Winner of the Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize in Military History Winner of the Wolfson History Prize The Society of Military History 2015 Distinguished Book Award Recipient British Army Military Book of the Year "In a year crowded with histories of World War I, Alexander Watson's Ring of Steel makes a truly indispensable contribution in allowing us to see from the inside out this disastrous alliance between Austria and imperial Germany.... It is a mark of talent in a historian to take familiar narratives and open them to new interpretation. Mr. Watson's book is a brilliant demonstration of this skill."― Wall Street Journal Ring of Steel is perhaps the most important of the current crop of [WWI] books -- and certainly one of the best."― Guardian (UK) "This book, at times gripping, at other times poignant, and always revealing, marks a valuable contribution to [the] debate on the war's place in twentieth-century history."― Financial Times "Remarkable...the first comprehensive history of the war written from the perspective of the Central Powers."― Los Angeles Review of Books "A fresh approach in analyzing the conflict.... Watson's main concern here is to try and figure out why the loss of the war for the central powers created the unstable states that emerged in the aftermath of the conflict. He finishes off the task he has set himself here with considerable precision and skill."― Daily Beast "British historians have tended to view the Great War predominantly from the side of the Allies. Watson has done our understanding an inestimable service by examining these familiar events from the perspective of the Central Powers."― Telegraph (UK) "In a year dominated by memories of the First World War, this supremely accomplished book stands out. Not only does it look at the conflict from the perspective of the losing Central Powers, imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary, but it brings together political, military, economic and cultural history in an enormously impressive narrative."― Sunday Times (UK) History Book of the Year "Watson has contributed a definitive resource to the literature on the strategic enigma being debated during the centennial of WW I."― Choice "Illuminating...an outstanding book that has been scrupulously researched. I highly recommend this book to students of World War I and indeed anyone who wants to see how the Central Powers dealt with the stresses of war on the homefront. They will not find a better, fairer history because it has not yet been written."― Battles and Book Reviews Alexander Watson is professor of history at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is the author of Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War I , which won the Wolfson History Prize and the Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize in Military History, and Enduring the Great War , winner of the Fraenkel Prize.
Features & Highlights
A prize-winning, magisterial history of World War I from the perspective of the defeated Central Powers
For the Central Powers, the First World War started with high hopes for an easy victory. But those hopes soon deteriorated as Germany's attack on France failed, Austria-Hungary's armies suffered catastrophic losses, and Britain's ruthless blockade brought both nations to the brink of starvation. The Central powers were trapped in the Allies' ever-tightening Ring of Steel.In this compelling history, Alexander Watson retells the war from the perspective of its losers: not just the leaders in Berlin and Vienna, but the people of Central Europe. The war shattered their societies, destroyed their states, and imparted a poisonous legacy of bitterness and violence. A major reevaluation of the First World War,
Ring of Steel
is essential for anyone seeking to understand the last century of European history.
Customer Reviews
Rating Breakdown
★★★★★
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Most Helpful Reviews
★★★★★
3.0
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Still a British View of WW I
this isn't an awful read.It is a disappointment to me though. I read the write ups and was intrigued by the thought of a look at WW I through the eyes of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Unfortunately the author is a British historian.He does try to make as though he is giving the Central Powers point of view, but it falls flat . His viewpoint is exactly what it is in fact is: a British look at an enemies viewpoint. To get a real view of the outlook and feel of the people of the Central Powers you really need to be a child of the nations involved. How valid would a commentary on British hopes and cares by a former Nazi historian be? I did not pick up any empathy in the authors writing.It always felt as though I was reading about the war from the viewpoint of the winners. He gives lip service to the illegality of the blockade but pooh-poohs it as not really as catastrophic as Germany portrayed it, nor as illegal is it actually was. He mentions the German view that America's "neutrality" was not by any definition in fact neutral, but again, just in passing. It is almost as if he brings up any view of either Austria-Hungary or Imperial Germany simply to pick them apart.
I do give it three stars because it is a relatively competent history of WW I. It has whet my appetite to read a history of "The Great War" written by a good German or Austrian historian.
5 people found this helpful
★★★★★
5.0
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Likely best WWI book I ever read
Ring of Steel by Alexander Watson is a very informative read about the losing side of the First World War, namely the Empires of Germany and Austria-Hungary. As the saying goes, it is the winners who write history books and not much has been published about the perspectives from the Central Powers during WWI.
There is a great amount of detail about various perspectives of the war as experienced by both soldiers and civilians of both empires. On both sides, there were immense food shortages. Substitutes for foods had to be found and starvation and malnutrition were rampant. As for national unity, the two empires had vastly different experiences. Wilhelmine Germany was more united, being a relatively homogeneous population. Austria-Hungary, however, was a mix of many different nationalities including Germans, Hungarians, Croats, Bosnians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Jews, Ukrainians, and several more. The many groups had different interests and there were also conflicts between them over land and independence.
As for military performance, the German forces were successful, both on the Eastern and Western fronts and might have even won this war if the US hadn't intervened at the end in Great Britain's favor. However, being poorly led and equipped, the Hapsburg forces were a disaster. I was surprised to learn that the German military leadership invested much into its U-Boat campaign to sink shipping intended for the Entente Powers and, thereby, forcing them, the UK in particular, to their knees. However, this tactic did more harm than good. It did NOT force the British to submit and, furthermore, brought the Americans into the war.
Both during and after the war, there were mass population movements and land divides partially as a result of treaties. This set the stage for mass murderous campaigns by both Nazi Germany and Stalinist Soviet Union decades later. World War I created World War II and the atrocities associated with it.
To conclude, Ring of Steel is a long read but is very interesting for those interested in World War I. It kept me interested the entire time and enlightened me in more ways than one. I recommend this book.
