Barbara Tuchman writes The Guns of August as a sort of people's history of WWI. She is interested primarily in how the warfare developed to fruition and effected ordinary citizens. Although she devotes most of her writing to the actual events of the war, she simultaneously traces the impact of battles upon the locals. Beginning with the funeral of King Edward VII, she follows the political turmoil all the way to the peace talks after the "Great War" as WWI became known.
Tuchman makes a comparison between the military leadership of the Allies and of the Russian/Germany troops. The Germans were concerned with total victory, so they employed a strategy of terror. They deliberately destroyed towns and villages and enacted violence upon the communities instead of just the opposing armies. For their part, the Russian pushed their troops to the extreme, demanding perfect action from severely impaired armies. Ultimately these two armies could not keep pace with the more human, higher morale of the Allies. The Allies fought reluctantly, hoping to preserve dignity and humanity, despite the horror of war. In the end, they preserved the morale of their troops in order to encourage cleverness, which won them the war.
Through detailed analyses and deliberate commentary, Tuchman presents an interactive account of the history of WWI. The events take a living shape for the reader, being examined from multiple perspectives. As a non-fiction author, Tuchman still manages to engage readers by emphasizing the intrigue of real events.
