Book Review: The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman

The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Originally published 60 years ago, Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August remains a compelling and masterfully written account of the first month of combat during World War I. Combining diplomatic, political, and military history into a well-paced narrative, Tuchman provides readers with a panoramic portrait of the war in its mobilization and early campaign phase, when it was still a "war of movement" and the principal combatants were seeking a fast, decisive victory sufficient to bring hostilities to a rapid end. Military leaders and planners who had been studying issues of strategy and socio-economic in the years leading up to the war had good reason to know the chances of a short war were slim. The more likely scenario in a world where large-scale mobilizations could be mounted within industrialized economies was a protracted, bloody conflict that would be enormously costly and socially disruptive. While those who were hopeful for a short war liked to point to the example of the six-month Franco-Prussian War, the more relevant example from the past was the American Civil War.

Tuchman takes readers along through the sequence of events as each nation involved in the first month of the war moves to a declaration, with their top government officials experiencing genuine hesitancy and reservations as the implications of their decisions close in. The early mobilizations and movement of soldiers followed carefully arranged plans decided long in advance of the war. Tuchman introduces us to the key generals, heads of state, cabinet officials, diplomatic figures, and other notable individuals as they swing into action during the first weeks of war. She gives extended treatment to the Battle of the Frontiers on the Western front and the Battle of Tannenberg on the Eastern front, with far less attention to the Battles of Cer and Galicia on the Austro-Hungarian front. The book concludes with the events immediately preceding the First Battle of the Marne (September 5-12), which stopped the German advances in the west and doomed all hopes of a short war. Both the Franch Plan XVII and the German Schlieffen–Moltke Plan were among the casualties of August 1914.

Along the way Tuchman provides fascinating accounts of the political and military thinking of the major players as they struggle (both internally and with each other) over decisions that might aid or harm the war effort. She is frank in her assessments of leaders like French Chief of Staff General Joseph Joffre (mostly favorable) and British Commander-in-Chief John French (mostly unfavorable), and her evaluations enhance the readability of the book even if you don't agree with her on any particular point.

While there has been a great deal of first-rate research and scholarship published about the First World War since The Guns of August, Tuchman's book is still a valuable work of history that will spark a reader's interest in learning more about one of the most significant events of the 20th century and beyond. Highly recommended.

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