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1916: A Global History
So much of the literature on the First World War centers on the trench warfare of the Western Front, and these were essential battlegrounds. But the war was in fact truly a global conflict, and by focusing on a sequence of events in 1916 across many continents, historian Keith Jeffery's magisterial work casts new light on the Great War. Starting in January with the end of the catastrophic Gallipoli campaign, Jeffery recounts the massive struggle for Verdun over February and March; the Easter Rising in Ireland in April; dramatic events in Russia in June on the eastern front; the familiar story of the war in East Africa, where some 200,000 Africans may have died; and the November U.S. presidential race in which Woodrow Wilson was re-elected on a platform of keeping the United States out of the war--a position he reversed within five months.Incorporating the stories of civilians in all countries, both participants in and victims of the war, 1916: A Global History is a major addition to the literature and the Great War by a historian at the height of his powers.
449 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 26, 2016
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463 people want to read
About the author
Keith Jeffery
24 books28 followersKeith Jeffery, MRIA was a Northern Irish historian specializing in modern British, British Imperial, and Irish history. He obtained his BA, MA, and PhD (1978) degrees from St. John's College, Cambridge, the latter under the supervision of John Andrew Gallagher, and was Professor of British history at Queen's University Belfast.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
March 7, 2022
An informative non fiction examination of events around the world during the year 1916. Professor Jeffery takes each month of the year, finds an event that happened that month and expands the narrative to examine what came before 1916 and what came after 1916.
The reader is taken from the Galliopilli campaign in Turkey, to the western front in France, to the other World War I fronts of Italy, Serbia, and Russia. Also the Far East and Africa get their accounts. I enjoyed learning more about the non traditional fronts of World War I. Since each chapter covers one event for each month none of the topics are described in great detail. My favorite event covered the ambulance corps in Italy and also the women who served on the Serbia and Greece fronts.
The reader is taken from the Galliopilli campaign in Turkey, to the western front in France, to the other World War I fronts of Italy, Serbia, and Russia. Also the Far East and Africa get their accounts. I enjoyed learning more about the non traditional fronts of World War I. Since each chapter covers one event for each month none of the topics are described in great detail. My favorite event covered the ambulance corps in Italy and also the women who served on the Serbia and Greece fronts.
December 31, 2017
Every chapter is entertaining but the book feels more like a collection of essays than a continuous narrative. Plus I would have liked more on submarine warfare and flying aces in 1916.
June 23, 2025
A rich, balanced and very readable work.
Jeffery begins with the evacuation of Gallipoli and ends with Rasputin’s murder. He also covers the Easter Rising, Verdun and the Somme, as well as the fighting in Italy and the eastern front. He also looks at the political situations in Africa and Asia. Diplomacy, economic warfare, and the experiences of ordinary people are ably covered. He also does a good job showing how the war affected the whole world, for example in how the demand for colonial soldiers and laborers led to unrest and violence in the European empires, and how the use of these men led to racial suspicion and violence. The section on the Balkans is pretty good.
The writing is lively and accessible, and the analysis is sharp. There’s also a lot of discussion of war monuments. Jeffery also relies a lot on British sources, and some readers may wish for more coverage of the Central Powers. If you’ve read up on the Great War already, you might not find much new material. The writing feels a bit flat at times. Also, the narrative meanders a bit; each chapter seems to deal with a specific topic at first, but within them Jeffery sometimes meanders to different ones anyway. Gallipoli is dealt with at length, even though the book isn’t titled 1915. In contrast, the Battle of Jutland is dealt with in a shorter section than I expected. When discussing America and the Balkans, Jeffery goes on lengthy tangents about British intelligence operations for some reason. There’s also occasional typos. At one point the French minister of munitions Albert Thomas is called “Albert Stanley.” Oswald Rayner is also called “Oscar.”
An insightful, well-written and well-researched work.
Jeffery begins with the evacuation of Gallipoli and ends with Rasputin’s murder. He also covers the Easter Rising, Verdun and the Somme, as well as the fighting in Italy and the eastern front. He also looks at the political situations in Africa and Asia. Diplomacy, economic warfare, and the experiences of ordinary people are ably covered. He also does a good job showing how the war affected the whole world, for example in how the demand for colonial soldiers and laborers led to unrest and violence in the European empires, and how the use of these men led to racial suspicion and violence. The section on the Balkans is pretty good.
The writing is lively and accessible, and the analysis is sharp. There’s also a lot of discussion of war monuments. Jeffery also relies a lot on British sources, and some readers may wish for more coverage of the Central Powers. If you’ve read up on the Great War already, you might not find much new material. The writing feels a bit flat at times. Also, the narrative meanders a bit; each chapter seems to deal with a specific topic at first, but within them Jeffery sometimes meanders to different ones anyway. Gallipoli is dealt with at length, even though the book isn’t titled 1915. In contrast, the Battle of Jutland is dealt with in a shorter section than I expected. When discussing America and the Balkans, Jeffery goes on lengthy tangents about British intelligence operations for some reason. There’s also occasional typos. At one point the French minister of munitions Albert Thomas is called “Albert Stanley.” Oswald Rayner is also called “Oscar.”
