Written in Blood: The Battles for Fortress Przemysl in WWI

Written in Blood: The Battles for Fortress Przemysl in WWIWritten in Blood: The Battles for Fortress Przemyśl in WW1 by Graydon A. Tunstall
ISBN: 0253021979
Published by Indiana University Press on August 16, 2016
Genres: Battles & Campaigns
Pages: 408

Winner of the 2016 Tomlinson Prize Award

A series of battles to capture and relieve the besieged Habsburg Fortress of Przemyl during the fall of 1914 and early 1915 was bloodier than Verdun. By the time the fortress finally fell to the Russians on 22 March 1915, the Austro-Hungarian Army had sustained 800,000 casualties; the Russians, over a million.

Control of the fortress changed hands three times during the fall of 1914. In 1915, several Austro-Hungarian armies launched three major offensives to penetrate the Russian encirclement and rescue the 120,000 men trapped in the fortress. Tunstall argues that Przemyl had served its purpose: the besieged garrison kept the Russian army from advancing farther and perhaps causing the collapse of the weakened Habsburg forces.

Reviewed by Dana Lombardy, publisher of WWOI

Dennis Showalter: “A valuable and unique contribution to the history of both WWI and European fortress war. This work will be cited long after ones on more glamorous subjects have been relegated to library shelves, and in my professional judgment, Tunstall is the only scholar who could have done it.”

The Battle of the Otranto Straits: Controlling the Gateway to the Adriatic in World War I

The Battle of the Otranto Straits: Controlling the Gateway to the Adriatic in World War IThe Battle of the Otranto Straits: Controlling the Gateway to the Adriatic in World War I by Paul G. Halpern
ISBN: 0253343798
Published by Indiana University Press on May 24th 2004
Pages: 208

Len's Summary: By the author of A Naval History of WWI and The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1914-1918. The story of the largest Mediterranean naval encounter of WWI involving surface and submarine vessels, mines and aircraft from five nations.

Dew of Death: The Story of Lewisite, America’s World War I Weapon of Mass Destruction

Dew of Death: The Story of Lewisite, America’s World War I Weapon of Mass DestructionDew of Death: The Story of Lewisite, America's World War I Weapon of Mass Destruction by Joel A. Vilensky
ISBN: 0253346126
Published by Indiana University Press on September 1st 2005
Pages: 240

Len's Summary: The story of Lewisite, a variation of mustard gas based on an arsenic compound, a weapon developed, but never deployed during WWI.

The Battle of Heligoland Bight

The Battle of Heligoland BightThe Battle of Heligoland Bight by Eric W. Osborne
ISBN: 9780253347428
Published by Indiana University Press on June 13th 2006
Genres: Great Britain, Military, Naval
Pages: 141

Len's Summary: A new history of the first naval battle of WWI between Germany and England.

Battle of Dogger Bank: The First Dreadnought Engagement, January 1915

Battle of Dogger Bank: The First Dreadnought Engagement, January 1915Battle of Dogger Bank: The First Dreadnought Engagement, January 1915 by Tobias R. Philbin
ISBN: 0253011698
Published by Indiana University Press on March 1st 2014
Genres: Military, Naval
Pages: 216

Len's Summary: Decoded radio messages drew Royal Navy battle cruisers to oppose German raiders in an inconclusive battle at sea. // A January 1915 battle cruiser encounter which, though inconclusive, taught valuable lessons to both sides.

Race, War, and Surveillance: African Americans and the United States

Race, War, and Surveillance: African Americans and the United StatesRace, War, and Surveillance: African Americans and the United States by Mark Ellis
ISBN: 9780253109323
Published by Indiana University Press on July 26th 2001
Genres: History, United States, General, Social Science, Ethnic Studies, African American Studies, Military, World War I
Pages: 352

Len's Summary: Race relations in America during The Great War…not a pretty sight.

“Investigate Everything”: Federal Efforts to Ensure Black Loyalty During World War I

“Investigate Everything”: Federal Efforts to Ensure Black Loyalty During World War I"Investigate Everything": Federal Efforts to Ensure Black Loyalty During World War I by Theodore Kornweibel Jr.
ISBN: 9780253340092
Published by Indiana University Press on 2002
Genres: History, United States, 20th Century, Social Science, Ethnic Studies, African American Studies
Pages: 323

Len's Summary: By the author of Seeing Red (Indiana 1998) about Federal efforts to curb Black militancy 1919-1925 in the wake of the post-war Red Scare.

