World War I charts the developments of the war from a global perspective. Using illustrated timelines, detailed maps, and personal accounts, readers will see the oft-studied war in a new light. Key episodes are set clearly in the wider context of the conflict, in-depth profiles look at the key generals and political leaders, and full-color photo galleries showcase the weapons, inventions, and new technologies that altered the course of history -- from Amazon.com.

At head of title: DK, Smithsonian. Includes index. Includes maps of: World, JUL 1914; European Alliances, 1878-1918; Schlieffen Plan; World, DEC 1914; Invasion of France; Battle of the Marne, 5-6 SEP 1914; Battle of the Marne, 7-8 SEP 1914; Battle of the Marne, 9-12 SEP 1914; Race to the Sea; Battle of Tannenberg, 17-23 AUG 1914; Battle of Tannenberg, 24-26 AUG 1914; Battle of Tannenberg, 27-31 AUG 1914; Ottoman Empire, 1914; War in Africa, 1914-1916; War in the Pacific; World in 1915; Western Front, 1915; Gallipoli Campaign; War in Egypt and Mesopotamia; Eastern Front, 1915; Serbian Campaign, 1915; World in 1916; German Offensives at Verdun; Brusilov Offensive; Battle of the Somme; Romanian Campaign; World in 1917; Western Front, JAN-MAY 1917; Third Ypres, 31 JUL 1917; Third Ypres, 20 SEP 1917; Caporetto Offensive; World, 11 NOV 1918; Russian Line 1917-1918; Spring Offensives; Allied Attacks, JUL-SEP 1918; World in 1919-1923.

The troubled continent, 1870-1914 : Europe's high noon -- Crises and conflicts -- Kaiser Wilhelm II -- Planning for war -- Evolving military technology -- Rifles -- Assassination at Sarajevo -- The slide to war -- Pulling together -- The declaration of war -- Not over by Christmas, 1914 : The invasion of Belgium -- The French offensive -- The British go into action -- Battle of Mons -- Artillery -- The great retreat -- The battle of the Marne -- Joseph Joffre -- The race to the sea -- Fighting to a standstill -- The Christmas truce -- The battle of Tannenberg -- Paul von Hindenburg -- Austro-Hungarian failures -- The battle for Poland -- Cavalry -- Turkey enters the war -- African diversions -- Confrontation at sea -- Warships at sea -- Coronel and the Falklands -- War in the East -- Stalemate, 1915 : Mobilizing resources -- Trench warfare -- Life in the trenches -- Failure on the western front -- Trench fighting equipment -- Second Ypres -- Chemical warfare -- Italy enters the war -- Anzac troops -- The Gallipoli campaign -- Battle of Lone Pine -- The Armenian massacre -- In service of the empire -- Colonial troops -- Disaster in Mesopotamia -- The battle at Dogger Bank -- The sinking of the Lusitania -- Wartime posters -- America and the European war -- The zeppelin raids -- Campaigns on the Eastern Front -- Animals at war -- Machine guns -- Serbia crushed -- The Artois-Loos offensive -- Reconnaissance and communication -- Year of battles, 1916 : Facing deadlock -- The German offensive at Verdun -- Verdun -- Philippe Pétain -- The French fight back at Verdun -- Fort Douaumont -- The Easter rising -- Intelligence and espionage -- Slav nationalism -- The battle of Jutland -- On board the SMS Derfflinger -- The Brusilov offensive -- Kitchener's armies -- Douglas Haig -- The Somme offensive -- The first day of the Somme -- Attrition on the Somme -- Medical treatment -- Dogfights and aces -- Dogfight -- Warplanes -- The Romanian campaign -- The Arab revolt -- The strains of war -- David Lloyd George -- Germany's new order -- Revolution and disillusion, 1917 : The Tsar overthrown -- America enters the war -- Woodrow Wilson -- Organizing America for war -- Peace initiatives and war aims -- The U-boat onslaught -- Eric Ludendorff -- The Nivelle offensive -- The battle of Arras -- Shell casings -- Canadians in the war -- The German bomber offensive -- The Kerensky offensive -- The revolutionary army -- Messines Ridge -- Third Ypres -- Passchendaele -- Italian disaster at Caporetto -- False dawn at Cambrai -- Tank warfare -- The Bolshevik revolution -- Guerilla war in east Africa -- Naval war in the Mediterranean -- From Gaza to Jerusalem -- Recording the war -- Victory and defeat, 1918 : Home fronts -- The German home front -- Trench warfare transformed -- Stormtrooper equipment -- German victory in the east -- The Michael offensive -- The opening of the Michael offensive -- The German search for victory -- The battle of Belleau Wood -- The second battle of the Marne -- Gas attack -- Ferdinand Foch -- The Zeebrugge raid -- Climax of the air war -- Aerial combat -- Manfred von Richthofen -- Allied intervention is Russia -- Writers at war -- Turning point at Amiens -- Taking the St : Mihiel salient -- The Meuse-Argonne offensive -- John Pershing -- Attacking the Hindenburg line -- St : Quentin Canal -- Turkey and Bulgaria defeated -- Italy victorious -- Mutiny and revolution -- The armistice -- Celebrations -- Aftermath, 1919-1923 : Devastated world -- The Paris peace conference -- Georges Clemenceau -- The Versailles Treaty -- Signing the Versailles Treaty -- Postwar conflicts -- Never again -- Monument to the fallen -- In memoriam.