1913: The Eve of War

by Paul Ham, Christopher Oxford (Narrator)

Christmas 1913: In Britain, people are debating a new dance called ‘the tango’. In Germany, they are fascinated by the wedding of the Kaiser’s daughter to the Duke of Brunswick. Little did they know that their world was on ‘The Eve of War’, a catastrophe that was to engulf the continent, cost millions of lives, and change the course of the century. And yet behind the scenes, the Great Powers were marching towards what they thought was an inevitable conflict.
In this controversial and concise essay, the military historian Paul Ham argues that the First World War was not an historical mistake, a conflict into which the Great Powers stumbled by accident. Nor was it a justified war, in which uncontained German aggression had to be defeated. Instead the politicians and generals of the day willed the war, and prepared for it - but eventually found themselves caught up in an inferno they could no longer control.
Paul Ham is the author of the forthcoming 1914: The Year the World Ended, to be published by Random House in Britain in 2014. He has previously written the acclaimed Sandakanz, Kokoda, Vietnam: The Australian War and Hiroshima Nagasaki. A former Australia Correspondent of the Sunday Times, he was born in Sydney and educated in Australia and Britain. He now lives in Sydney and Paris.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War I, European History, Audiobook, War, Military History

Audible Audio

First published November 5, 2013

About the author

PAUL HAM is a historian specialising in 20th century conflict, war and politics. Born and raised in Sydney, Paul has spent his working life in London, Sydney and Paris. He teaches narrative non-fiction at SciencesPo in Reims and English at l'École de guerre in Paris. His books have been published to critical acclaim in Australia, Britain and the United States, and include: 'Hiroshima Nagasaki', a controversial new history of the atomic bombings (HarperCollins Australia 2010, Penguin Random House UK 2011, & Pan Macmillan USA 2014-15); '1914: The Year The World Ended' (Penguin Random House 2013); 'Sandakan' (Penguin Random House 2011); 'Vietnam: The Australian War' and 'Kokoda' (both published by HarperCollins, 2007 and 2004). Paul has co-written two ABC documentaries based on his work: 'Kokoda' (2010), a 2-part series on the defeat of the Japanese army in Papua in 1942 (shortlisted for the New York Documentary prize); and 'All the Way' (2012), about Australia's difficult alliance with America during the Vietnam War, which he also narrated and presented (it won the UN's Media Peace prize). Paul is the founding director of Hampress, an independent ebook publisher, and a regular contributor to Kindle Single, Amazon's new 'short book' publishing platform, for which he has written '1913: The Eve of War' and 'Young Hitler', co-written 'Honey, We Forgot the Kids', and published several titles by other authors. Hampress welcomes your ideas! A former Australia correspondent for The Sunday Times (1998-2012), Paul has a Masters degree in Economic History from London School of Economics. He lives in Sydney and Paris, and takes time off now and then to organise the Big Fat Poetry Pig-Out, an annual poetry recital, for charity.

Some relevant links:

http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Ham/e/B001...

https://www.hampress.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ham

http://us.macmillan.com/hiroshimanaga...

http://lareviewofbooks.org/review/hir...

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18...

http://www.amazon.com/Sandakan-Paul-H...

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42...

http://www.randomhouse.com.au/authors...

http://www.harpercollins.com.au/97807...

Reviews

[Theo Logos · Rating 4 out of 5]

The First World War, or Great War, as it was known at the time, is the most consequential conflict in modern human history. The war destroyed an entire World Order. It made possible the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and thus the emergence of Communism. It created the conditions for the Second World War. (Indeed, some historians suggest that the two should be considered a single world war with a two decade intermission.) And it created the thorniest ongoing dilemmas of our modern world order through its haphazard and opportunistic creation of states in Eastern Europe and the old Ottoman Empire.

Yet most know little or nothing about this consequential war, and much of what we think we know is wrong. Most of us were taught that the Great Powers stumbled into the war, were surprised by it, wanted to avoid it. The evidence suggests that this is balderdash. Paul Ham sets out to show how wrong that common knowledge view is. As he puts it:

“Far from shocking the rulers of Europe, the war that erupted in August 1914 was widely anticipated, rigorously rehearsed, immensely resourced, and meticulously planned. By 1913, the leaders, if not the led, were anticipating and planning a major, continental war, and to some extent, those plans were so entrenched as to become self fulfilling.”

Ham goes on to say that:
“To suggest they groped or sleepwalked blindly into a battle not of their making is nonsense.”

After reading this tightly reasoned book, it’s hard to argue with his conclusions.

[Tariq Mahmood · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can we feel the past as those who lived back then felt it?

