Over the Top: Alternate Histories of the First World War

Although separated from the modern reader by a full century, the First World War continues to generate controversy and interest as the great event upon which modern history pivoted. Not only did the war cull the European peoples of some of their best and brightest, it also led to the destruction of [...]
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Although separated from the modern reader by a full century, the First World War continues to generate controversy and interest as the great event upon which modern history pivoted. Not only did the war cull the European peoples of some of their best and brightest, it also led to the destruction of the Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman and Russian empires, and paved the way for the Second World War.

This thought-provoking book explores ten alternate scenarios in which the course of the war is changed forever. How would the war have changed had the Germans not attacked France but turned their main thrust against Russia; had the Greeks joined the allies at Gallipoli; or had the British severed the communications of the Ottoman Empire at Alexandretta? What if there was a more decisive outcome at Jutland; if the alternative plans for the Battle of the Somme in 1916 had been put into effect; or if the Americans intervened in 1915, rather 1917?

Expertly written by leading military historians, this is a compelling and credible look at what might have been.

REVIEWS

Another fine addition to the Tsouras production of imaginative 'what if' literature focused on military scenarios. In this one he has collaborated with British authors for some essays on British topics. Tsouras is especially strong on the Russian episodes as he is a scholar on Russian military affairs... The maps are excellent. I especially enjoy the deft use of the typical vocabulary one reads in accounts of actual military history. In each case the authors do not simply launch into a revisionist account, but rather create an altered 'historical' background of sufficient depth to make the subsequent account of the events plausible. And they follow through with some theoretical results. Then they bring the readers back to earth with a short summary of what really happened.
John Sloan, xenophon