First World War

Hundredth anniversary of Jutland

Turgon on May 29, 2016, 12:07 am

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Today is the one hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Jutland. This was one of the largest naval battles ever fought and although a confused and indecisive battle of itself in some ways marked a major turning point in the First World War. In essence it was a tactical victory for the Germans against the deeply intellectual, apparently very caring to his men, but cautions British admiral John Jellicoe: a tactical victory snatched from what could have been the jaws …

Learning from history: “there was a chance to work things out in a different direction and it wasn’t taken…”

Mick Fealty on February 12, 2014, 10:18 am

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Michael Portillo’s two part radio work on the first world war is well worth grabbing for a listen. Part two is fascinating not least because it looks at the effects of interwar propaganda the widespread acceptance of the idea that the second great war was a general rather than a particular failing: a view brought under particular stress by source material which formed the basis of Griff nach der Weltmacht (Germany’s Aims in the First World War), published by the German …

A rolling First World War reviews thread.

John Ó Néill on November 11, 2012, 11:11 am

| Readers 59

Given the day that is in it, and since there are only whatever number of shopping days until Christmas, this post is a rolling review of First World War literature, in its broadest sense to include personal accounts, historical fiction (and everything in between), histories, cinema, documentary, drama, theatre and the endless poetry. Next year, with the centenary of the outbreak of war looming, there will probably be a glut of reflections and new readings of the war, it’s course …