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War by Timetable
'The First World War had begun - imposed on the statesmen of Europe by railway timetables. It was an unexpected climax to the railway age.'
War By Timetable is a history of the mobilisation of the armies of the Great Powers in 1914. Taylor not only argues that the circumstances were already set for a general war, he also examines the flaws in the war plans of the Great Powers. The timetables and limited resources that were meant to serve as a deterrent to war instead relentlessly drove the powers into a conflict that engulfed the world.
War By Timetable is a must read for anyone interested in the origins of the First World War.
Praise for A.J.P. Taylor:
'A dazzling exercise in revisionism which summed up Taylor's paradoxical, provocative and inventive approach to history' - The Times
'Taylor was a lifelong dissenter ... he shifted the ground of major debates' - Ben Pimlott, The Financial Times
'No historian of the past century has been more accessible' - Niall Ferguson, The Sunday Telegraph
'An almost faultless masterpiece' - The Observer
'Highly original and penetrating ... No one who has digested this enthralling work will ever be able to look at the period again in quite the same way' - The Sunday Telegraph
A.J.P. Taylor (1906-90) was one of the most controversial historians of the twentieth century. He served as a lecturer at the Universities of Manchester, Oxford, and London. Taylor was significant both for the controversy his work on Germany and the Second World War engendered and for his role in the development of history on television.
War By Timetable is a history of the mobilisation of the armies of the Great Powers in 1914. Taylor not only argues that the circumstances were already set for a general war, he also examines the flaws in the war plans of the Great Powers. The timetables and limited resources that were meant to serve as a deterrent to war instead relentlessly drove the powers into a conflict that engulfed the world.
War By Timetable is a must read for anyone interested in the origins of the First World War.
Praise for A.J.P. Taylor:
'A dazzling exercise in revisionism which summed up Taylor's paradoxical, provocative and inventive approach to history' - The Times
'Taylor was a lifelong dissenter ... he shifted the ground of major debates' - Ben Pimlott, The Financial Times
'No historian of the past century has been more accessible' - Niall Ferguson, The Sunday Telegraph
'An almost faultless masterpiece' - The Observer
'Highly original and penetrating ... No one who has digested this enthralling work will ever be able to look at the period again in quite the same way' - The Sunday Telegraph
A.J.P. Taylor (1906-90) was one of the most controversial historians of the twentieth century. He served as a lecturer at the Universities of Manchester, Oxford, and London. Taylor was significant both for the controversy his work on Germany and the Second World War engendered and for his role in the development of history on television.
91 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1969
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301 people want to read
About the author
A.J.P. Taylor
114 books195 followersAlan John Percivale Taylor was an English historian of the 20th century and renowned academic who became well known to millions through his popular television lectures.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 30, 2018
A brief provocative account of the reasons why the First World War started. It is, as with all of his work, sparklingly written and worth reading. His conclusion that the war started because deterence failed seemed convincing to me when I first read the book at about the time of its publication and all the recent books on the centenary of the start of the war have not materially shifted this view.
September 1, 2023
A sardonic and sprightly précis of Taylor’s major writings on the end of the 19th century and the origins of WWI; you get the sense that he enjoyed - again - exposing the fecklessness of the political and military leaders during the crisis. But Taylor’s depiction of that fecklessness undermines his argument that there was an irreversible logic of mobilization - the railway timetable - that led to war. Also, it seems clear from other sources (Fischer et al) that Germany wanted war.
September 21, 2018
Love it, and the pictures were a nice addition.
January 8, 2024
AJP Taylor delivers an incredibly unique perspective into the causes of World War One and my personal favourite take on the subject.
January 22, 2023
A. J. P. Taylor was a great historian and pioneering communicator, especially on television. A treasured memory for me was attending a lecture that he gave to my local Historical Association Branch in the 1970s about the Second World War. No notes, no visual aids. Just hands behind his back talking to a room full of people.