Paul Ham in this tiny masterpiece has given me a glimpse of how to history should be like, free from prejudices and personal views. I have always been confused about the main reasons for the start of the Great War, and any book or documentary which I chanced upon glossed over this question with the general narrative that no one back then expected it. The War just came out of nowhere completely surprising all stakeholders and pundits. Paul's account on the other hand has clearly laid out the mood of the general population as well as their leaders and media who all not only knew that a war was inevitable but craved and abetted it. They built new railway lines, new ships, enlisted soldiers, excited their population on war footing, rejecting the few voices for peace at the same time. It was a time when the population seemed drunk on patriotism, even bastardising Darwin's theory of evolution to prove their superiority.

I also learnt how the newest Industrial power on the European scene, Germany was ignored because of paucity of its colonial assets. And how the the colonial giants, Britain and France expected Germany to attack their assets instead of attacking in Europe.

The size and rich material in this book make it a most wondrous read indeed.

[Michael Flanagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say I love Paul Ham’s books; he has a great talent in making history dance of the pages. While 1913 is only a small offering running at 81 pages he still manages to engage the reader from the very first page. This book is a lead in to his much more substantial body of work 1914 ,and on the eve of the 100th year since World War I broke out it is a very pertinent read.

What we get in 1913 as you would expect is the lead up to the war. He looks at the social and political landscape of the era. He goes along away in getting the reader to see how numerous societies across had a glorified and romantic view on War. I came away from this book with a new view on the pre-cursors to WWI and with the appetite to delve into his next book. For those of you yet to experience the brilliance of Paul Ham this is a great introduction.

[Michael Bingham · Rating 1 out of 5]

Elementary Regurgitation

Just regurgitated pieces of other better researched and written books and articles on the same subject. Author leaves out much of the socioeconomic problems and looks at military buildup and lack of initiative from European leaders. (Honestly this book was so regurgitated and elementary that it caused me to write my first review to try to keep other from wasting the 90 minutes I did reading what amounts to a typical college essay on the start of WWI)

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

1913: The Eve of War is an interesting read on the run-up to the first world war. However, Ham's explanation of those events comes across as opinion because he rarely substantiates his arguments in any substantive way. Perhaps this isn't a fair review because opinion is exactly what the Amazon book description claims the writing to be (using the word "essay"); I'm essentially accusing the author of writing what he claimed to write in the first place and using it against him. His use of advanced vocabulary aside, I might have expected a bit more scholarly approach to the essay.

Still, Ham offers an interesting take on the causative factors of World War I.

[Stephen Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating look into the year just before World War 1 kicks off. Though brief, it details the state of the various home fronts of 1913, the size of armies and navies, as well as battle plans for future conflicts (which your average citizen did not know was right around the corner).

My two favorite things about the author is:
1. He is a fantastic story teller for history. It is not droll, and it seems like he writes to be read, rather than just referenced.
And 2. I love his inclusion of criticism for war mass killings on all sides, as well as pointing out weapons manufacturing profiteering, and economic monopolies and collusion. In this book we also see a documentation of the era’s interest in social Darwinism, glorification of war to youth, and the desire for war in both the nation’s leaders and citizens.

Available on Kindle or a 3 hour audiobook, we get a quick overview of where every country was on the eve of the Great War, and it’s a must for anyone furthering their study. (Mr. Ham, if you’re reading this, I’d love for this to become a physical book for my book shelf, hint hint wink wink)

⚠️Parental Warning ⚠️
Parents looking for research data for children may want to be aware of the following noted topics:
French government made crimes of passion laws due to rise in murders of “unfaithful lovers.”
The mention that some “fetishize” military armament.

[Jeremiah Gumm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise, yet comprehensive look at the world on the eve of WWI. Ham ably examines the causes of the war, which was anything but inevitable. The writer's diagnosis pulls no punches and rightly spreads the causes of WWI among all the belligerents.

[Dulcie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Essentially little more than a snarky response to Christopher Clarke's The Sleepwalkers.
Note to Ham; when you're trying to tear down someone else's hypothesis, probably best not to prove it in your response. Powered by embitterment and derision, 1913 is profoundly childish.
Looking at the 2 ideas alongside each other, I'm always going to come down on the side of the historian over the journalist.