An insightful, well-written and well-researched work.
May 28, 2018
From the assassination of the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, World War I went on to encompass the entire globe. This is the premise of Keith Jefffery's 1916: A Global History. He picks this one year out of the entire conflict to showcase the participation of France, Britain, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, India, Japan, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and The USA as major players in the 4-year tragedy that made up the war. Eastern Europe sent forces into the melee, or became battlefields themselves, from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Greece and many others. In reality, the war extended into almost every conceivable place in either the form of colonial conscripts or workers used in labor battalions. The entire continent of Africa was involved with the exception of two nations. The same is true for the Middle East. France conscripted Vietnamese nationals; China sent workers. Eventually, everyone took part. Some because they had no choice and were attacked and some, because they thought participation on a particular side would lead either to acceptance in the world of nations later, or help serve the cause of independence. Most wound up disappointed.
Keith's history of this momentous year is interesting but tends to give short shrift to the major conflicts he discusses. However, his work is not meant to be an in-depth review of battles. Its worth is more in the picture it presents of a conflict that from a bizarre start grew to decimate the men and women of that era and destroyed their lands.
Keith's history of this momentous year is interesting but tends to give short shrift to the major conflicts he discusses. However, his work is not meant to be an in-depth review of battles. Its worth is more in the picture it presents of a conflict that from a bizarre start grew to decimate the men and women of that era and destroyed their lands.
March 13, 2016
This is a very good book about a very bad year. Seriously, if you wanted to run a contest to choose the worst year between 1910 and 1920, or between 1914 and 1924, which would it be? 1914 seems a good choice, given the start of the Great War. 1919 is also a candidate, given the importance of the Spanish Influenza, which killed more people worldwide than the war did. The other war years were not so great either, given that the war arguable started in part in 1911 and extended into the early 1920s in terms of its aftershocks and follow-up wars. Among these years, however, 1916 is also special - the mid point of the war in terms of its global carnage, with lots of famous/infamous battles, and the beginnings of war weariness that would lead to rebellion and revolution.
Keith Jeffrey, an accomplished historian of Europe and the British Empire, has written about 1916 with the idea that this year can help tie together the diverse fragments of WWI. The book provides a chapter a month for the year, with each chapter focusing on some activity germane to that month but also critical to the broader war. The topical choices are inspired. Jeffrey's first chapter is on the closing down and evacuation of the Galllipoli Campaign in January - which helps ties the frustrating beginning of the war and the establishment of the Western Front with the huge campaigns that followed for the next three years or so. The broader history of each focal area is provided, along with a discussion of how the example demonstrates the global nature of the Great War. Other chapters cover the huge battles of the year at Verdun and the Somme, as well as the Brusilov Offensive, the most successful Russian action of the war and an effort to support Britain in the Somme Offensive. Jeffrey also does an excellent job of tying revolutions in Ireland and Central Asia into the war's settings, arguing persuasively that the Easter Rebellion was a First World War battle. There is also a chapter on the Isonzo River campaigns between Austria and Italy, which is generally less well covered in other one volume works. Separate chapters on the war in Africa and Central/South Asia are also helpful, but seem less focused on more like overalls surveys. The book concludes with chapters on the US and Russia and the verge of the Russian revolutions and the entrance of the US into the war in 1917.
The book is well organized and well written. The chapters read smoothly and are filled with nice tidbits of detail and little covered but interesting points. The book also has a nice coda at the end about various peace possibilities that were rumored in 1916 -- and why none were really plausible.
I sympathize with the author's efforts at writing a memorable book on the war at a time when a large number of really well done histories have already come to market. He has crafted a fine and focused book that is a good supplement to the wonderful one volume works around, without getting into the detail that follows for specific situations. His focus in on diplomatic and political history, with military details as necessary in the battle and campaign sections.
Keith Jeffrey, an accomplished historian of Europe and the British Empire, has written about 1916 with the idea that this year can help tie together the diverse fragments of WWI. The book provides a chapter a month for the year, with each chapter focusing on some activity germane to that month but also critical to the broader war. The topical choices are inspired. Jeffrey's first chapter is on the closing down and evacuation of the Galllipoli Campaign in January - which helps ties the frustrating beginning of the war and the establishment of the Western Front with the huge campaigns that followed for the next three years or so. The broader history of each focal area is provided, along with a discussion of how the example demonstrates the global nature of the Great War. Other chapters cover the huge battles of the year at Verdun and the Somme, as well as the Brusilov Offensive, the most successful Russian action of the war and an effort to support Britain in the Somme Offensive. Jeffrey also does an excellent job of tying revolutions in Ireland and Central Asia into the war's settings, arguing persuasively that the Easter Rebellion was a First World War battle. There is also a chapter on the Isonzo River campaigns between Austria and Italy, which is generally less well covered in other one volume works. Separate chapters on the war in Africa and Central/South Asia are also helpful, but seem less focused on more like overalls surveys. The book concludes with chapters on the US and Russia and the verge of the Russian revolutions and the entrance of the US into the war in 1917.
The book is well organized and well written. The chapters read smoothly and are filled with nice tidbits of detail and little covered but interesting points. The book also has a nice coda at the end about various peace possibilities that were rumored in 1916 -- and why none were really plausible.