His historical work falls into two broad categories. There is the classic academic analysis where he specialised in modern diplomatic and political history. There is also the popular, journalistic narratives - often based on his extempore lectures. "War by Time-Table" is in the latter category. It is immensely readable and entertaining, replete with witticisms and one-liners.
That said, the modern reader should approach with caution. Taylor acknowledges at the close (the book dates from 1969) that the opening of archives may change the story - and so it has proved regarding one of the most intensely studied historical subjects. Even so, Taylor often took a single idea - in this case the timetabled military plans of the Powers in 1914 - and flogged it to death, at the expense of the more complicated factors which were known even at the time of writing.
By all means read and enjoy this account and it does contain some accurate points. But it is only a view and the reader should not fall into the trap of thinking that the start of the First World War was as straightforward as Taylor implied.
His historical work falls into two broad categories. There is the classic academic analysis where he specialised in modern diplomatic and political history. There is also the popular, journalistic narratives - often based on his extempore lectures. "War by Time-Table" is in the latter category. It is immensely readable and entertaining, replete with witticisms and one-liners.
That said, the modern reader should approach with caution. Taylor acknowledges at the close (the book dates from 1969) that the opening of archives may change the story - and so it has proved regarding one of the most intensely studied historical subjects. Even so, Taylor often took a single idea - in this case the timetabled military plans of the Powers in 1914 - and flogged it to death, at the expense of the more complicated factors which were known even at the time of writing.
By all means read and enjoy this account and it does contain some accurate points. But it is only a view and the reader should not fall into the trap of thinking that the start of the First World War was as straightforward as Taylor implied.
November 18, 2024
Great research and presentation narrowly focused on the start of WW1 and specifically how the 'programmed in' mobilization plans used by each of the 6 great powers, combined with miscommunication and misestimation of each by the others, lead to a war no one really wanted and which everyone ultimately lost. Very interesting how the technology of the day (railways) was a major factor, how the specifics of mobilization by country made a big difference (with some it was basically an irrevocable act to start mobilization, guaranteeing war, with with others it was just a step to heightened readiness, and some misperception of this by leaders within and across countries was a major factor leading to outbreak of real war), etc.
October 22, 2019
AJP Taylor is the historian I grew up with. His easily readable books and essays take the reader well beyond the basic UK view of history that is continually fed to us at school. His ideas and theories are easy to understand whether you agree with him or not.
In this book, Taylor points out the technicalities of modern, mechanised warfare. The railway network at the time was effective but still expanding from single track, thus train traffic had to be organised to transport troops, equipment and armaments to the front. War as per timetable. This is a an important factor, among many, in understanding the logistics of the first world war.
In this book, Taylor points out the technicalities of modern, mechanised warfare. The railway network at the time was effective but still expanding from single track, thus train traffic had to be organised to transport troops, equipment and armaments to the front. War as per timetable. This is a an important factor, among many, in understanding the logistics of the first world war.
July 30, 2021
A superb history book, almost mythical as an example of the historians craft.
Taylor manages to convince his audience that the real reason for the First World War was the timetable system of the German railways.
Of course, railways did play a part, but Taylor knows that he has made an over simplification. His real aim is to press the point that an arms race will generally lead to a war, something he inherited from his pacifist Quaker background.
Always a pleasure to spell out these theories to a group of bemused students.
Taylor manages to convince his audience that the real reason for the First World War was the timetable system of the German railways.
Of course, railways did play a part, but Taylor knows that he has made an over simplification. His real aim is to press the point that an arms race will generally lead to a war, something he inherited from his pacifist Quaker background.
Always a pleasure to spell out these theories to a group of bemused students.
June 7, 2025
One of the great historical questions is, what caused the first world war? The conventional narrative is that Gavrilo Princip assassinated Franz Ferdinand. But how could this single event 'cause' a world war?
Taylor explores 'war by timetable' and investigates the pathways and timelines that led into and out of this singular event.
This book - like so many of Taylor's short books and long essays - offers a clear and elegant argument. An excellent book. And a provocative argument.
