One of Britain’s best-known journalists and authors Sir Max Hastings takes a fresh look at the catastrophe that befell Europe almost 100 years ago. Hastings argues that Austria and Germany must take the main blame for the outbreak of war and, contrary to many popular interpretations, that the fight against the Kaiser’s Germany was vital to the freedom of Europe. He also describes the early battles of the war, many of which belie the traditional image of mud and trenches, including a heroic British defence at Ypres. Hastings also looks at the battles in Serbia, East Prussia and Galicia, where there were three million casualties by Christmas.

Hastings is a former editor-in-chief of the Daily Telegraph and former editor of the London Evening Standard. He is author of 25 books and winner of the 2012 Chicago Pritzker Library’s $100,000 literary award for his contribution to military history. Among his other recent works is the bestselling All Hell Let Loose, a history of World War II.

Supported by Ian and Carol Sellars.