I sympathize with the author's efforts at writing a memorable book on the war at a time when a large number of really well done histories have already come to market. He has crafted a fine and focused book that is a good supplement to the wonderful one volume works around, without getting into the detail that follows for specific situations. His focus in on diplomatic and political history, with military details as necessary in the battle and campaign sections.
February 23, 2016
An interesting failure. The author covers world events during the calendar year 1916. Clearly, some major WW I events took place during this time (e.g., Verdun, the Somme, Jutland). The volume is divided into twelve chapters of roughly 30 pages each, and as a result the major events are given short shrift compared to some of the topics covered. For example, a chapter is devoted to the US, and the bulk of the chapter covers English and German propaganda and espionage efforts in the US. Interesting, no doubt, but hard to compare with perhaps the largest naval battle in history (Jutland), or the two most catastrophic land battles suffered by Britain and France (the Somme and Verdun, respectively), each of which is given a chapter. He also covers Gallipoli to the same level of detail, though only the withdrawal from the peninsula took place in 1916.
Another problem is the strange focus on Irish events and participation (perhaps not so strange since the author is a Northern Ireland scholar). The author devotes a full chapter to the Easter Rising, which is perhaps justified, but the emphasis on Irish participation in events covered elsewhere seems parochial.
And of course there is the natural problem of an "Annals" approach. Very few threads are completed during this 12 month period. Of necessity one is left with major parts left out (e.g., the beginning of the Gallipoli campaign, and the end of the Somme). One could argue that Jutland and the naval war in general were more or less concluded during this period, but the author's coverage of Jutland was particularly weak. For example, he insists on calling it 'the Battle of the Skaggerak" (the German appellation ) for reasons unknown, and his coverage of the battle itself is superficial. In fact, the author does not do a good job of covering the tactical evolutions of any land or sea actions. There are no maps, though the photos included are quite good.
Another problem is the strange focus on Irish events and participation (perhaps not so strange since the author is a Northern Ireland scholar). The author devotes a full chapter to the Easter Rising, which is perhaps justified, but the emphasis on Irish participation in events covered elsewhere seems parochial.
And of course there is the natural problem of an "Annals" approach. Very few threads are completed during this 12 month period. Of necessity one is left with major parts left out (e.g., the beginning of the Gallipoli campaign, and the end of the Somme). One could argue that Jutland and the naval war in general were more or less concluded during this period, but the author's coverage of Jutland was particularly weak. For example, he insists on calling it 'the Battle of the Skaggerak" (the German appellation ) for reasons unknown, and his coverage of the battle itself is superficial. In fact, the author does not do a good job of covering the tactical evolutions of any land or sea actions. There are no maps, though the photos included are quite good.
December 24, 2015
Professor Jeffrey's global history is exactly that. It covers all corners of the planet from Flanders to China, Russia to Washington and takes in the critical historical and political events along the way. Given his roots, it is not surprising to discover a lean towards the Irish (The Easter Rising, and also the 10th and 16th (Irish) divisions receive honourable mentions), but the real value in this academically insightful yet superbly accessible work is its focus on the lesser known players in the 1st truly global conflict. While Professor Jeffrey captures the drama of Jutland and the Somme and the enduring tragedy of the origins of the middle east conflict, he also tells the tragic stories of the African labourers and Chinese coolies whose bones lie unknown and unmarked across every battlefield.
December 26, 2016
This book provided an interesting approach, looking at select events in 1916, one for each month, and placing it in a broader context.
I felt Keith got a little too bogged down in details regarding the broader context, and I had trouble motivating myself to enjoy the book for the first couple of chapters.
Reading this book in 2016 was a good opportunity to ponder major world events and the larger impact they have had.
I felt Keith got a little too bogged down in details regarding the broader context, and I had trouble motivating myself to enjoy the book for the first couple of chapters.
Reading this book in 2016 was a good opportunity to ponder major world events and the larger impact they have had.
December 27, 2022
Ideally — maybe — a split at 2.25 or even 2.5, but I can't bring myself to rate it a full 3.
Jeffery has an interesting "hook" concept, but executes it unevenly, then makes "the fatal error" of WWI books, then has additional errors.
The "hook" is to look at the war month by month, with one big issue for each month, then extending that issue to other ongoing war issues.
He starts with a cheat for January 1916 — the evacuation from Gallipoli. The info itself is OK (and I did learn that Attlee served there), but nothing special, and not much extended.
February is a no-brainer: Verdun.
March is another cheat, with title of "On the Isonzo," while noting it's in medias res because this is the Fifth Battle of the Isonzo. April? The Easter Uprising, with Jeffery at the end trying to tie Ireland to Belgium.
May is a no-brainer: Jutland. In the extension, and put an asterisk here, Jeffrey never discusses the illegality of British blockades in detail.
June? Eastern Front.
July: The Kazakhs and other Tsarist Central Asian peoples pushing back against conscription, inflation, etc. The one chapter where I actually learned anything much.
August: "The War in Africa," with the August 1916 Battle of Morogoro being an again contrived hook.
September: The Somme, another cheat, since the battle started in late June.