3 people found this helpful
★★★★★
5.0
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Accidental War by Committee
This review is to counter those 1 and 2 star reviews blaming gGermany for starting WW1
The actual guilty parties are Serbia, France and Russia. Serbia for seeking chaos and committing terrorist acts inside Austria to fulfill dreams of greater Serbia. France for selling weapons to Serbia and preferring war now with Russia as an ally....and for refusing to allow Austria to act as a Great Power. Believe me, if Serbs had shot the President of France...France would have acted. And Russia, for supporting Serbia and dreaming of undoing the Crimean War, unblocking its Black Sea fleet and getting controls of the straits.
That 21st century Iran nuclear treaty with reasonable insistence on onsite inspectors? Or the Iraq treaty that wanted inspection of chemical weapon sites? In 1914 those would have caused wars. In 1914...the powers of Europe denied Austria even the right to oversee the Serbian investigation into the murder of the Archduke. That was an affront to Serbian sovereignty they said...no state would submit. Better to have war.
And Germany...that alleged military bully...had STOOD DOWN at least 4 times previously...twice over France breaking treaties and taking military control over independent Morocco. France and Great Britain were hypocrites.
The book is wonderful...it shows the Central Power perspective.
1 people found this helpful
★★★★★
5.0
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Accidental War by Committee
This review is to counter those 1 and 2 star reviews blaming gGermany for starting WW1
The actual guilty parties are Serbia, France and Russia. Serbia for seeking chaos and committing terrorist acts inside Austria to fulfill dreams of greater Serbia. France for selling weapons to Serbia and preferring war now with Russia as an ally....and for refusing to allow Austria to act as a Great Power. Believe me, if Serbs had shot the President of France...France would have acted. And Russia, for supporting Serbia and dreaming of undoing the Crimean War, unblocking its Black Sea fleet and getting controls of the straits.
That 21st century Iran nuclear treaty with reasonable insistence on onsite inspectors? Or the Iraq treaty that wanted inspection of chemical weapon sites? In 1914 those would have caused wars. In 1914...the powers of Europe denied Austria even the right to oversee the Serbian investigation into the murder of the Archduke. That was an affront to Serbian sovereignty they said...no state would submit. Better to have war.
And Germany...that alleged military bully...had STOOD DOWN at least 4 times previously...twice over France breaking treaties and taking military control over independent Morocco. France and Great Britain were hypocrites.
The book is wonderful...it shows the Central Power perspective.
1 people found this helpful
★★★★★
5.0
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Excellent
Excellent book on the what was going on internally in the German, Austrian Hungarian empires that led to WW1, it explains in detail the socio political thinking and results of their actions. It also goes on to explain the Balkans in detail. The Soviet front is also addressed. It’s a big book but well written and not some boring read. This is not the normal angle covered by most books covering WW1. I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking to understand the mindset behind this horrific chapter in history and the long reaching problems that still effects the region today.
1 people found this helpful
★★★★★
5.0
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For what was going on inside the Central Powers in WW1
"Ring of Steel" isn't really an apt title for this book. (I'm sure it was chosen to be eye catching.) That title suggests this is a book about warfare. It's not. This is a book about the internal politics and ethnic sociology of Austria Hungary and Germany in WW1. Warfare is just the context. So you'll learn Watson`s view on how the war started: the AH and G governments recklessly gambled on a cheap, quick war with Serbia alone, only to find themselves starting a world war -- and how they then had to spin the war as defensive to their people. (Watson doesn't agree with McMeekin that the Russians shoulder the blame.) Watson is very critical of the AH government in particular. He explains how AH was riven by internal political, governmental, ethnic and religious squabbles that the leaders fully knew of -- and that they convinced themselves war would help heal. To an extent, this played out: there was a measurable "rally around the flag" effect across AH whenever broke out. But this lasted a mere few months and by spring 1915 divisions within AH were starting to tear the fabric of the society apart. Watson doesn't argue it, but his retelling suggests that even had the Central Powers won the war, AH would not long have survived. The collapse of AH as a state was not necessarily inevitable (or at least it could have lumbered on for a while), but the war brought about it's collapse. Watson argues the single greatest factor in bringing about collapse of the AH and G homefronts was the prolonged effects of famine. Beginning at least in 1916, the Central Powers could not adequately feed their armies and their people, and and this drove the people to revolt. (Not that Watson thinksvtheir armies had much chance of a battlefield victory either.) In sum, Watson argues collossal hubris by the AH and G governments took two prosperous, educated, and stable societies in 1914 and led them to ruination. Watson also is in league with Snyder that the "Bloodlands" of Eastern Europe in the mid-20th century were a direct result of WW1. Finally, Watson points out throughout the book how literally EVERY major theme of WW2 in Europe gets foreshadowed in WW1. WW2 thus really is just WW1 on steroids. The only exception to this is that there was no purposeful, organized mass murder of a people in WW1. (Though the Armenian genocide and atrocities against civilians in WW1 comes close.)
★★★★★
5.0
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Learned about little known WW1 Eastern front
Very thorough
Helps me research complex Central European history
★★★★★
5.0
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Essential to Know WWI
I've read many WWI books and been to battle sites. I thought I was fairly knowledgeable. But what was missing was the Austro-Hungarian/German side. This fascinating, page turner does it. Really thick but worth it.
★★★★★
3.0
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Damaged binding.
Excellent read. Amazon damaged the book sending it to me.
★★★★★
4.0
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Detailed Account of the fall of Austria Hungary and Imperial Germany
A really good account the focuses on the leadership and home front more than the actual combat. Though, it feels boring at times.
