First World War

John Etty questions whether Serb nationalism was an irresistible force that helped unleash the First World War.

Alan Sharp looks at the factors shaping national policies in the weeks preceding the Paris Peace Conference, when the failure of the victorious allies to agree on aims and a process for negotiations with the Germans resulted in a ‘tragedy of disappointment’.

Richard Wilkinson recreates the contest that marked, and marred, the British war effort in 1914-18.

Paddy Hartley describes how an interest in the treatment of facial injuries in the First World War led him to develop a new form of sculpture.

Robert Pearce attempts to probe the nature of the 1918-22 Coalition.

David Nicholas reveals the skill and good fortune behind Britain’s First World War intelligence operation, and the coup by which the Zimmermann Telegram was cracked, tipping the balance in getting the US to join the Allied war effort.

Paul Brewer looks at the politics behind US involvement in the First World War and how President Woodrow Wilson dealt with those Americans who campaigned against it.

York Membery interviews the eminent historian Norman Stone about his life in Turkey and his latest book.

After he fell from power, Bismarck became a mythical hero figure of the right. The legend of the ‘Iron Chancellor’ was wielded by militarists, conservatives, and eventually, Adolf Hitler.