October: Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans, with the hook being the October landing of British and French troops in Greece. Learned a few bits about the details of the war splits within Greece and Entente maneuvering, but nothing major.
November: Wilson's election, and Jeffery's "fatal error" of claiming the fake neutral Wilson was a real neutral. Normal 1-star ding. But Jeffery gets worse when he claims that Wilson actually stood up for US rights but presents ZERO evidence of Wilson standing up against the British blockade by extension or use of food as a blockade weapon, and that's because there is no such evidence. So, by protesting too much, the ding is more than 1 star.
December: Rasputin's assassination. Loses at least another quarter-star here for falsely insinuating Rasputin was a Germanophile, thus morphing and mouthing his assassins. The truth? Yes, off inside evidence from him of planned dates of offenses, many Russians made killings in the stock market. No evidence that anybody directly connected to Rasputin was selling secrets to Germany. Definitely no evidence that Rasputin was Germanophile. That said, at the start of the war, he warned the Tsar himself that entering it would likely be destructive to Russia.
And, with that said, and re the WWI reading odyssey I'm on right now? Though the book gets two stars, not one, I won't read Jeffery again.
Jeffery has an interesting "hook" concept, but executes it unevenly, then makes "the fatal error" of WWI books, then has additional errors.
The "hook" is to look at the war month by month, with one big issue for each month, then extending that issue to other ongoing war issues.
He starts with a cheat for January 1916 — the evacuation from Gallipoli. The info itself is OK (and I did learn that Attlee served there), but nothing special, and not much extended.
February is a no-brainer: Verdun.
March is another cheat, with title of "On the Isonzo," while noting it's in medias res because this is the Fifth Battle of the Isonzo. April? The Easter Uprising, with Jeffery at the end trying to tie Ireland to Belgium.
May is a no-brainer: Jutland. In the extension, and put an asterisk here, Jeffrey never discusses the illegality of British blockades in detail.
June? Eastern Front.
July: The Kazakhs and other Tsarist Central Asian peoples pushing back against conscription, inflation, etc. The one chapter where I actually learned anything much.
August: "The War in Africa," with the August 1916 Battle of Morogoro being an again contrived hook.
September: The Somme, another cheat, since the battle started in late June.
October: Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans, with the hook being the October landing of British and French troops in Greece. Learned a few bits about the details of the war splits within Greece and Entente maneuvering, but nothing major.
November: Wilson's election, and Jeffery's "fatal error" of claiming the fake neutral Wilson was a real neutral. Normal 1-star ding. But Jeffery gets worse when he claims that Wilson actually stood up for US rights but presents ZERO evidence of Wilson standing up against the British blockade by extension or use of food as a blockade weapon, and that's because there is no such evidence. So, by protesting too much, the ding is more than 1 star.
December: Rasputin's assassination. Loses at least another quarter-star here for falsely insinuating Rasputin was a Germanophile, thus morphing and mouthing his assassins. The truth? Yes, off inside evidence from him of planned dates of offenses, many Russians made killings in the stock market. No evidence that anybody directly connected to Rasputin was selling secrets to Germany. Definitely no evidence that Rasputin was Germanophile. That said, at the start of the war, he warned the Tsar himself that entering it would likely be destructive to Russia.
And, with that said, and re the WWI reading odyssey I'm on right now? Though the book gets two stars, not one, I won't read Jeffery again.
July 10, 2021
3.75/5
Overall pretty good. Picks one event from each month of 1916 and then uses it to go into more detail on the wider context of that event for the war. But this means there isn’t much detail on the event in question. The chapter on Jutland for example is actually very brief on the Battle of Jutland and has far more on blockade warfare (which I find more interesting anyway). The chapters that cover areas outside of the Western Front (Africa, the Balkans, Asia) were the highlights for me. I’m not that interested in US history but that chapter was also decent, especially the parts about German sabotage actions there including bombings of ships and munitions stores. I also like that most chapters end with a bit about the memorialisation and memory of that topic. The Western Front chapters were a bit weaker imo but there are so many other books on the subject that I’m not going to criticise this book too harshly for that. The writing is fairly enjoyable and there is also some historiographical discussion.
Overall pretty good. Picks one event from each month of 1916 and then uses it to go into more detail on the wider context of that event for the war. But this means there isn’t much detail on the event in question. The chapter on Jutland for example is actually very brief on the Battle of Jutland and has far more on blockade warfare (which I find more interesting anyway). The chapters that cover areas outside of the Western Front (Africa, the Balkans, Asia) were the highlights for me. I’m not that interested in US history but that chapter was also decent, especially the parts about German sabotage actions there including bombings of ships and munitions stores. I also like that most chapters end with a bit about the memorialisation and memory of that topic. The Western Front chapters were a bit weaker imo but there are so many other books on the subject that I’m not going to criticise this book too harshly for that. The writing is fairly enjoyable and there is also some historiographical discussion.
