30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Real Gem of a Reference Tool, July 25, 2003
This review is from: The Routledge Atlas of the First World War (Routledge Historical Atlases) (Paperback)
The first edition of The Routledge Atlas of the First World War was published in 1970, and this new edition is extremely useful for readers interested in the conflict. Martin Gilbert has amassed something like 200 maps that cover various aspects of the First World. However, readers should realize that this is not a battle atlas that will depict every battle in great detail; rather, Gilbert's intent is to use maps to graphically portray many of the factors that shaped the war but that are often glossed over in textual accounts. While Gilbert does include maps of individual battles and campaigns, this atlas is designed to give the reader a fuller understanding of the political, military, economic and social factors that ultimately determined the outcome. Readers should also be advised that this atlas is heavily Anglo-centric, with only minimal coverage of the Eastern Front. The contributions of the French, Italians and Romanians are virtually absent from this volume. Despite this glaring bias, this atlas is still a useful reference tool (unless you are researching the French, Italian or Romanian armies).
The Routledge Atlas of the First World War consists of ten sections, five covering a single year of the war, one covering the prelude to war, one each on the war at sea and in the air, a section on the global war, and an aftermath. The section on prelude to war covers many well-known issues - such as the alliance system in Europe, the Berlin-Baghdad Railway, and ethnic politics in the Balkans - but it is nice to have all these put together in one graphic package. Oddly, there is no map detailing the various crises that preceded the war, such as the 1908 Bosnian Annexation Crisis.
The section on 1914 is good, covering the main campaigns on the East and Western Fronts, as well as naval actions overseas and the fate of the German colonies. Two significant omissions are the lack of a map of the Austrian invasion of Serbia or the French Plan XVII offensive that led to the Battle of the Frontiers. The section on 1915 is rather lame, with over-focus on British operations in Gallipoli and Mesopotamia, but only a handful of maps on the Eastern Front. Even the Western Front is down-played in the 1915 section, with no mention of the British Loos or Neuve Chapelle offensives, or any French operations. The 1916 section is also skimpy on non-British issues, with only one simple map of Verdun and no coverage of the Brusilov offensive.
The section on the air war is quite interesting, with maps depicting German zeppelin raids over England, London's air defenses, and British air raids on Germany. The section on the naval war has interesting maps of the British blockade, food riots in Germany, Allied merchant ship losses in the Mediterranean and in British waters, and American ship-building. The section on 1917 is better than the earlier sections on 1915-1916, with very nice maps of the underground mines at Messines Ridge, 3rd Ypres and several maps on the Eastern Front. The section on 1918 is also interesting, although the belated inclusion of a single map on the Italian Front is rather telling about the Anglo-centric nature of this volume. Certainly the most informative section of the Atlas is that covering the world at war, which has maps depicting the various war aims, India and the Commonwealth's contributions, British munitions production and British supplies to the Allies. The aftermath section is also useful for understanding the various treaties,
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
helpful and concise, November 24, 2009
I have been searching for an atlas that would cover the events of World War I. Most of the ones I was considering had very few maps, and mainly contained photographs, general text of the events, and small maps lacking in detail. Any atlas that was specifically created for maps was geared towards current poitical borders and lacking in historical data. I was delighted when I received this atlas from Amazon and saw that it was maps, maps, and more maps, each highlighted by specific World War I era historical information. I have studied about a dozen of the maps thus far, and have been very happy, apart from one detail. Queen Victoria is referred to as Kaiser Wilhelm's aunt, rather than his grandmother. It remains to be seen if there are other minor factual errors in the remainder of the book. Apart from that, it is a perfect tool to aid in the study of the era.
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