The First World War was the true turning point of the 20th century. It brought down dynasties and empires, including the Ottoman. It changed the United States from a bumptious provincial nation into a world power. It made World War II inevitable, and the Cold War as well. Above all, the Great War was history's first total war, an armed conflict on a world stage between industrialized powers. Robert Cowley has brought together the 30 articles in this book to examine the war in all its diverse aspects. A number of the subjects covered are not just unfamiliar, but totally fresh. Who originated the term 'no-man's-land' and the word 'tank'? What forgotten battles nearly destroyed the French Army in 1915? How did the discovery of a German naval codebook bring the United States into the war? What was the weapon that, for the first time, put a man-made object into the stratosphere? The Great War takes a hard look at the legend of the 'Massacre of the Innocents' at Ypres in 1914 - an event that became a cornerstone of Nazi mythology. It describes the Gallipoli campaign as it has never been described before - from the Turkish side. Here too are the horrors of naval warfare, as both British