[Patricia Fawcett · Rating 5 out of 5]

As we approach the centenary of the outbreak of the once-mooted 'war to end all wars,' this book provides a fascinating account of a Europe where countries formed alliances will-nilly with each other, changing tack on a regular basis. At the heart of this was Kaiser Wilhelm II, for whom any diplomatic difference of opinion was a perceived slight, and who, as far back as 1905, had been building up the German Navy and had initiated the drawing up of the Schlieffen Plan, a suggested blueprint for German reaction in the event of a European conflict. Politicians in Britain failed initially to grasp the putative seriousness of the situation. The ill-timed motorcade of the unpopular Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife at Sarajevo on 28th June 1914 triggered a response which accelerated into an unprecedented global conflict, the full justification for which cannot be readily understood from a 21st century viewpoint. However, the complex alliances and background described in so much depth by Paul Ham go a long way in demonstrating how Europe, in 1913, was ripe for conflict, and provide a very useful reference and template for students, interested parties and historians alike.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the lead up to the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War, we can expect a number of books, documentaries, novels and histories set during this period. The lead up to The Great War is a complex subject which Paul Ham deals with in a well written, fast paced essay. Unfortunately the short length results in a blanket overview. Despite his critique of 'hindsight' in the epilogue, from page one through to the end, I felt that hindsight was the sight. It would make an excellent lecture, or television program, but for some insight into the causes of the war, a little more digging is required.

There is an excellent bibliography.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit to being pretty ignorant about WWI and its causes, and this book was a quick and easy introduction to the causes and the states of mind of the various European leaders who were setting the course for war. The last chapter changes tone and becomes increasingly critical of these states of mind (and you can hardly blame the author, for just thinking about the devastation of the first World War, and the sheer number of lives lost, is profoundly upsetting), but prior to that it's all very even-handed, with nobody looking all that great.

I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who would like a pretty simple introduction to the world in 1913.

[Mahmood Hanif · Rating 4 out of 5]

This seemed a timely read as we approach the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War. The author outlines the thought processes in the government and military of the major protagonists (Germany, Russia, France, Britain and Austria-Hungary) as well as their general populations. His main argument is that far from sleep-walking into war the major powers had been anticipating and preparing for it.

It's a short and easy read that uncovered (for me at least) lots if interesting facts - such as the role played by the railway network in making war a certainty.

[jakekellsaol.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical insight

I often wondered how such an obscure assassination could lead several countries to enter into a world war. The specifics were never adequately explained by my public school educators. I had no idea of the background leading up to the war. After reading 1913, I can now see the complexity of actions and inactions of several world leaders and their lessors combined with a lot of stupidly lead to the death of millions.

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 4 out of 5]

1913: The Eve of War by Paul Ham sets the European stage for the start of WWI. Ham is the author of several books on 20th Century war, politics, and diplomacy. He has written several on the time period including the previously reviewed 1914: The Year the World Ended.

Europe was a happy place. Economic growth, new products and production contributed to an established middle class. There was stability. It has been ninety-eight years since the last continent wide war, and over forty years since any of the powers faced off in a war. Art, music, and leisure time made this a golden time.

Ham looks into the events that caused the war and tells that it is much more complex, and even a bit more absurd than what we came to believe. We all heard the blame placed on alliances and the assassination of the Arch Duke. These are simple answers that do not reflect the complexity of the situation. Alliances do not lead to war. Anyone who has lived through the Cold War recognizes that NATO and the Warsaw Pact kept the war cold. The Archduke was not liked at home or abroad. Emporer Franz Joseph is credited as thanking God for bringing order to his house after the assassination. No leaders from any of the powers attended the funeral. The Emporer, although shaken by the news of the assassination returned to the capital, but quickly resumed his vacation.

Suspicion, distrust, and prestige had more to do than anything else. There more than ample opportunities to stop the war before it started, but no one put forth the effort. Instead everyone planned for war. Railroads made mobilization quicker and also prevented a negotiation period from mobilization to the firing of shots. Once the troops boarded the trains, there was no turning back. Ham makes sense of and explains the complex events that lead to a very preventable war.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting take on the events leading up to the Great War. In contrast to Christopher Clark's view of a Europe sleepwalking into the biggest catastrophe to befall the Western world, Paul Ham believes that the timing of the war was no coincidence. The shots fired in Sarajevo were the spark that ignited the powder keg that set the Continent alight. It provided the moribund Austro-Hungarian Empire, emboldened by Germany's blank cheque, with the perfect excuse to bring the upstart Serbian nation to heel. This inexorably set the wheels of war in motion.

According to the author, armed conflict could have been avoided if only the belligerent nations had shown greater willingness to engage with each other to resolve their disputes and set aside their mutual mistrust. War was not an inevitable outcome, but rather a sinister ploy devised by the Central Powers and the Entente Countries to defer the social reforms which had taken root across Europe. For this reason, those on the Left were reluctant to wage war at first, as they realized that this would scupper their plans for social change aimed at improving the lot of the working class population at large.