January 12, 2021
1916: A Global History is an in-depth look into WW1 in 1916. Jeffery looks at many different countries like Ireland, Greece, China, etc. However, I feel that unless you are a WW1 enthusiast, you may find yourself bored at certain chapters. I found myself counting down the pages to get to the 'good' chapters on topics I found interesting. On the topics I found interesting, he took a very unique angle. When discussing Greece in 1916, it looks at it from the perspective of a spy. In fact, many chapters look at the 'spy' angle. So for those interested in espionage in WW1, you may enjoy this book.
February 19, 2016
This is a good book on WWI. It’s not a great book, but it’s solid. Author Jeffery is a history professor at Belfest – or was, I should say – as he apparently died shortly before I finished this book (!). Bummer.
The book has 12 chapters – each covering one event that took place during a different month in 1916. Jeffery uses each event as a jumping off point to discuss some aspect of the war. January is the evacuation from Gallipoli, which leads to the Australian/New Zealand war effort – and its memory in those lands. February is Verdun and France versus Germany on the Western Front. March is the Isonzo and Italy in the war. April is the Easter Rebellion and Ireland. May is Jutland and the naval war. June is the Brusilov Offensive and the Eastern Front. July is as anti-Russian uprising in Central Asia, and how the war affected Asia in general. August is the occupation of a key Germany colonial city in east Africa, and the war in Africa in general. September is the Somme and the British in the war. October is shoving Greece toward the war and the impact on the Balkans in general. November is Woodrow Wilson’s re-election and the US and the war. December is the assassination of Rasputin and the coming Russian Revolution.
Much of it I already knew, but it’s stuff that had to be covered (a history of WWI with Verdun or the Somme? My, what a bad idea). I wish it was more international in scope. While it does cover four continents, it’s overwhelmingly about Europe. I’m torn on that. On the one hand, yeah – it’s WWI – focus on Europe. On the other hand the title is “a global history” – feel free to focus on the parts often glossed over.
Some info from the book: 2 million Africans were conscripted (some as non-military labor), and 200,000 of them died. The memory of Gallipoli pushed Australia and New Zealand further from England. In France, 230,000 Spanish, 24,000 Greeks, 23,000 Portuguese worked as laborers during the war. Labor demands in colonies led to resistance in places like Algeria. The Allied naval blockade on Germany hurt Latin America, which relied on German goods. The Central Powers used Romania’s grain and oil after overrunning it. 870,000 Germans fled Russia’s 1914 invasion. Russia treated POWs terribly. 25,000 died building a railway to the Arctic port of Murmansk. They discriminated POWs based on their ethnics (being nicer to Slavs). In the Central Asia uprising, 4,000 died in one place, and 300,000 fled to China. Maybe 50,000 died overall. There was no British draft in India, but a recruitment drive that relied on princes – and the princes would often draft people (not the British). The Ottomans relied more on Turkish soldiers as the war went on, and their army improved for it. A fifth of the civil servants in Malaysia left. In German Africa, Togo fell in 1914, Namibia in mid-1915, Cameroon in early 1916. Libya rebelled against Italy from 1915-7. Burkina Faso did against Fracne. 989,000 Africans served the UK in the east African campaign – a third from Egypt. Ulster identified with the Somme. 70,000 to 140,000 Serbs (soldiers and civilians) died in a late 1915 retreat. Pre-1917 US volunteers were usually from the Ivy League. Harvard had the most with 325, then Yale at 187, and Princeton at 181 in the American Field Service. Germany did do sabotage acts in the US.
The book has 12 chapters – each covering one event that took place during a different month in 1916. Jeffery uses each event as a jumping off point to discuss some aspect of the war. January is the evacuation from Gallipoli, which leads to the Australian/New Zealand war effort – and its memory in those lands. February is Verdun and France versus Germany on the Western Front. March is the Isonzo and Italy in the war. April is the Easter Rebellion and Ireland. May is Jutland and the naval war. June is the Brusilov Offensive and the Eastern Front. July is as anti-Russian uprising in Central Asia, and how the war affected Asia in general. August is the occupation of a key Germany colonial city in east Africa, and the war in Africa in general. September is the Somme and the British in the war. October is shoving Greece toward the war and the impact on the Balkans in general. November is Woodrow Wilson’s re-election and the US and the war. December is the assassination of Rasputin and the coming Russian Revolution.
Much of it I already knew, but it’s stuff that had to be covered (a history of WWI with Verdun or the Somme? My, what a bad idea). I wish it was more international in scope. While it does cover four continents, it’s overwhelmingly about Europe. I’m torn on that. On the one hand, yeah – it’s WWI – focus on Europe. On the other hand the title is “a global history” – feel free to focus on the parts often glossed over.
