The Fortress: The Great Siege of Przemysl

The quality was not what I expected of a hardback book. The paper is not the best and the binding is awful, on first opening the introduction pages started to fall out. What state it will be in when I finish reading, who knows.The book it extremely detailed and the events well told, I am half way through. WW1 for UK people is about the Western Front most people not aware of the battles on the other front. I am currently in Slovakia and it is surprising how large and well organised the Austro Hungarian empire was. Another story within is the problem of the Jews, after the siege the Russians removed them from the area (Large numbers lived in and around Przemysl) so Hitler was not the first, indeed I only learnt recently that King Edward 1 removed all Jews from England around 1290. So yes a good book.

Absolutely magnificent: a very readable and engaging presentation that wears the huge amount of research behind it all with a deceptively light touch.A fascinating narrative of the death throes of two essentially nineteenth century empires and the horrific toll in human cost- yet just a precursor of worse to come a quarter of a century later.One suggestion for an improvement: not for the author, but for the publisher- the need for constant referral to the three pages of maps in the prefix, plus likewise the end plates, would be a lot easier for the reader if these were on fold- out, concertina pages. I realise that cost must be a factor and that this would be more expensive, so it is more an hopeful suggestion than a complaint!Overall a very good book; thank you.

In Britain and the English speaking world the Eastern Front of WW1 has been seriously neglected, as has the role of Austria-Hungary (many people with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Somme, Verdun, the Marne know nothing at all about the part played by Austria-Hungary despite the country fielding a huge army which fought in some of the most significant battles of the war (such as the Brusilov offensive). Perhaps most importantly, there has been very little understanding of the way that the war tore apart the ethnic and social fabric of Central and Eastern Europe, unleashing hatred and ethnic/religious rivalries that would lay the foundations for the far greater atrocities that would come after WW1. Watson tries to correct this with a superb book about the siege of Pryzemsyl.Pryzemsl was a fortress in what is now Poland and in some ways not dissimilar to an Eastern Verdun in having been a cornerstone of frontier defence. The fortress was subject to a double siege, the first relatively short siege was a success as the fort was relieved by the Habsburg Army, closely followed by a second much longer siege which led to the fall of the fortress to the Russian army. In English language histories the Habsburg chief of general staff Conrad von Hotzendorf had a splendid press after the war and into the 50's and 60's books often referred to him as some sort of great commander let down by troops not worthy of his command. In fact it is now generally recognized that he was a particularly incompetent general who brought disaster to his army and country with his spectacularly ill-judged and inept strategy and plans which destroyed the pre-war Habsburg army and in defeat after defeat and by losing the bread basket of the empire so quickly precipitated the dire food shortages that would play such a large part in the downfall of Austria-Hungary. Far from being a less wasteful theatre than the Western Front the war in the East was brutal, not just in terms of the fighting but also the atrocities committed by both sides against civilian populations, the widespread application of ethnic cleansing, summary executions on a large scale, anti-semitic barbarism and more. Given the lack of readiness of Austria-Hungary for war, their relative military inferiority and the incompetence of their generals it is almost inexplicable than the country was so bellicose and determined to go to war in 1914.Watson tells a compelling story in a wonderfully written book which combines the macro-level analysis of academic history with detailed accounts from front line soldiers and those caught up in the fighting which compare well with the best popular history. 5*, very highly recommended.

Alexander Watson has written a first class book on an episode of history that is little known in the UK. Russian and Austro-Hungarian participation in WWI is usually dismissed as an irrelevance or, at best, is summed up as a dual failure. This book has opened my eyes to a fascinating new avenue to explore and I shall certainly buy his earlier work on the German and Habsburg armies.I heartily recommend The Fortress for its depth and breadth of an important campaign which allowed the armies of Austro-Hungary a few precious months of breathing space to recover from the enormous defeat of 1914.

The author has a direct and very easy to read writing style. The subject matter is the often-ignored Eastern Front, yet in many ways this is an area which deserves more attention and the author seeks to rectify that. The fortresses at Przemsyl (Peremsill) today lie on the Poland-Ukraine border, and indeed parts of the complex are today in the Ukraine. The major battles in 1914/15 between Austro-Hungary and Russia deprived both sides of a lot of their manpower. This had major knock-on effects, notably in preventing the Russians sweeping further west, and ultimately requiring more help for Austro-Hungary from the Germans.His balanced and insightful book is a result of researching material in many languages, including Polish and Ukrainian, and visiting the site and local Polish historians. My only caveat would be that the super maps which the author uses in his oral presentations should be included in the book.Having read this book, I might just take on the author's major tome on Germany and Austro-Hungary in WWI.

A piece of history that was new to me. Vividly described and painfully pressed as a market for what would happen in 1941. The distrust between various communities, religions and ethic/linguistic groups is carefully and painfully, for the participants, explained. I suspect the Eastern Front of WW1 is not well known to us because obviously it wasn't "our" battlefield with our kids fighting for their lives but also because the events 20 years later are more potent.

This is a very good account of a lesser known part of the WWI conflict which proved pivotal to the final outcome.The binding of this volume is however very poor - it's started to shed page sections from the front onwards, making it distresssing to read.