Collision of Empires

Collision of Empires is the first major historical work on the Eastern Front during World War I since the 1970s.
One of the primary triggers of the outbreak of World War I was undoubtedly the myriad alliances and suspicions that existed between the Russian, German, and Austro-Hungarian empires in the early 20th century. Yet much of the actual fighting between these nations has been largely forgotten in the West.
Driven by first-hand accounts and detailed archival research, Collision of Empires seeks to correct this imbalance. The first in a four-book series on the Eastern Front in World War I, Prit Buttar's dynamic retelling examines the tumultuous events of the first year of the war and reveals the chaos and destruction that reigned when three powerful empires collided.
A war that was initially seen by all three powers as a welcome opportunity to address both internal and external issues would ultimately bring about the downfall of them all.

Prit Buttar studied medicine at Oxford and London before joining the British Army as a doctor. After leaving the army, he worked as a GP, first near Bristol and then in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. He is extensively involved in medical politics, both at local and national level, and served on the GPs' Committee of the British Medical Association. He has appeared on national TV and radio, speaking on a variety of medical issues. He contributes regularly to the medical press.
An established expert on the Eastern Front in 20th-century military history, his previous books include the critically acclaimed Battleground Prussia: The Assault on Germany's Eastern Front 1944-45 (Osprey 2010) and Between Giants: The Battle for the Baltics in World War II (Osprey 2013) and a definitive four-part series on the Eastern Front in World War I which concluded with The Splintered Empires: The Eastern Front 1917-21 (2017). He now lives in Kirkcudbright in Scotland.

List of Illustrations
List of Maps
Author's Note
Dramatis Personae
Introduction
1. The German War Machine
2. The Russian Steamroller
3. Austria-Hungary: the Other Sick Man of Europe
4. Over the Brink
5. The First Battles: Stallupönen and Gumbinnen
6. Crisis of Command
7. Tannenberg
8. The Illusion of Victory: Galicia, August 1914
9. The Battle for the Masurian Lakes
10. The Reality of Defeat: Galicia, September 1914
11. A Bloody Sideshow: The Serbian Front
12. Mud and Blood: Autumn in Poland
13. Lódz
14. The First Christmas
15. Disappointments and Illusions
Appendix: Place Names
Notes
Bibliography
Index