1. The Unforeseen Stalemate, 1914-1917
   Patriotic certainty among Europeans soon faded as the Alliance (Germany and Austria Hungary) and Entente (France, Russia, and Britain) armies entered into a horrific deadlock.
   1. August 1914: The Domestic and Military Setting
      Expecting a speedy resolution and backed by popular support, states large and small rushed to enter into the early stages of the conflict.
   2. Into the Nightmare, 1914
      As new technologies and vast armies brought an exhausting war of attrition, Ludendorff and Hindenburg assumed control of the German war effort.
   3. Seeking a Breakthrough, 1915-1917
      Horrific casualties and inconclusive results from such battles as Verdun and the Somme disheartened the French and British.
   4. 1917 as a Turning Point
      As the AngloGerman naval conflicts spurred the neutral United States to join the war on the Entente's side, 1917 saw the deadlock end.
2. The Experience of Total War
   The rigors of war forced individuals and nations to extraordinary lengths of labor and sacrifice.
   1. Hardship on the Home Front
      The war caused widespread civilian suffering behind the lines, ranging from food shortages to bomb casualties.
   2. Domestic Mobilization
      All countries, but especially Germany, endeavored to coordinate domestic economic, industrial, and research efforts for military benefit.
   3. Accelerating Socioeconomic Change
      Total mobilization of resources meant millions of women assumed "male" tasks, blurring traditional gender roles.
   4. Propaganda and the "Mobilization of Enthusiasm"
      Distorting or concealing the true horrors of the war, propaganda campaigns struggled to maintain public enthusiasm.
3. Two Revolutions in Russia: March and November, 1917
   Economic and political strain brought down the Russian government twice in a year, first resulting in a parliamentary democracy, then ending in a radical socialist victory.
   1. The Wartime Crisis of the Russian Autocracy
      War revealed the systemic weakness in Russia's newly industrialized autocracy, leading to the March Revolution.
   2. The March Revolution and the Fate of the Provisional Government
      Russia's new parliamentary leaders wavered and Vladimir Lenin's Bolsheviks challenged the new government's failure to fully reform.
   3. The Bolsheviks Come to Power
      Under Leon Trotsky's guidance, the Bolsheviks fanned popular resentments, seizing power in the October Revolution.
   4. The Russian Revolution and the War
      Taking Russia out of the war, the new socialist government concentrated its international relations on promoting socialism abroad.
4. The New War and the Allied Victory, 1917-1918
   1. The Debate Over War Aims
      With antiwar sentiments spreading and Russia's example of withdrawal, the French and British governments struggled to retain support for the war.
   2. The Renewal of the French War Effort
      Georges Clemenceau emerged as France's decisive leader, stiffening domestic resolve and renewing military leadership.
   3. The German Gamble, 1918
      German strategy depended on a slow mobilization of American troops. When the opposite occurred, the tide turned for the Entente forces by August 1918.
   4. Military Defeat and Political Change in Germany
      Sensing defeat, German leaders fruitlessly sought to appease their enemies by removing the emperor and establishing a democracy. Their leaders' unexplained surrender confused the German public.
5. The Outcome and the Impact
   As the old order disintegrated across Europe, many onlookers believed that the resulting peace settlement failed to establish an equitable and wise new order.
   1. The Costs of War
      With ten to thirteen million soldiers killed, their national economies in shambles, and chivalric images of war forever shattered, Europeans faced a troubled postwar existence.
   2. The Search for Peace in a Revolutionary Era
      War's end saw the collapse of old regimes not only in Germany, but also AustriaHungary, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire, leading to a host of new states in Eastern and Central Europe and the Middle East.
   3. The Peace Settlement
      Setting aside Wilsonian idealism, the punitive terms of the Paris settlement dictated to the Germans were just some of the flaws criticized by contemporaries.