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On getting it wrong about how Europe went to war in 1914

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Edited by Jonathan Vernon, Sunday, 22 Sept 2013, 19:16

 

Fig.1. From Max Hastings new book. Catastrophe.

This is wrong!

Russia's partial mobilization on the 26th understandably gave rise to considerable worry in Germany and Austria-Hungary.  Only when Russia fully mobilized on the 29th did Germany responded. It worries me how many inaccuracies, lies, and old assumptions will be published and broadcast over the next five years. Max Hastings is not an historian.

Perhaps in our connected 21st century any such errors will be quickly picked up.

Did your great-grandfather or grandfather take part in the conflict? Did a great-grandmother become a nurse? Is there a death or several indicated in your family tree from this period? How relevant is it today tothe map of Europe and of the world?

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Joy Sept 13

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It's a concern, isn't it, Jonathan? Makes you wonder about all the other historians over the years, many with their own agendas and their own reasons for distorting the facts.  

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It should be interesting to follow how the events of 1914-1918 are picked up by the public. With tens of thousands of people engaged with the multitude of stories there's a good chance that the 'truth will out'. The ease by which those with executive power could send hundreds of thousands to their deaths is shocking - a man's body was measured and expended like a bullet or shell.