Summary
Summary of The Great War of 189—
Key ideas
Key idea 1
A future war arrives as news
A dagger attack in a Balkan town opens an imagined conflict that could set Europe marching. Seven authors tell the story through newspaper dispatches, speeches and letters, making a future war feel like news arriving today. Their reports follow political decisions alongside military plans and new weapons. This way of telling the story brings the reader close to events as they unfold, with the attack on Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria providing the first alarm.
Key idea 2
A small crime threatens a continent
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Key idea 3
Alliances turn movement into mobilisation
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Key idea 4
Public passion accompanies declarations of war
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Key idea 5
Sea power works before battle begins
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Key idea 6
New weapons require more than bravery
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Key idea 7
An advance depends on its supplies
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Key idea 8
Sea control connects scattered fighting forces
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Key idea 9
Preparation matters as the crisis spreads
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
Made for readers who enjoy war stories told as breaking news, fans of alternate history and early science fiction, and anyone curious how soldiers of the 1890s pictured the next great conflict on land and sea.
What this book is
What if a single dagger in a Balkan town could set the whole of Europe marching? The Great War of 189 is a made-up newspaper record of a future conflict, written by seven authors, among them Rear Admiral Philip Colomb, Colonel John Frederick Maurice, Archibald Forbes and Charles Lowe. Dispatches, speeches and letters follow the war from its first shot to its last. You meet the powers, the plans and the new weapons of the age, all told as if the news arrives today. First comes the attack on Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria.
In this summary
- 1A dagger in Samakoff lights the fuseFree
- 2Serbia attacks and Austria seizes Belgrade
- 3Russia lands at Varna and Germany answers
- 4Paris roars and France declares war
- 5Britain takes Antwerp and the fleets meet
- 6Smokeless powder changes how armies fight
- 7Battles in Belgium and northern France
- 8Britain strikes across the world
- 9What the forecast says about war and readiness
Key point 1 of 9
A dagger in Samakoff lights the fuse
The story opens with a telegram from Constantinople. Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria has been attacked in the mining town of Samakoff, and Europe holds its breath.
The correspondent Francis Scudamore describes the scene in detail. A false priest aims a revolver that fails to fire, and a second man drives a Circassian dagger toward the Prince's chest. The Prince survives in the house of an American missionary, and both attackers carry Russian passports. Stambuloff, the strong minister, becomes Regent.
The editors then explain why this matters. Old grudges lie everywhere, from Alsace-Lorraine to the Balkans, and treaties link the great powers like cars on one train. The opening editorial insists that the first spark will fall on the Danube, not the Rhine, and the rest of the book shows how one small crime can pull a whole continent after it.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
Why does a local conflict threaten to become a wider war?
Right. “Austria has acted and Russia will answer, and every capital begins to watch its neighbours, since each treaty promises help to a friend.”Not quite. “Austria has acted and Russia will answer, and every capital begins to watch its neighbours, since each treaty promises help to a friend.”
What do the authors say modern armies need beyond bravery?
Right. “The authors argue that victory goes to armies that train their junior leaders, move quickly by rail and work together in all three arms.”Not quite. “The authors argue that victory goes to armies that train their junior leaders, move quickly by rail and work together in all three arms.”
Why is control of the sea important to land campaigns?
Right. “Control of the sea helps armies move, while an enemy fleet can threaten their passage.”Not quite. “Control of the sea helps armies move, while an enemy fleet can threaten their passage.”
Questions about The Great War of 189—
What is The Great War of 189 about?
It is an imagined account of a future European war, told as newspaper dispatches. It begins with an attack on Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria and follows the clash of alliances across land and sea.
Is The Great War of 189 a true story?
The war it describes never happened, but it shows how military experts of the time imagined the next conflict.
Who wrote The Great War of 189?
Seven writers share the work, including Rear Admiral P. Colomb, Colonel J. F. Maurice, Archibald Forbes and Charles Lowe. They tell the imagined war through reports, letters and speeches.
Why does the title say 189 and not a full year?
The title leaves the final digit open. The imagined dispatches give dates as the war unfolds.
Is The Great War of 189 easy to follow?
Its short dispatches, each with a dateline and a clear place, make it simple to follow. The story moves from city to city and front to front, so readers can pick up the action quickly.