Some info from the book: 2 million Africans were conscripted (some as non-military labor), and 200,000 of them died. The memory of Gallipoli pushed Australia and New Zealand further from England. In France, 230,000 Spanish, 24,000 Greeks, 23,000 Portuguese worked as laborers during the war. Labor demands in colonies led to resistance in places like Algeria. The Allied naval blockade on Germany hurt Latin America, which relied on German goods. The Central Powers used Romania’s grain and oil after overrunning it. 870,000 Germans fled Russia’s 1914 invasion. Russia treated POWs terribly. 25,000 died building a railway to the Arctic port of Murmansk. They discriminated POWs based on their ethnics (being nicer to Slavs). In the Central Asia uprising, 4,000 died in one place, and 300,000 fled to China. Maybe 50,000 died overall. There was no British draft in India, but a recruitment drive that relied on princes – and the princes would often draft people (not the British). The Ottomans relied more on Turkish soldiers as the war went on, and their army improved for it. A fifth of the civil servants in Malaysia left. In German Africa, Togo fell in 1914, Namibia in mid-1915, Cameroon in early 1916. Libya rebelled against Italy from 1915-7. Burkina Faso did against Fracne. 989,000 Africans served the UK in the east African campaign – a third from Egypt. Ulster identified with the Somme. 70,000 to 140,000 Serbs (soldiers and civilians) died in a late 1915 retreat. Pre-1917 US volunteers were usually from the Ivy League. Harvard had the most with 325, then Yale at 187, and Princeton at 181 in the American Field Service. Germany did do sabotage acts in the US.
November 14, 2016
Jeffrey writes a history of the war outside its trench-war-dominated stalemate in Northwest Europe. (Having said that, he also writes about Verdun and the Somme, both of which are unavoidable ina discussion of 1916.) There are separate chapters about the naval war (Jutland, especially), the war in various parts of Asia (Gallipoli, Iraq, the Russians in Central Asia, the Japanese in China, the Arab rising), the war in Africa, Brusilov's offensive, the Easter Uprising in Dublin ("Ypres on the Liffey"), etc. They are all interesting. They each contain fascinating bits of information and analysis. They don't quite mesh together as a bigger picture, though Jeffrey identifies a number of connections. It serves as a well written introduction to the war's enormous scope, and a challenge to the reader to pursue the connections.
April 1, 2018
Keith Jeffrey has written an unconventional history of the Great War. He focuses on twelve events - one for each month - in 1916. Some of the events focus on battles, but other are things like the reelection of Woodrow Wilson as President or the murder of Rasputin. With each event, he provides a great deal of context to help understand the event itself and a different aspect of the war. One of the strengths of the book is how much it gets away from a history of battles and tells he stories of people. It's also very much a global history of the Great War. His discussion of the Turkestan Uprising in June of 1916 is definitely not in most histories of the Great War! There were some long discussions of military tactics that were not for me, but they were always connected to broader developments.
December 15, 2015
A kaleidoscopic view of main events of this tumultuous year of the Great War, not only in Europe's Western Front but throughout the world, and how some events and decisions taken then not only had important implications then but continue to haunt us still. For more details and my views read: https://in.news.yahoo.com/1916-twelve...
February 14, 2016
Disappointing. It did not provide any new insights.
April 7, 2025
A brilliant book, I noted it as extremely excellent when I read it but it is too long ago for me now to provide an intelligent review.
May 27, 2018
1916 was a monumental and pivotal year in World history, with World War 1 dominating events in all corners of the Globe. Professor Jeffery dedicates each of his 12 chapters to the War in a different theater to illustrate the far-reaching, Global and all- encompassing nature of the conflict as it drew in Nations and peoples far and wide.
Each of the 12 chapters covers an aspect of the conflict most relevant in that particular month, from the evacuation of Gallipoli in January to the great battles of Verdun, Jutland, the Isonzo, the Somme and the Brusilov offense, taking in the sideshows in Dublin at Easter 1916 and the Arab and Central Asian revolts.
The often-forgotten fighting in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and the Far East are explored in different chapters, as the titanic clash of Empires drew in their Imperial allies, subservants and subjects. Hohenzollern's, Habsburgs, Romanov's, Ottomans - all their houses were to fall by the end of the Great War, and 1916 was the pivotal year in terms of the Wars' course and the awakening of feelings of National Self-determination it provoked that were to shape the history of the decades' after.
Professor Jeffery also infuses each chapter with human sides of events through first hand tales of the ordinary soldiers, nurses, adventurers, writers and revolutionaries caught up in the fray. These tales have more than a hint of the Northern Irish background of Prof Jeffery, but his scope and grasp of the breath and scale of WW1 and his elegant telling of the events is sweeping and vast. This ultimately is more than about 1916; what we have is a comprehensive history of the forces unleashed by the War with 1916 as it's fulcrum.
Each of the 12 chapters covers an aspect of the conflict most relevant in that particular month, from the evacuation of Gallipoli in January to the great battles of Verdun, Jutland, the Isonzo, the Somme and the Brusilov offense, taking in the sideshows in Dublin at Easter 1916 and the Arab and Central Asian revolts.
The often-forgotten fighting in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and the Far East are explored in different chapters, as the titanic clash of Empires drew in their Imperial allies, subservants and subjects. Hohenzollern's, Habsburgs, Romanov's, Ottomans - all their houses were to fall by the end of the Great War, and 1916 was the pivotal year in terms of the Wars' course and the awakening of feelings of National Self-determination it provoked that were to shape the history of the decades' after.
Professor Jeffery also infuses each chapter with human sides of events through first hand tales of the ordinary soldiers, nurses, adventurers, writers and revolutionaries caught up in the fray. These tales have more than a hint of the Northern Irish background of Prof Jeffery, but his scope and grasp of the breath and scale of WW1 and his elegant telling of the events is sweeping and vast. This ultimately is more than about 1916; what we have is a comprehensive history of the forces unleashed by the War with 1916 as it's fulcrum.