Nationalism and the fostering of a false sense of patriotism also played a role in fanning the flames of hostility. This eventually helped prime Europe's youth for war and paved the way for a united home front, pitting nation against nation, in a clash of empires.

Extremely well written and concise, yet sufficiently detailed to convey a potent message. Paints a clear picture of what happened in the months prior to the outbreak of the war, the fallout of which reverberates to this day.

Top marks also for the narration. Really enjoyed the audiobook which accompanied my reading of the kindle edition of this book.

[Michael Westcott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very concise accessible explanation to the lead up to the Great War. I like to think I am a pretty good student of history (which I find fascinating) but when I start reading some of the heavy (physically and intellectually) tomes I get bogged down in the excessive detail. While detailed and encompassing this book covered the subject without burying it in a mountain of detail.
And for once the author basically explained that hindsight, while 20/20, isn't available while you're living through an event. Everyone who mattered knew something massive was about to happen, had to happen, would inevitably happen after a century without a major European conflict. Two things: The PTB the Powers That Be did nothing, giving in to fatalism AND nobody told the people who would do the fighting exactly what was about to happen.
For the armchair historian like myself this book gave me what i needed.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Ham pulls no punches here, using words like "absurdity" and "stupidity" to describe the actions that lead to WWI.

Ham's thesis here is to show that WWI was caused by the deliberate actions of ALL the leaders of Europe, who ALL spent several years planning and prepping for a European war.

He pushes back hard against the narrative developed post-WWI and swallowed by subsequent generations that the war was no one's fault and no one could have prevented it any more than you can prevent a hurricane or earthquake. That's BS, says Ham, but in a much more academic and erudite way, and drags everyone across the coals, pointing what was done by men who could have chosen different actions that lead to the pointless deaths of millions.

Strong stuff and worth the read.

[Jesse McDermid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I found this and enjoyable and accessible read. Some basic knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the First World War is necessary to follow the essay but I had little reason to turn to other sources except to satisfy my own curiosity. While I have never thought that the Great War was inevitable, I had not appreciated the extent to which a small minority generated the widespread support for the conflict found in all countries or how most in each nation perceived themselves as being under threat from those on the other side.

[Skuli Saeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stutt bók um aðdraganda fyrri heimsstyrjaldar. Ham einbeitir sér að árinu 1913 og dregur fram sjónarmið og ummæli almennings og ráðamanna helstu stórþjóða í Evrópu um að stríð sé ekki bara líklegt heldur æskilegt og nauðsynlegt. Hann gagnrýnir og hrekur í raun seinni tíma ummæli þessara sömu aðila að stríðið hafi verið óumflýjanlegt og að þeir hafi verið leiksoppar örlaganna eða að stríðið hafi einungis verið Þýskalandi og Austurríska-Ungverska keisaradæminu að kenna. Ágætis rannsókn á hinni flóknu atburðarrás sem leiddi síðar til eins mesta hryllings síðustu aldar.

[x x x · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well balanced treatment

A scholarly exploration into the societal Trends and attitudes that led up to and may even have precipitated World War. I wish the author had had an addendum that tied it to the presidencies and their talk up to the various Wars we've seen in modernity to see if the run-up to World War I might have been a template for the run-up to World War II and other Wars since then.

[David Bisset · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brisk refutation of the inevitability of war

Paul Ham believes that the Great War was absolutely unnecessary, and that statement could have prevented it if they had made a real effort. He argues cogently for his thesis without wasting a single word. He gives short shift to the opinion that the war was necessary, and also to the imputation of guilt upon Germany alone and upon no others.

