Vividly portraying confrontation on land, sea, and in the skies, this history book is a brilliant and fascinating portrait of the Great War.Sumptuously illustrated, this definitive account recounts in striking visual detail the lead-up, development, and course of the First World War. It also includes a directory of memorial sites to visit and the commemoration of the war a hundred years later.Engaging narrative, detailed maps, historic photographs, and a rich collection of arms, equipment, and artefacts recreate the experience of titanic World War I battles such as Passchendaele, Gallipoli, the Somme, and Verdun, and the trench warfare that left an indelible mark on the collective memory of countries that lost a generation of young men.