Unknown Warriors Michael Baker

The popular British view of the First World War is now very outdated. PROFESSOR HEATHER JONES explains how professional historians have transformed the landscape since the 1960s. What’s emerging, at the centenary, is a much more complex and diverse picture.

The popular British narrative depicts the war on the Western Front as wasteful and futile. PROFESSOR GARY SHEFFIELD shows such a view is misplaced: this war had to be fought and won. The Allies learned the hard way how to cope in unprecedented battle conditions, but ultimately overcame their mistakes to inflict a decisive defeat on the Germans.

Trans-national and comparative history has deepened our understanding of the First World War. DR JONATHAN BOFF looks at the Western Front from the German perspective, throwing new light on the major campaigns of this trench-bound struggle and on the final German collapse in 1918.

Before 1914 international rules were established to govern the conduct of warfare. DIANA PRESTON explains how all sides in the First World War rapidly overran key red lines as they sought to secure a military advantage. In the course of a mere six weeks in 1915, the world changed forever.

Shell shock was unknown before the First World War. TAYLOR DOWNING shows how it reached crisis levels at the battle of the Somme, drawing a brutal response from the British Army. The medical establishment were divided over how to deal with it and the military were terrified that it would undermine morale and effectiveness.

1.5 million Indians volunteered to fight for Britain during the First World War. As GEORGE MORTON JACK reveals, their story has too often been ignored or misunderstood. For Britain, the conflict was partly about defending its huge empire, and the Indians, colonial subjects vulnerable to growing nationalism at home, were critical to this struggle.