This volume offers valuable insights into how the First World War's participants 'framed' the conflict in which they were embroiled. Embracing a global perspective that incorporates diverse subfields and methodologies, the editors set a new standard for comparative studies of how militaries learned from their allies and were influenced by developments across multiple theatres of war. One would be hard pressed to find a more talented group of scholars represented in a single volume."--Brian Feltman, author of The Stigma of Surrender: German Prisoners, British Captors, and Manhood in the Great War and Beyond

"Framing the First World War lays out a range of deeply useful insights shaped by a compelling investigative lens to help us comprehend one of the bloodiest and certainly the most important conflict of the modern era, a war that remains less than perfectly understood. This is a critically valuable work for scholars and students alike."--David Silbey, editor of Wars Civil and Great: The American Experience in the Civil War and World War