In these pages participants on both sides, from enlisted men to generals and prime ministers to monarchs, vividly recount the battles, sensational events, and behind-the-scenes strategies that shaped the climactic, terrifying year. It's all here—the horrific futility of going over the top into a hail of bullets in no man's land; the enigmatic death of the legendary German ace, the Red Baron; Operation Michael, a punishing German attack in the spring; the Americans' long-awaited arrival in June; the murder of Russian Czar Nicholas II and his family, the growing fear of a communist menace in the east; and the armistice on November 11. The different points of view of Germans, Americans, British, French, and Russians add depth, complexity, and understanding to the tragedies and triumphs of the War to End All Wars.
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Book Description
From freezing infantrymen huddled in bloodied trenches on the front lines to intricate political maneuvering and tense strategy sessions in European capitals, noted historian John Toland tells of the unforgettable final year of the First World War. As 1918 opened, the Allies and Central Powers remained locked in a desperate, bloody stalemate, despite the deaths of millions of soldiers over the previous three and a half years. The arrival of the Americans "over there" by the middle of the year turned the tide of war, resulting in an Allied victory in November.
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About the Author
John Toland is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. His works include Adolf Hitler, The Rising Sun, and Battle: The Story of the Bulge, available in a Bison Books edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent for history buffs or casual readers,
By A Customer
This review is from: No Man's Land (Mass Market Paperback)
Toland provides an outstanding look at the politics, tactics, strategy, and personalities of the last year of WWI. He also provides good "background material" on the earlier years of the war without bogging the reader down with too much detail. The book almost reads like a novel - highly engrossing.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Engrossing Narrative of a Tragic Conflict,
By K.A.Goldberg (Chicago) - See all my reviews
This review is from: No Man's Land: 1918, The Last Year of the Great War (World War I) (Paperback)
This gripping account of the last year of the First World War is well worth reading. Author John Toland focuses on the Western Front and describes tactics, strategies, politics, economics and personalities. Readers see how in March of 1918 a weary but still-powerful German army, fortified with fresh divisions from Russia, broke through the lines of the exhausted French and British. The Germans sensed victory, but they were stopped cold in July by a combination of British and French grit, plus fresh divisions newly arrived from the USA. As the author shows, the tide soon turned, the Allies surged ahead, and by November of 1918 the war ended with the Armistice. Readers get a feel for trench warfare in all its mud, blood, and horrors. We see how German civilians were short of food due to the British blockade, and how British tanks began to make a difference - a fact the Germans remembered two decades later. The author also describes the war's politics, and we see that U.S. President Woodrow Wilson proved an effective wartime leader despite his semi-pacifism. John Toland (1912-2004) was a popular non-academic historian who wrote superbly readable history. Readers of this gripping narrative might also consider THE LAST 100 DAYS, THE RISING SUN, HITLER: A BIOGRAPHY, and several other stellar efforts by this very capable author.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From the trenches to the drawing rooms,
By tgfabthunderbird (York, PA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: No Man's Land: 1918, The Last Year of the Great War (World War I) (Paperback)
...the final year of the Great War is told through the eyes of those who were there; top brass, officers and men in the trenches. Beginning with the last great offensive by the Germans through to the armistice, Toland tells the story in great detail. Never boring, however--the horror and futility of war is there, but it's not written in a fingerpointing style. The reader can make his or her choice.
The Americans are shown in a good light, as they took to the battlefield with great ardor, but with the knowledge this was to be no walk in the fields. In fact, the players on both sides are examined honestly. Political considerations are also examined, including the collapse of Russia and the rise of Lenin and Bolshevism. The turmoil within the German royal family is highlighted, and the situation at home is shown to be dire in the final weeks leading up to November 11th. A heady, solid work; a must-read for students of history or anyone who has more than passing interest.
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