The Guns of August Summary
The Guns of August depicts the reasons why World War I occurred and scenes from the first month of the war. The story is set throughout Europe mainly in France and other countries bordering Germany. The lives of many soldiers and families were instantly changed by the occurrence of World War I and throughout the first month.
The story begins in May 1910 at the funeral of Edward VII, the funeral draws together ten other kings from different nations with on being Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. Throughout the funeral there was talk of diplomacy and how the nations must try to get past their different ideologies and work together for the sake of their people. Following the funeral the kings return home to their respective nations. Tensions begin to heighten between countries and countries begin to prepare themselves for war. The Germans create the Shlieffen plan while France begins to form an alliance with Britain because the French understand that they aren’t strong enough to fight a war alone. The French also develop offensive Plan XVII. Russia is also planning how it will handle war if war does breakout across the continent and begins to spread toward Russia. Throughout this period there is a sense of unrest and war seems to be coming closer as each day passes by.
Finally the fire is lit for World War I to begin when Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the soon to be King of Austria-Hungary, is killed. Soon most European nations are preparing for the now quickly arriving war. The alliance between France and Great Britain is revealed as well as the alliance between Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. Later discovered to the dismay of the Germans is that Russia is allied with France and Great Britain. The war would officially begin in August 1914 with many countries still confused about if their allies would support them throughout the war effort or even join the war. Four days after the war started Germany had already taken complete control of Belgium and were planning an attack on France this would be the tipping point that would get Great Britain to officially join the war and support France.
The war is quickly in full force and new battle tactics and technologies are being used for the first time such as trench warfare, machine guns, and mustard gas. Battles are fought by the Germans on two fronts the Western Front and the Eastern Front. The majority of the war is fought along the Western Front which is mainly on French soil leaving a lot of the land a war destroyed mess. Battles were not only waged on land but were also fought at sea. The British had an outstanding navy which gave them an advantage against the subpar and unprepared at times German navy. Many battles were fought in the first month of the war which ultimately contributed to Germany’s inability to supply its troops which would be a leading factor in why Germany was defeated.
The book in the last chapters depicts how French and British soldiers fought off an invasion of Paris by managing to flank the German attack force. The French and British were quick to launch a counter-attack to drive back the Germans but in doing so both sides suffered a great deal of causalities. The book ends in the days leading up to the First Battle of Marne.
The story begins in May 1910 at the funeral of Edward VII, the funeral draws together ten other kings from different nations with on being Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. Throughout the funeral there was talk of diplomacy and how the nations must try to get past their different ideologies and work together for the sake of their people. Following the funeral the kings return home to their respective nations. Tensions begin to heighten between countries and countries begin to prepare themselves for war. The Germans create the Shlieffen plan while France begins to form an alliance with Britain because the French understand that they aren’t strong enough to fight a war alone. The French also develop offensive Plan XVII. Russia is also planning how it will handle war if war does breakout across the continent and begins to spread toward Russia. Throughout this period there is a sense of unrest and war seems to be coming closer as each day passes by.
Finally the fire is lit for World War I to begin when Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the soon to be King of Austria-Hungary, is killed. Soon most European nations are preparing for the now quickly arriving war. The alliance between France and Great Britain is revealed as well as the alliance between Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. Later discovered to the dismay of the Germans is that Russia is allied with France and Great Britain. The war would officially begin in August 1914 with many countries still confused about if their allies would support them throughout the war effort or even join the war. Four days after the war started Germany had already taken complete control of Belgium and were planning an attack on France this would be the tipping point that would get Great Britain to officially join the war and support France.
The war is quickly in full force and new battle tactics and technologies are being used for the first time such as trench warfare, machine guns, and mustard gas. Battles are fought by the Germans on two fronts the Western Front and the Eastern Front. The majority of the war is fought along the Western Front which is mainly on French soil leaving a lot of the land a war destroyed mess. Battles were not only waged on land but were also fought at sea. The British had an outstanding navy which gave them an advantage against the subpar and unprepared at times German navy. Many battles were fought in the first month of the war which ultimately contributed to Germany’s inability to supply its troops which would be a leading factor in why Germany was defeated.
The book in the last chapters depicts how French and British soldiers fought off an invasion of Paris by managing to flank the German attack force. The French and British were quick to launch a counter-attack to drive back the Germans but in doing so both sides suffered a great deal of causalities. The book ends in the days leading up to the First Battle of Marne.