July Crisis
The World's Descent into War, Summer 1914

A definitive new account of the catalytic events of July 1914 that led to the outbreak of the First World War.

T. G. Otte (Author)

9781107695276, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 7 May 2015

558 pages, 32 b/w illus. 2 maps
22.7 x 15.4 x 2.5 cm, 0.91 kg

'Impeccable and meticulous research, a capacity to pose searching questions, and admirably clear prose.' The Times Literary Supplement

This is a magisterial new account of Europe's tragic descent into a largely inadvertent war in the summer of 1914. Thomas Otte reveals why a century-old system of Great Power politics collapsed so disastrously in the weeks from the 'shot heard around the world' on June 28th to Germany's declaration of war on Russia on August 1st. He shows definitively that the key to understanding how and why Europe descended into world war is to be found in the near-collective failure of statecraft by the rulers of Europe and not in abstract concepts such as the 'balance of power' or the 'alliance system'. In this unprecedented panorama of Europe on the brink, from the ministerial palaces of Berlin and Vienna to Belgrade, London, Paris and St Petersburg, Thomas Otte reveals the hawks and doves whose decision-making led to a war that would define a century and which still reverberates today.

Introduction
1. Prelude: the road to Sarajevo
2. Sarajevo and its echoes: 28 June to 5 July
3. The triumph of tactics over strategy: 6 to 21 July
4. Localizing the crisis: 19 to 23 July
5. The ultimatum: 23 to 26 July
6. Localizing the war: 26 to 28 July
7. Escalation: 29 July to 4 August
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Diplomacy [JPSD], International relations [JPS], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]