On Sale: Apr 29, 2014
Page Count: 472 pages
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN-13: 9780465080816

$11.99

$15.99 CAD

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ebook $11.99 $15.99 CAD
Trade Paperback (New edition) $24.99 $31.99 CAD

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A masterful account of the Hapsburg Empire's bumbling entrance into World War I, and its rapid collapse on the Eastern Front

The Austro-Hungarian army that attacked Russia and Serbia in August 1914 had a glorious past but a pitiful present. Speaking a mystifying array of languages and lugging obsolete weapons, the Habsburg troops were hopelessly unprepared for the industrialized warfare that would shortly consume Europe. As prizewinning historian Geoffrey Wawro explains in A Mad Catastrophe, the disorganization of these doomed conscripts perfectly mirrored Austria-Hungary itself. For years, the Empire had been rotting from within, hollowed out by complacency and corruption at the highest levels. When Germany goaded Austria into starting the world war, the Empire's profound political and military weaknesses were exposed. By the end of 1914, the Austro-Hungarian army lay in ruins and the course of the war seemed all but decided. Reconstructing the climax of the Austrian campaign in gripping detail, A Mad Catastrophe is a riveting account of how Austria-Hungary plunged the West into a tragic and unnecessary war.

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Geoffrey Wawro

About the Author

Geoffrey Wawro is University Distinguished Research Professor and director of the Military History Center at the University of North Texas and the author of seven books, including Quicksand: America’s Pursuit of Power in the Middle East and Sons of Freedom: The Forgotten American Soldiers Who Defeated Germany in World War I. Wawro lives in Dallas, Texas.

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