The Unknown Soldier

Rainer Rother traces the symbolic meaning of the Unknown Soldier of the First World War. Describing national ceremonies of the interment of the Unknown Soldier, primarily those of Britain and France, the chapter explores the significance of the Unknown Soldier in terms of his connection to the ethnographic concept of ritual, particularly rites of passage.

All Quiet on the Eastern Front

After reviewing aspects of Germany and Austria-Hungary’s political dispositions regarding the eastern front, Peter Hoeres examines the Central Powers’ cultural perceptions of their Slavic enemies. Adducing evidence from numerous sources including German soldiers’ published letters, journalists’ writings, and the works of cultural commentators, the chapter analyzes stereotypes of the “barbaric” peoples of the east.

Prologue to the “War of Annihilation”?

Rüdiger Bergien’s concluding chapter draws on the research compiled in this volume to address the question of whether there are clear lines of continuity between the German conduct of war on the eastern front in the First World War and the Second. The chapter applies additional scholarly work on the concepts of Erlebnis (direct experience) and Erfahrung (learning experience) in its consideration of the topic.

From Ober Ost to Ostland?

Igor Narskij examines the experience of Russian soldiers on the eastern front, an experience significantly different from that undergone by soldiers on the western front because of the vast area of the eastern theater of war and the fact that it was largely fought as a mobile war, not a static one. Maintaining that prevalent arguments put forward by historians to explain Russia’s failure in the war―including the alleged backwardness of the country’s peasant soldiers and the lack of adequate supplies―have been overstated, the chapter posits that the war actually had a significant civilizing and disciplining effect. The chapter also argues that because for Russia the First World War segued into internal dissension in the Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War of 1918–1920, Russians never completely integrated the experience of the world war into its cultural memory.

The War in the East of 1914–1915 and the Experience of the German Military

Following Modris Eksteins, Birgit Menzel examines the First World War as an expression of modernism, particularly with regard to introspection, primitivism, abstraction, and myth creation. After a thematic overview of reactions to the war by contemporary Russian intellectuals and artists, focusing on symbolists, post-symbolists, and the avant-garde, the chapter closely analyzes two works: Vladimir Mayakovski’s 1915–1916 poem “Voina i mir” (War and the World) and Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s novel August 1914 (1971/1983).

The Slavic Peoples

Hubertus F. Jahn examines Russia’s self-concept (Selbstbild ) and enemy-concept (Feindbild) through an analysis of the views expressed by individuals, interest groups, and mass media. Multiple sources including politicians’ private correspondence and several genres of art and culture are studied in order to determine Russian perceptions of themselves and their enemies during the First World War..

Russia versus Germany

Boris Khavkin presents the traditional military and historical view of Russia as the “steamroller” of the Entente that fought the war “down to the last Russian soldier.” The Western Powers, according to this perspective, used the Russian military as a counterbalance to the German offensive in France. The chapter argues that Russia made a major contribution to the victory of the Entente despite the Russian Army’s material inferiority and the fact that Russian leaders had been repeatedly obliged by their allies to enter into unprepared offensives. These events helped create the preconditions for the Revolution of 1917.

In the Shadow of the West

Gerhard P. Gross discusses the war on the eastern front, showing that the German military’s operational conduct in the east corresponded to the strategy of the overall leadership. In addition, the chapter points to the tensions between the Army High Command (OHL) and the commander in chief of the combined German military in the east. The war in the east, in contrast to the west, was conducted as a mobile war in many areas, and this chapter cites some essential differences between the western and eastern fronts in tactics and operations.

Introductory Remarks

Stig Förster introduces the subjects and themes of the essays in part 1, “The Battles on the Eastern Front, 1914–1915,” highlighting the chapters’ significance in presenting scholarly appraisal of the eastern front in World War I.

Introduction

In the collective memory, the concept of the First World War is pervaded by the trauma of the modern technologized war on the western front, whereas the events and battles on the eastern front of 1914–1915, other than the battle of Tannenberg, have shifted into the background. Thus, the phrase “all quiet on the eastern front” offers a succinct description of the lack of scholarly research on the first two years of the war on the German eastern front. This volume aims to correct that deficiency, presenting essays by professional historians from eight countries discussing the eastern theater of war in terms of operations, mindset, and cultural-historical issues.