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The Origins of the War of 1914 Volume 3
Luigi Albertini wrote this monumental investigation into the origins of the First World War in the 1930s, when many participants were still alive to be interviewed about their recollections of those tragic moments. This is in fact the best and by far the most authoritative study of how the war began and why.
790 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1980
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 28, 2014
This is the Alpha and Omega of World War One origins books. Although a massive three volumes, all other historians since quote from it liberally, and are forced to deal with his compelling analysis and sleuth-work. Unparallelled.
December 25, 2025
It is sometimes amazing what you can find in sorting through stored boxes in your office. Around the 100-year anniversary of the outbreak of WWI, I managed to obtain the re-release (Enigma Books) of Luigi Albertini's three-volume history of the origins of the 1914 war. I started working through the first volume but stopped and didn't return to it until I unearthed it in my office.
The Albertini work is, in many ways, definitive, especially in the author's ability to contact actual participants (an impossible task afterwards) and to access more comprehensive data sources than were available immediately after the war. Of course, ir cannot account for later research that built upon it and drew more developed and clarified conclusions. A major example of such work is Fritz Fisher's research on Germany's WW1 war aims (1968).
This work is immense in size and scope. It totals 2000+ pages (with relatively small text). It is also a diplomatic history that focuses on individual people, their frequent interactions and meetings, and the communications conveyed through cables and documents. This makes for a significant reading burden under the best of circumstances. It is not recommended for readers with only a passing interest in WW1 and its origins.
Volume 1 covers the historical background to the outbreak of war, from around 1870 up until just before the July crisis of 1914, following the assassination of the Austrian Archduke in Sarajevo. Volume 2 covers the immediate July crisis while Volume 3 covers the actual outbreak of war. The material here overlaps with some more recents historical studies of WW1, most notably for me Christopher Clark's "The Sleepwalkers" (2014). This is not surprising, since Albertini's massive work is recognized as one of the pivotal histories of the outbreak of the war.
Apart from some consideration of internal governance changes to Hapsburg rule in Austria (which created Austria-Hungary) and the rise of Serbia, Volume 1 begins with the Congress of Berlin in 1878 and follows the relevant history up to mid-1914. There are two fundamental lines of interest in the book. The first is the growth of the alliance system that structured the interactions among major states in 1914 - the "Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, and the "Triple Entente" of France, Britain, and Russia. The evolution of these alliance structures was a lengthy process that significantly constrained all the states in 1914. The second major line of development in the book concerns the growth of the Balkan crisis. This was also a lengthy and drawn-out process, involving the weakening of the Ottoman Empire and the interactions between Russia and Austria-Hungary as they competed for influence in the Balkans. Serbia was a focal point here. Given the macro-level structures at play, it is not surprising that Albertini's account of how this context for 1914 developed is also filled with accounts of various interactions among diplomats and rulers, as well as the interplay of nationalist and imperial pressures.
Got all that? Then you are ready for the actual crisis to arrive in 1914. What will happen? I do not want to give away any spoilers.
It is a fine book, although not for everyone.
The Albertini work is, in many ways, definitive, especially in the author's ability to contact actual participants (an impossible task afterwards) and to access more comprehensive data sources than were available immediately after the war. Of course, ir cannot account for later research that built upon it and drew more developed and clarified conclusions. A major example of such work is Fritz Fisher's research on Germany's WW1 war aims (1968).
This work is immense in size and scope. It totals 2000+ pages (with relatively small text). It is also a diplomatic history that focuses on individual people, their frequent interactions and meetings, and the communications conveyed through cables and documents. This makes for a significant reading burden under the best of circumstances. It is not recommended for readers with only a passing interest in WW1 and its origins.
Volume 1 covers the historical background to the outbreak of war, from around 1870 up until just before the July crisis of 1914, following the assassination of the Austrian Archduke in Sarajevo. Volume 2 covers the immediate July crisis while Volume 3 covers the actual outbreak of war. The material here overlaps with some more recents historical studies of WW1, most notably for me Christopher Clark's "The Sleepwalkers" (2014). This is not surprising, since Albertini's massive work is recognized as one of the pivotal histories of the outbreak of the war.
Apart from some consideration of internal governance changes to Hapsburg rule in Austria (which created Austria-Hungary) and the rise of Serbia, Volume 1 begins with the Congress of Berlin in 1878 and follows the relevant history up to mid-1914. There are two fundamental lines of interest in the book. The first is the growth of the alliance system that structured the interactions among major states in 1914 - the "Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, and the "Triple Entente" of France, Britain, and Russia. The evolution of these alliance structures was a lengthy process that significantly constrained all the states in 1914. The second major line of development in the book concerns the growth of the Balkan crisis. This was also a lengthy and drawn-out process, involving the weakening of the Ottoman Empire and the interactions between Russia and Austria-Hungary as they competed for influence in the Balkans. Serbia was a focal point here. Given the macro-level structures at play, it is not surprising that Albertini's account of how this context for 1914 developed is also filled with accounts of various interactions among diplomats and rulers, as well as the interplay of nationalist and imperial pressures.
Got all that? Then you are ready for the actual crisis to arrive in 1914. What will happen? I do not want to give away any spoilers.
It is a fine book, although not for everyone.
November 24, 2018
A slog, not what I'm in the mood for. Another time, perhaps.
August 18, 2019
In the words of John Keegan (and mine), the "Bedrock of Discussion" about the reasons for the Great War!
September 4, 2026
One of the questions that has always bugged me is who blame for World War I. I've read several books and after each one my conclusion's changed. Generally the blame seems to fall on Germany but my most recent conclusion was that while Austria-Hungary used the assassination of the Crown Prince as an excuse to start a war, it was Russia and the Tsar who used the Dual Monarchy's reaction to the murder as an excuse to put Europe to the torch. I suspect that Albertini's books (this is just the first volume of three) may make me change my mind again. Albertini finished writing these just before WW II and they were originally printed in Italy during the early 1940's. Despite their age, Albertini's books have been and remain there most detailed and thorough works on the subject but I'm not sure after only reading this first book where he is going to end up.
Volume I is primarily a diplomatic history of the 30 years leading up to 1914 and ends just before the murder and the events on July 1914. There is heavy focus on event in the Balkans but also the formation of the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Italy) and the Triple Entente (Russia, France, and England). Much of what I have previously read about the origins of the war puts a fair amount of blame on the complexity of the international agreements that were reached between the European Powers before 1914. Albertini's is the detailed exploration of these agreements I've read.
This is not an easy read; the events are VERY convoluted and involve dozens of European leaders and diplomats but it is still the best explanation of how the countries of Europe were seeing each other leading up to the war. The second volume apparently focuses on the details behind the murder at a similar level of complexity and I am looking forward to digging into it shortly.
Volume I is primarily a diplomatic history of the 30 years leading up to 1914 and ends just before the murder and the events on July 1914. There is heavy focus on event in the Balkans but also the formation of the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Italy) and the Triple Entente (Russia, France, and England). Much of what I have previously read about the origins of the war puts a fair amount of blame on the complexity of the international agreements that were reached between the European Powers before 1914. Albertini's is the detailed exploration of these agreements I've read.
This is not an easy read; the events are VERY convoluted and involve dozens of European leaders and diplomats but it is still the best explanation of how the countries of Europe were seeing each other leading up to the war. The second volume apparently focuses on the details behind the murder at a similar level of complexity and I am looking forward to digging into it shortly.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews