In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

5 New Challenges T he Great War began as a war of movement, with German armies sweeping across BeJgium in August 1914, sending shock waves through the capitals of Europe. By September, however, the German advance ground to an unexpected halt foU owing the battle ofthe Marne (September 5- 12). A race to the sea quickly followed, with the German and French armies attempting to outflank each other. At the end ofthe first battle of Ypres (October 30 to November 24), the western front entered into a stalemate, confined largely to trench warfare, which stretched from France to part of Belgium, from Swirzcrland to the North Sea. For a period of three years, this front, consisting of fifteen thousand miles of zigzag trenches several lines deep., seldom advanced in either direction morc than tell miles at any point. As historian Russell F. Weiglcy explained, "The sizcofthe armies soondetermined that there wouJd be no more flanks for would·be Napoleons to turn, and the war degenerated into a head·on exchange of assaults and casualties, with barrie not an occasional climax but an almost cOl1tinuous event, that has given the phrases

Share