Book 80: Ring of Fire by @alexchurchill.bsky.social and @pikegrey1418.bsky.social, on the first two months of the First World War, from the initial German successes against France, Russian successes against Germany, and Austrian successes against Russia, which are all reversed in short order.

Having lots of fun at IWM raging about all things #WW1 @historyrage.bsky.social @claremulley.bsky.social @historypegg.bsky.social @pikegrey1418.bsky.social @iainmacgregor1.bsky.social

Range day!

@bigandylock.bsky.social in action at the 2025 @thegreatwargroup.bsky.social conference in Bristol! Great stuff!

From their trenches near Krasnopol in Poland, German troops observe the village of Tartak being consumed by flames, 1915.

Russian Nieuport IV on the Eastern Front. The Imperial Russian Air Service was the largest user of this type, originally developed in France, and soem 300 were buil in Russia by Russo-Baltic and Shschetinin in St. Petersburg and Dux in Moscow.

Fantastic photo of the main turret, with its twin 305mm guns, of the Imperial Russian battleship 'Andrei Pervozvanny'. The ship saw only very limited service during WW1 as part of the Russian Baltic Fleet. Her crew joined the general mutiny of the Baltic Fleet in early 1917.

Far from home: Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war wrestle for sport in a Russian POW Camp in Khabarovsk in the far east, June 1917. This was more than 7,000 kilometers from where these men were captured!

Fantastic photo of a group of German children studying the newest movements of the armies and the frontlines on a map of Europe, 1914.

A stitch in time saves Nein!

German soldier sewing up his friend's ripped pants.

A German Jäger patrol return to their shelter on the Baltic Coast in Kurland, Winter 1915/16.

"The advance of the 155th Kuban Infantry Regiment against Turkish positions at the Bardus Pass on December 25, 1914" by German painter Richard-Karl Karlovič Zommer (1866-1939)

When the greatest danger is dying of boredom. Danish conscripts of the so-called Security Force, called up during the First World War to protect the country's neutrality.

A close shave in an Austro-Hungarian trench, 31 October 1917.

An Austro-Hungarian soldier strikes a pose with his M.15 Zeitzünder hand grenade in a trench on the Eastern Front.

Ever heard of the "Island or Death" on Dvina River and the bloody battles that took place there from 1915-17? No? Well, if you are a member of the @thegreatwargroup.bsky.social and get the Salient Points magazine, you will soon, as that is what my article in the newest volumen is about 😊👍

Big moment! 😊 First time seeing @alexchurchill.bsky.social and I's book "Ring of Fire" in a bookstore in Denmark!!! So if your i Copenhagen, you can get it at @politiken.dk boghal!

Can't wait to give this talk. And while it's a topic I've talked about before, I've really tried to make it as unique as possible for the occasion, so don't miss out! AND don't miss out on the MANY MANY other great talks by incredible speakers!

Our @thegreatwargroup.bsky.social conference is a month away! So many talks and seminars to choose from. @pikegrey1418.bsky.social will be giving an exclusive talk about the Battle of Galicia. This oft-ignored scrap in 1914 consumed a million casualties along a 200 mile front in three weeks!

New Book Review Title:Ring of Fire: A New History of the World at War. 1914 Authors:Alexandra Churchill /Nicolai Eberholst REVIEW Most countries did not know what they were getting into during opening days of 1914... Events in Canada are examined Keep Reading www.publishersweekly.com/9781639369270

So @pikegrey1418.bsky.social and I were overwhelmed by the warm welcome given to us & @thegreatwargroup.bsky.social by Kansas City last night to share our book with everyone this side of the atlantic. Massive thanks to everyone at the National WWI museum & of course our host @bartparish.bsky.social

Saw an excellent talk by @alexchurchill.bsky.social and @pikegrey1418.bsky.social there last night. Their new book Ring of Fire is worth a long look.

Can’t wait for this talk!! So proud of Alex Churchill (@alexchurchill.bsky.social) & Nicolai Eberholst (@pikegrey1418.bsky.social) launching the US version of their new Global History of World War I at the National WWI museum #militaryhistory #WWI

We're not in Europe anymore, Toto.... but we are in Kansas! 🇺🇲

First time seeing the book in the wild in person! Yes, if you couldn't tell, I was excited! 😂

So excited for @alexchurchill.bsky.social just saw her book in the wild in South Carolina! Congratulations to her and @pikegrey1418.bsky.social — go out & get a copy!

