“A compelling and novel reassessment of World War I military history” (Kirkus Reviews)

“There is much in the work I really admire, not least its brilliant recasting of the traditional military narrative.” —Niall Ferguson, author of The Pity of War

Based on previously unused French and German sources, this challenging and controversial new analysis of the war on the Western front from 1914 to 1918 reveals how and why the Germans won the major battles with one-half to one-third fewer casualties than the Allies, and how American troops in 1918 saved the Allies from defeat and a negotiated peace with the Germans.

“The author knows his military history, strategy, and tactics. . . . Packed with evidence, much of it ingeniously obtained and argued.” —Washington Post

“Students of military history love to argue, and John Mosier gives them much to argue about. From armaments and tactics to strategy and politics, he challenges conventional wisdom and forces a rethinking of the war that inaugurated the modern era.” —H.W. Brands, author of The First American and TR: The Last Romantic

“This is revisionist history that convincingly smashes the myths that Allied governments, leaders, and propagandists worked so hard to promulgate . . . [A] masterful account.” —Booklist