Modernity, the Media and the Military: The Creation of National Mythologies on the Western Front 1914-1918

ISBN-13: 9780415375054 / Angielski / Twarda / 2008 / 258 str.

JOHN WILLIAMS

Opis

This new volume explores the history of an important, but neglected sector of the Western Front between 1914 and 1918 in the context of its portrayal in the media. The analysis sheds new light on of the role of the mass media in generating national mythologies. The book focuses on the largely forgotten Armentieres and La Bassee sector, a section of the Western Front which saw fighting from many different nationalities on almost every day of the war. Through analysis of this section of the Western Front, this book examines the way the First World War was interpreted, both in official and semi-official sources as well as in the mass media, comparing what was apparently happening on the Western Front battlefield to what was reported in the newspapers. It follows the different sides as they responded to the changing nature of warfare and to each other, showing how reporting was adapted to changing perceptions of national needs.

This volume is a new examination of the fighting in a 'nursery' sector of the Western Front in World War I using data from various national archives, focusing on the German material. The book differs from many others World War One studies not only in the type of battle described, and in describing what took place at a sector of the line over the full duration of the war, but also in the dual-sided nature of the description, giving equal coverage to the views and attitudes of the enemy. 

Spis treści

Introduction  Skirmishes  1: Lille 1914  2: in Flanders’ muddy maze  3: white and coloured Englishmen  4: the German offensive – 20-31 October 1914  5: 1914. "Better a wet arse…"  6: 1914. the First Noël  Stellungskrieg  7: Neuve Chapelle 1915  8: Aubers ridge 1915  9: 1915. Festubert and attrition  10: The Butcher’s picnics  Georgette  11: St George to Georgette 12: 9 April 1918  13: Georgette loses steam  Epilogue  Selected bibliography  Notes

O autorze

John F. Williams is Honorary Research Associate in the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Sydney.