In the wild in South Carolina @pikegrey1418.bsky.social (and some other dude) @iainmacgregor1.bsky.social

The full review from @wsj.com 🙏🏼 @pikegrey1418.bsky.social

Never in a million years did I expect that I would see this. #1 Best Seller in World War I History on Amazon. Thanks to everyone! @alexchurchill.bsky.social and I are unbelievably grateful and super excited! 🙏❤️

So @pikegrey1418.bsky.social and I are delighted with the review of Ring of Fire in the @wsj.com If you’re at a loose end next weekend we will be doing a free event with the National WWI Museum in Kansas City. There’s also the option to take part online www.theworldwar.org/events/ring-...

If you’ve been lovely enough to support @pikegrey1418.bsky.social and I by purchasing a copy of Ring of Fire, please do leave a review everywhere you can. The same one is fine! It all makes a difference to algorithms etc online and makes us more visible

A German assault detachment of the 27th Infantry Regiment in a recently captured French Trench, 16 May 1917.

Newly conscripted Austr-Hungarian soldiers billeted in a school in Budapest before leaving for the front, August 1914.

"VARSOWIE EST TOMBÉE" - A sign put up by the soldiers of the German 39th Reserve Infantry Regiment to inform the French of the Fall of Warsaw on 5 August 1915.

Ring of Fire is currently on offer on space wanker’s site, if you want to take liberal advantage of him and bag a copy… www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-Fire-Gl... @pikegrey1418.bsky.social

Today is the day! 😁The official release of Ring of Fire in the United States! @alexchurchill.bsky.social and I are super excited, and hope you'll all enjoy it! And if you are able to come, we will be in Kansas City on the 23rd to celebrate it! Details blow!😁 @donaldwin.bsky.social

One thing @alexchurchill.bsky.social and @pikegrey1418.bsky.social's new book is very,very good at getting across is that no one has any good frame of reference and they're kind of stumbling around in the dark trying to figure out *what* it is

When @pikegrey1418.bsky.social and I sat down with @bigthink.com to talk all things 1914… bigthink.com/books/ring-o...

"In the Trenches" by Hungarian painter László Mednyánszky (1852-1919). During the war, Mednyánszky visited Galicia, Serbia and South Tyrol. He was wounded in 1918, fell ill and died the year after in his Vienna studio.

Look what arrived!😁 Hitting shelves in the US next week (5th Aug)! To celebrate, you can join @alexchurchill.bsky.social and I in Kansas City at the National WWI Museum and Memorial on 23rd Aug. Hope to see you there! 🫶 details below!👇👇👇

Some words of praise for Ring of Fire by @alexchurchill.bsky.social and @pikegrey1418.bsky.social This book seeks to give an account of the first weeks and months of WW1 not (only, primarily) through generals' memoirs and regimental histories but through the testimonies of those involved 1/n

Home from vacation (Hungary and Slovakia) and here's the book haul! Could have been more, but I'm happy! Damn you maximum luggage weight!!!

@alexchurchill.bsky.social @pikegrey1418.bsky.social senior member of the family loved it; amazed by the detail and research. 👍🏼💕

Thank you for everything! Legend!

I sometimes get distracted from the history of science by books on the first world war. This book is amazingly detailed in giving us the human perspective of the start of the war. It is a very very good read. Highly recommended! @alexchurchill.bsky.social @pikegrey1418.bsky.social

Some from me, Stu. All top drawer imho. ESP @pikegrey1418.bsky.social / @alexchurchill.bsky.social as a popular history on a subject everyone thinks they know is hard to pull off. I also LOVED Martha Sprackland’s Citadel and Zaffir Kunial’s England’s Green & @alanallport.bsky.social’s Britain at Bay

Thank you for everything! Legend!

The decision was ‘Ring of Fire’ by @pikegrey1418.bsky.social @alexchurchill.bsky.social - also a clue to the subject of my next book and present research. I also bought the audio version of ‘Tank’ by @markurban.bsky.social