From its origins to its terrible legacy, the tortuous course of the Great War is vividly set out in a series of 196 fascinating maps. Together the maps form a comprehensive and compelling picture of the war that shattered Europe, and illustrate its military, social, political and economic aspects. Beginning with the tensions that already existed, the atlas covers:

The early months of the war

from the German attack on Belgium and France, to the fierce fighting on the Western and Eastern Fronts

The developing war in Europe and beyond

from the Somme and Verdun to Gallipoli and Mesopotamia, in the Near East and Africa, and in the Pacific

The war at sea and in the air

from the Zeppelin and air raids to the naval battles, shipping losses and Atlantic convoys

Life at the front

the trench system, living underground, the mud of Passchendaele, the French and Russian mutinies

Technology and the intensifying war

from phosgene gas to submarines, tanks and aerial bombardment

The home front

war supplies, munitions factories, the air defence of Britain, German food riots, the entry of the United States into the war, the Russian Revolution, and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian and the Ottoman Empires

The aftermath

the peace treaties and territorial changes, war debts, war deaths, and the new map of Europe along with the visual remembrance of the war, memorials that commemorate the tragedy.

This new edition now includes an additional 23 of Martin Gilbert’s maps, across the whole period of the war, originally published across a range of publications, now gathered in this one volume for the first time.