The magnitude and horror of the First World War becomes increasingly hard to comprehend, it shaped the world we inhabit. It pitted the mightiest imperial powers against one another in a four-year-long struggle and left the map of Europe redrawn. Over 15 million lives were lost, the number of wounded dwarfing even that figure. Nor were the risks borne solely by those in uniform, for this was a total war where civilians also perished. Few families were left untouched. The Great War: Unseen Archives provides a comprehensive narrative and pictorial guide to the conflict that was meant to be the war to end all wars. The important battles, strategic decisions and turning points are described in detail, while contemporary maps show the terrain fought over inch by inch; the same maps pored over by a concerned public wondering how their loved ones were faring. Over 1,000 photographs tell their own graphic story of how the Great War played out in all its theatres, and a day-by-day chronology provides an instant reference point for assessing the course of the conflict through its key events.
There are also over 500 contemporaneous newspaper articles showing how matters at the front were reported for home consumption.