The Brusilov Offensive

The Brusilov OffensiveThe Brusilov Offensive by Timothy C. Dowling
ISBN: 9780253351302
Published by Indiana University Press on June 18th 2008
Genres: History, Europe, Eastern, Military, World War I, Modern, 20th Century
Pages: 208

Len's Summary: The Brusilov Offensive of June 1916 rolled back massive German gains of 1915, brought Romania into the war extinguishing once and for all the offensive capabilities of the Austro-Hungarian Army forcing Vienna into political and military subservience to Berlin. A skillful analysis and welcome addition to the short Eastern Front bookshelf.

Operation Albion: The German Conquest of the Baltic Islands

Operation Albion: The German Conquest of the Baltic IslandsOperation Albion: The German Conquest of the Baltic Islands by Michael B. Barrett
ISBN: 9780253349699
Published by Indiana University Press on February 19th 2008
Genres: History, Europe, Baltic States, Germany, Military, World War I
Pages: 298

Len's Summary: This Eastern Front battle featured action between German dreadnoughts and a Russian battleship, the use of aircraft and zeppelins, and the most successful amphibious landing of WWI on the islands of Dago, Osel and Moon at the head of the Gulf of Riga. A History Book Club selection. The author teaches at The Citadel and spoke at our 2006 WFA seminar in Tampa.

The Last Century of Sea Power: From Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894-1922

The Last Century of Sea Power: From Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894-1922The Last Century of Sea Power: From Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894-1922 by H.P. Willmott
ISBN: 0253352142
Published by Indiana University Press on June 1st 2009
Pages: 568

Len's Summary: Analyses the complex nature of transition to modern war at sea, changes in shipbuilding, armament technology and doctrine. Written by a foremost military historian.

Balkan Breakthrough: The Battle of Dobro Pole, 1918

Balkan Breakthrough: The Battle of Dobro Pole, 1918Balkan Breakthrough: The Battle of Dobro Pole, 1918 by Richard C. Hall
ISBN: 0253354528
Published by Indiana University Press on May 1st 2010
Genres: History, Europe, Eastern, Military, World War I
Pages: 240

Len's Summary: Balkan specialist Hall’s third volume on Balkan conflicts examines the decisive battle of the war on the Salonika Front and its consequences. Dr. Hall is a frequent speaker at WFA seminars in Florida.

The Great War in Russian Memory

The Great War in Russian MemoryThe Great War in Russian Memory by Karen Petrone
ISBN: 9780253356178
Published by Indiana University Press on July 14th 2011
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Revolutionary, Europe, Russia & the Former Soviet Union, Literary Criticism, Russian & Former Soviet Union
Pages: 385

Len's Summary: Though the war was never commemorated by the Soviet Union, it became the subject of lively discourse starting in the 1930s as war with Germany loomed once again.

Tirpitz and the Imperial German Navy

Tirpitz and the Imperial German NavyTirpitz and the Imperial German Navy by Patrick J. Kelly
ISBN: 9780253001757
Published by Indiana University Press on May 3rd 2011
Genres: History, Military, Naval, Biography & Autobiography, World War I
Pages: 608

Len's Summary: Grand Admiral Tirpitz (1849-1930) dominated German naval policy during the years leading up to WWI. This is both a compelling biography and an examination of the historiography of the period.

Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania

Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in RomaniaPrelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania by Michael B. Barrett
ISBN: 9780253008657
Published by Indiana University Press on October 23rd 2013
Genres: History, Europe, General, Germany, Military, World War I, Other
Pages: 399

Len's Summary: Analysis of a little-known lightening campaign of conquest against Romania, which entered the war on the side of the Entente in 1916. Professor Barrett of the Citadel is the author of Operation Albion: The German Conquest of the Baltic Islands (IUP, 2008). See also the Tomlinson Prize-winning The Romanian Battlefront in World War I, Glenn E. Torrey (Kansas, 2012).

The Second Battle of the Marne

The Second Battle of the MarneThe Second Battle of the Marne by Michael S. Neiberg
ISBN: 9780253003546
Published by Indiana University Press on April 9th 2008
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Europe, General
Pages: 232

Len's Summary: Winner of the Annual WFA Norman B. Tomlinson, Jr. Book Prize for 2008, this book breaks new ground on a key battle in the last year of the war.