In this new book, Gareth Russell tells the story of the Austrian, German and Russian imperial families during the four years of the First World War and the political and personal struggles that brought about their ruin. Over in Britain, the first cousin of both the Kaiser and the Tsar, George V, successfully retained the crown. The three great monarchies of Europe had fallen. By the end of that conflict, not only had the Austro-Hungarian Empire crumbled but the other two imperial rulers of Europe, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, had lost their grip on power. The assassination set in motion the events that led to the outbreak of the First World War, one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history and a trauma that would bring down the Austro-Hungarian Empire, ending nearly eight centuries of Hapsburg rule and unleashing unrest across the European continent. Both Wilhelm and Nicholas were both touch with the realities of a fast changing world.On 28 June 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was assassinated on a visit to Sarajevo by a Serbian nationalist called Gavrilo Princip. They lacked competence, diplomatic ability and sound judgement.
By the dawn of the 20 th century, unlike their forbears they no longer needed to demonstrate the strength that made a competent military commander, the reason why their forbears were made kings.
Russian and Austro Hungarian autocrats had not recognised how mass industrialisation, urbanisation and workers’ attitudes, swapping agricultural life for the cities and demanding rights, had any a real clue (nor cared, particularly) about the impact of changes. On reading, it becomes abundantly clear that the German. (Although I am not entirely why George V is a pictured on the cover, sine, he is more or less a supporting act - Great Britain being a constitutional monarchy, with the king having very little real power.) It tells concisely about court protocols and the respective administrations in the three autocratic monarchies involved Germany, Austria and Russia.
This is Gareth Russell’s first non-fiction work. To understand how the First World War came about, it is necessary to understand the way in which regimes in the main empires involved operated. Amberley Publishing, 2015, £9.99, 227pp, soft covers illustrated plus notes, bibliography and index Also available in hardback.
0 kommentar(er)