June 8, 2018
Of all the years in the history of the planet, it is harder to find a more brutal year than 1916. It was a year of some of the worst battles in history, between Verdun and the Somme. It was also a year of major upheavals and revolutions. Some of the dealings and actions undertaken during that year have ramifications on the world to this day. To try to write the comprehensive story of that year would be an incredibly difficult undertaking. Still, Jeffery gives it a try with 1916. The dominant event of the book is World War I, and most of the focus of the book is on the various engagements, military and otherwise, that the war drove. From the trenches of the Western Front, to the rest of Europe, to Africa and the Pacific, the primary theme is the war. Even for those parts of the book that don't deal with actual combat, it is still tied back to the war (see Ireland, America).
Each chapter is a different part of the year, and for each of those themes, there are countless volumes that go into extensive detail. Thus, this work is as much a survey of those events. There is a Euro-centric bias (the author's has extensive background in Irish history), but many of those events had worldwide impacts. A title like 1916 A Global History is probably too ambitious for relatively short a work, but what is in the book is solid. It is probably closer to 3.5 stars, but a bit too shallow for 4 stars. Still, a solid read.
Each chapter is a different part of the year, and for each of those themes, there are countless volumes that go into extensive detail. Thus, this work is as much a survey of those events. There is a Euro-centric bias (the author's has extensive background in Irish history), but many of those events had worldwide impacts. A title like 1916 A Global History is probably too ambitious for relatively short a work, but what is in the book is solid. It is probably closer to 3.5 stars, but a bit too shallow for 4 stars. Still, a solid read.
November 3, 2019
After reading the introduction, I was very excited for this book. The prose was very accessible, and the author was clearly passionate about his subject matter. I was very interested in his promise to expound on how events of this particular year set things up for events later, and I was also very much interested in gaining a global perspective of the conflict. (Though I felt Mr Meyer in A World Undone did a decent job expanding on the usual body of knowledge about WWI, he only touched on the global aspect.) The first section was new information and kept my interest. But about a third of the way through it started to drag. Jeffery reverted to play-by-play descriptions of major battles (Somme, anyone?), with a bit about war memorials at the close of each chapter. I was so disappointed, because a) that's what everyone does, and b) he seemed to be promising not to do that. I did like how Jeffery detailed experiences of non-whites and non-Westerners in the war. That information is not commonly found in usual histories of WWI, and I appreciated it. On the whole, it was well-written, well-researched, and informative, but it started to drag part-way through until it became a slog through major battles.
August 29, 2017
So good I read much of it twice! I think this is one of the best overall introductions to the Great War I've found, emphasizing the worldwide nature of the conflict at what I think was a good level of balance, and explaining how, throughout the world, we continue to live in the world the World War made for us. It's an intriguing concept -- instead of talking from the beginning or end (1914 or 1918), the book picks a story for each month of the year in the middle, and a key event in that month, and then uses that event to show how the war worked in that theater to get you to that point, and how it will work out in the end. While I often think of 1916 as the year of despair, the year when no one believed the war would ever end, Jeffrey makes clear that things continued to happened, and the things that happened mattered, but are best understood in the context of the whole war. I think the treatment of Asia here is one of the best I've ever seen, and the coverage of the war in Africa is nicely balanced. Starting the year with the withdrawal from Galipoli was a brilliant, putting that doomed campaign in a light that helps explain the ANZAC fervor better than I had ever seen before.
January 14, 2018
This book is only suitable for those who already have a good general idea of what happened in World War I. It takes one event each month of 1916, and uses it as a jumping-off place to discuss one aspect of the war, and especially (but not exclusively) its status in that year. For instance, the Battle of Jutland in May leads to a discussion of the entire war at sea. But for those who are prepared, the book offers many interesting insights, and brings in material from a great variety of sources, from letters to memoirs to official reports.
June 3, 2018
A history of the year 1916, and all the major events that took place, from the evacuation of Gallipoli, the uprising in Ireland, the pivotal Battle for Verdun, the US election, and other key events across the globe. Engaging read.
January 4, 2021
1916 is a very entertaining and informative walk through the influential year. While the author sometimes takes digressions to individuals representative of the overall theme, the overwhelmingly exceptional handling of the rest of the book leads to an enjoyable experience.
October 30, 2017
A lot of good insights and interesting information. However, structuring the narrative into geographic zones was surprisingly distracting.
March 20, 2019
While there were parts of the book I enjoyed, it tended to stray from the topic of each “month/chapter”
April 5, 2023
Good breakdown of events in 1916, but I thought that some of the details were not that relevant
July 16, 2025
If you're a history buff, I suppose you might like this book. But it is not well organized and presumes a lot of knowledge.
November 15, 2016
Irish historian Keith Jeffrey's last novel -- I say "last" novel because he died in February, 2016, or a month after this book was published -- could have benefitted from a tad bit more editing. There was just too much information here and some times it took the author far too many pages to support his thesis.
In this book, Jeffrey's takes a significant event from each month in 1916 and tells how this event effected the world then and today as well as World War I broiling away on the bleeding, blood-soaked European, African and Asian continents.