[Bevan Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was inspired to buy this Kindle Single after reading favourable reviews of Paul Ham’s book 1914: The Year the World Ended. The Australian author wrote this book prior to 1914 being released so I'll forgive the duplication of a few chapters.
The centenary of the Great War lead to several titles bring released on the origins of the Great War (a topic upon which it is difficult to say much that is new). Most notably there has been Sean Mcmeekin's July 1914: Countdown to War and more controversially The Russian Origins of the First World War, Margaret McMillan’s The War That Ended Peace: The Road To 1914 and Christopher Clark’s The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914. Paul Ham freely acknowledges the abundance of material on this endlessly fascinating topic, however promises a fresh approach as he promises to treat the objective of his study as “to reach the core of the onion, the heart of its being, by peeling away many ‘narrative skins’: layers of misperception, blinkered plans, propaganda, paranoia and plain lies”.
The extended essay format of the Kindle Single is conducive to a well argued but concise treatment of this complex topic. Ham does a good job of avoiding the perils of hindsight as he treats all of the participants with equality.
Unlike other authors he puts Germany’s ambitions and militarist outlook well into context, balancing them with those of the other European powers. He describes how “a spirit of vengeance permeated French society in 1913”, how Britain persistently feared the rise of Germany and the way that warmongers in Russia believed “the whole nation must accustom itself to the idea that we arm ourselves for a war of annihilation against the Germans”.
He pricks the “belle epoque” as an exaggerated phenomenon, often used to contrast the artistic revolution with the events that followed. Ham argues that “the flowering of artistic and literary genius had little direct influence on the people in power or the man in the street”. Instead governments and more importantly the military leaderships were all assuming war was coming. Their intricate war plans acted as a self fulfilling prophecy. This was bolstered by growing rail networks which made massive industrially powered mobilisations possible.
So war was on the minds of those in power - virtually an assumption. Ham writes that the outbreak of war in 1914 couldn't have been a surprise to anyone in power. Part Two of the book explores how war was “willed”. Ham argues that although obvious factors such as the Anglo German naval race, the Balkan wars, Russia’s growing military strength and Britain's lack of apparent commitment (leading Germany to gamble that she might remain neutral) were important, less tangible factors were “immeasurably influential". He describes an intense anti German feeling in Britain, and conversely a feeling of deliberate and persistent exclusion from influence in Germany. He also highlights the importance of the conflict between Russia’s visions of power in the Balkan and Constantinople with Austrian interests. The Balkan wars were crucial - they “entrenched the powers of Europe and delineated the belligerent and their allies”.
Another factor Ham highlights is the desire for war amongst the young, the future warriors. Fuelled by Social Darwinian beliefs in the importance of a nation being strong, a longing for war was exalted. Politicians played their game dangerously. “Sheer laziness, unintelligence and inability to concentrate were common”.
Ham concludes his book by looking at the governments of Europe at the end of 1913. He convincingly argues that they were expecting, indeed almost willing war. With loaded arsenals and plans for war carefully considered Ham makes a strong argument for the weight of intentions supporting war. In the end the assassination of Franz Ferdinand provided the excuse for Austria to manufacture a small war with Serbia “knowing it risked a Europe-wide catastrophe”.
Ham’s book is a well written synthesis of current scholarship. He convincingly rejects a “sleepwalking” to war thesis, arguing that all parties willingly adopted their plans, antipathy towards each other and acceptance that war was an inevitability and natural element of policy. I look forward to reading 1914: The Year the World Ended.

A note on the books formatting: regrettably the publisher did not insert the footnotes as links (i.e the reader needs to go to the end of the book and find the relevant reference number manually. Hopefully this will be rectified in an update.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing dive into history, geography, social psychology. Never thought about social Darwinism as a potential partial cause of WWI. Sometimes Ham's sentence structure slowed me down when he placed the specific subject at the end of a sentence which appeared to be describing all of the participants.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Until recently I was naïve about what 'caused' WWI. This book gives the details of the countries involved in the war and the political and military mid-set of these nations years leading up to WWI. Little frightening to realize this war was thought to be inevitable. Opportunities to mediate between nations were missed. Excellent account. Good research. Well documented.

[Kris McCracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I am certain that this will have given some a greater sense of the inevitability of the war, it's something of a sad state of historical memory that most still believe the myth of sleepwalking into World War One. While it lacks Hobsbawm's understanding of the class dynamic, it's a brisk exploration of the high-political precursors of the conflict.

[Abdul Alhazred · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short summary of the pre-war situation focusing on the belligerence of all parties while simultaneously professing the inevitability of the coming conflict. At once gearing war machines up for a fight they look forward to and feeling victimized by circumstance as if bound by the ties of fate to fight.

[Lauren A George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully objective

I very much enjoyed this bipartisan look into the on slaughter of the Great War. Many passages ring eerily true to statements made by current political leaders.

[Mario Dipp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good background about the causes of war.

It provides good context, not as good as Sleepwalkers but does provide information on missed opportunities to avoid the war and how leaders had a sense of guilt that led to appeasement of hitler and later to WW2

[roarayacr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente. Llamar valiente a quien reta al discurso oficial de " buenos y malos" en la guerra, para poder ver las causas reales de ésta, es lamentable peri cierto. Si se quiere conocer el trasfondo de la Primera Guerra Mundial, este libro es lo que busca

[Phillip J. O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting presentation of 1913 and how ego played a huge part in World War I.