"Winston Churchill's account of the prelude to and events of the First World War is a defining work of twentieth-century history. With dramatic narrative power Churchill reconstructs the action on the Western and Eastern Fronts, the wars at sea and in the air and the advent of tanks and U-boats. Rich with personal insights, the first part of Churchill's magisterial book covers the years 1911-1918 and includes Ireland and the European balance, the mobilization of the Navy, the invasion of France and Turkey and the Balkans."