The first chapter represented the month of January, 1916 and concerned the events surrounding the Allies' failure to secure a foothold in Gallipoli and the incredible loss of life at that battle. Keith Jeffrey's believes the Allies' failure to defeat the Ottoman Empire at Gallipoli led to the eventual demise of Czar Nicholas II and Imperial Russia leading to 70 years of communist rule. I am of the opinion that a lot more circumstances led to the monarchy and Mother Russia's destruction than the loss of Gallipoli.
By way of further example, Chapter Eleven featured the month of November, 2016 and the reelection (barely) of Woodrow Wilson and his Administration's isolationist policies which ended up emboldening the Central Powers -- Germany and the Habsburg Empire -- and prolonging the "Great War" by another two (2) years. America's involvement was inevitable after the sinking of the Lusitania and the world missed an opportunity for lasting peace in 1916.
The point though is interesting and each chapter showed not only just how insane WWI was but also how closely intertwined and interconnected our global village was even 100 years ago.
There is so much information in each chapter and a lot of it was not truly geared to those interested so much in the global history of WWI but the history of espionage and British espionage in particular. After all, Keith Jeffery did write the only governmentally sanctioned history of MI6 and British Intelligence from 1909-1949 having complete and unfettered access to all of MI6's files during that period of time.
I gave it three (3) stars because of the sheer dearth of information. So much needless death and wanton destruction that the eyes begin to glaze at the sheer madness of it all. If as they say "War is Hell", then World Wars are glimpses of the coming Apocalypse. Maybe that's the main point of this book in which case if we don't learn that lesson and learn it well, we are doomed to repeat it time and time again. President-elect Trump pay heed.
In this book, Jeffrey's takes a significant event from each month in 1916 and tells how this event effected the world then and today as well as World War I broiling away on the bleeding, blood-soaked European, African and Asian continents.
The first chapter represented the month of January, 1916 and concerned the events surrounding the Allies' failure to secure a foothold in Gallipoli and the incredible loss of life at that battle. Keith Jeffrey's believes the Allies' failure to defeat the Ottoman Empire at Gallipoli led to the eventual demise of Czar Nicholas II and Imperial Russia leading to 70 years of communist rule. I am of the opinion that a lot more circumstances led to the monarchy and Mother Russia's destruction than the loss of Gallipoli.
By way of further example, Chapter Eleven featured the month of November, 2016 and the reelection (barely) of Woodrow Wilson and his Administration's isolationist policies which ended up emboldening the Central Powers -- Germany and the Habsburg Empire -- and prolonging the "Great War" by another two (2) years. America's involvement was inevitable after the sinking of the Lusitania and the world missed an opportunity for lasting peace in 1916.
The point though is interesting and each chapter showed not only just how insane WWI was but also how closely intertwined and interconnected our global village was even 100 years ago.
There is so much information in each chapter and a lot of it was not truly geared to those interested so much in the global history of WWI but the history of espionage and British espionage in particular. After all, Keith Jeffery did write the only governmentally sanctioned history of MI6 and British Intelligence from 1909-1949 having complete and unfettered access to all of MI6's files during that period of time.
I gave it three (3) stars because of the sheer dearth of information. So much needless death and wanton destruction that the eyes begin to glaze at the sheer madness of it all. If as they say "War is Hell", then World Wars are glimpses of the coming Apocalypse. Maybe that's the main point of this book in which case if we don't learn that lesson and learn it well, we are doomed to repeat it time and time again. President-elect Trump pay heed.
April 30, 2016
In the part of the world that Professor Jeffery was born and worked, Northern Ireland, you would often think that only 2 events of any import happened in 1916... The Easter Rising Dublin and the Battle of the Somme. However, this book, whilst it begins in an Irish Methodist church (echoing Jeffery's own family background) it is true to its title and shows the truly global impact of this year in the middle of what was to become known as the First WORLD War. Irish people appear in the strangest of places within it, as do humorous passages, leavening the litany of inhumanity. It is not a simple chronology of the events of 1916, or any of the key campaigns and battles that he focuses on within it. If you want that there are plenty of other works you can turn to, instead Jeffery focusses on on part of the world for each month of the year dependent on a key event within it, beginning in January with the winding up of the disasterous Dardanelles campaign, and finishing with the assassination of Rasputin in Russia at the very end of December, presaging the upheavals that the following year of revolutions would bring. Returning to those events that have become part of the foundation myths of both states on the island of Ireland, it was interesting to see the events of Easter 1916 in the light of other risings against imperial powers on either side throughout that year, and the even more brutal repression with which they were put down, and to primarily look at the Somme (which Jeffery somewhat mischievously looks at in "September", what many would see as the key month of the battle, rather than the more iconic July which was the beginning of it) through the lens of the Irish Nationalists who fought in the battle rather than the fames 36th Ulster Division who "went over the top" on the first day... This sideways perspective and, when required, gentle un-picking of the traditional narratives, looking not only at the global but also the long term implications of such events, is not only a key aspect of this book but a characteristic of the author, which will be sadly missed following his death shortly after the publication of this volume.
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