Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Military decision-making in Wilhelmine Germany; 2. Alfred von Schlieffen and Helmuth von Moltke: 'military genius' and 'reluctant military leader'; 3. From crisis to crisis: the international background to military planning in the pre-war years; 4. The July crisis and the outbreak of war: the German perspective; 5. The General Staff at war; Conclusion.

Promotional Information

A study of the influence of German Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke, 1906–1914.

Reviews

' ... a very significant contribution to the scholarship on both Wilhelmine Germany and the military pre-history of the Great War ... clearly the definitive statement on the role and career of the younger Moltke as Chief of the Great General Staff. I suspect that it will remain as such for a long time to come.' Dr Matthew S. Seligmann, Reviews in History '... as a study of power and the manipulation of government it is unsurpassed.' Open History ' ... this tightly argued and widely researched study ... This is revisionist history at its best.' Contemporary Review 'The book is essential reading for students of Modern Europe, Germany, and the First World War because it moves the debate on the origins of the war to a new plane - from national to individual responsibility, with Moltke.' German Studies Review 'Anyone interested in the history of the first world war will find this scrupulously researched book of absorbing interest ...' The Spectator ' This important and scholarly work ... offers a major contribution to scholarship on the origins and early stages of the First world War ... Mombauer's work will play a major role in future discussion of the period.' History 'Historian Annika Mombauer has produced an excellent book ... every serious historian of the Wilhelmine period will want a copy of this book.' Journal of Military History