Taylor explores 'war by timetable' and investigates the pathways and timelines that led into and out of this singular event.
This book - like so many of Taylor's short books and long essays - offers a clear and elegant argument. An excellent book. And a provocative argument.
May 19, 2022
Written in 1969 this masterpiece by A J P Taylor is a great insight into how the world fell into the First World War.
So many characters and countries - Taylor has used his skill to help us gain some understanding of why the calamity occurred.
A great read.
So many characters and countries - Taylor has used his skill to help us gain some understanding of why the calamity occurred.
A great read.
June 26, 2014
This book gave a relatively brief but concise description of how the great nations of Europe found themselves pulled into what would become WWI. Taylor details how military mobilization was planned and how precise plans held countries as slaves to those processes. He goes on to dispel some other myths about who really wanted war and on some of the inner workings behind closed doors, admitting when some of the ideas were merely theories or possibilities.
The book is great if you want to learn about the political-military dogma of the day (and made me both chuckle and sigh since the same tendencies seem to reappear throughout history albeit with different flavors of "this is how it has to be done") and the process by which many countries found themselves at war and what each one potentially had to gain from it. There is no discussion of military battles or strategy outside of that tied to mobilization or initial actions, so if you only are interested in the fighting side of the conflict this book is probably not ideal. Overall I enjoyed it and pretty easily turned the 100 or so pages (I had the Kindle edition) over only four days in a couple of sittings.
The book is great if you want to learn about the political-military dogma of the day (and made me both chuckle and sigh since the same tendencies seem to reappear throughout history albeit with different flavors of "this is how it has to be done") and the process by which many countries found themselves at war and what each one potentially had to gain from it. There is no discussion of military battles or strategy outside of that tied to mobilization or initial actions, so if you only are interested in the fighting side of the conflict this book is probably not ideal. Overall I enjoyed it and pretty easily turned the 100 or so pages (I had the Kindle edition) over only four days in a couple of sittings.
January 23, 2015
If the central premise of this book is correct, in that the First World War came about largely because of a misunderstanding about the different definitions of 'mobilisation' in the various countries, then this clearly makes the war even more pointless than it has frequently been portrayed. Mr. Taylor evokes a picture of a group of countries being herded toward a war that nobody seemed to want, as a consequence of the machinations of a few who definitely did want that outcome, or who thought that they could achieve their ends without it ever coming to all-out war. Deeply depressing.
August 22, 2016
An excellent short outline of the run up to the start of the first world war. The emphasis is on the nature of military planning (the timetables) drove events. A challenging read for those who believe the "it was all Germany's fault" theory - or the idea that it was all a terrible accident that could not have been prevented. Thought provoking and well reasoned 'proper' history, with a moral on the effectiveness of deterrence very relevant to modern decisions on armament (such as the pending decision to renew Trident).
October 31, 2016
Still relevant today
An excellent analysis of what happens when forces that people thought they were in control of take on a life of their own and gain an unstoppable momentum - how many times has this happened in the last century? The EU, Brexit and the Middle East being the latest examples of forces that politicians thought they could control getting out of hand - is a European war still considered as unlikely now as AJP Taylor says it was back then?
An excellent analysis of what happens when forces that people thought they were in control of take on a life of their own and gain an unstoppable momentum - how many times has this happened in the last century? The EU, Brexit and the Middle East being the latest examples of forces that politicians thought they could control getting out of hand - is a European war still considered as unlikely now as AJP Taylor says it was back then?
November 6, 2015
Taylor lists out the details of the events that led to the First World War. The description is laced with some interesting quotes. What he says about Germany could be true of our not-so- illustrious neighbour: 'Here was the only society where army officers determined the moral tone of public life as well as there own"
August 30, 2014
Very helpful understanding how the dominoes fell.
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January 23, 2016Classic, concise account of the buildup to the First World War, focusing on the way that the mobilisation timetables drove all the participants.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews