All the World at War: People & Places 1914–1918

Relief on Turkish Martyr's Memorial, Gallipoli

James Charles Roy 

Pen and Sword Military, 2025 

Reviewed by Ron Drees

As the title implies, All the World at War is not about the war, battles, campaigns, etc., but about the leaders of the war and the places where the war was fought. From Victoria to Versailles, Roy devotes a chapter to major players such as the Kaiser, von Schlieffen, Haig, and catastrophic events, including Tannenberg, Gallipoli, Verdun, and Berlin. He also delves into those people and places that are famous but not significant, such as the Halifax explosion, Ireland and the Easter uprising, T.E. Lawrence, and von Richthofen.  

The book begins with the descendants of Queen Victoria, discusses German strategy, recounts several major battles and the personalities involved, recounts Versailles, while remembering the war through monuments, known and unknown soldiers, “after-war” remembrances and an analysis of responsibilities. Be advised: 611 pages, 3 lbs., but it is an easy book to read.

While All the World at War has many illustrations, several in color, there are only a few maps and no index as to which geographic areas are depicted. Maps of Gallipoli or Russia would have been useful. The endpapers are a photograph furnishing an aerial view of Ypres after the war with many vacant lots and missing roofs.

A unique feature of this book is a discussion of Tannenberg, where Hindenburg and Ludendorff command together for the first time. They annihilate Russian armies due to German thoroughness of preparation and Russia’s lack of everything—secure communications, food, and decent leadership.  

The AEF, Pershing, and Wilson did not rate their own chapters but are discussed tersely throughout the book. Roy is deprecating about Pershing and Wilson, but then he does not have many kind words for anyone in this text. In the Postscripts chapter, Pershing rates less than two pages, while Lawrence has six pages. Apparently, T.E. was just more interesting. Nor is the author impressed by the U.S. contribution to WWI.

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Do not read All the World at War expecting to find statistics of battle casualties or army divisions; read it as a foundation for interpreting other commentaries on Great War events. By the nature of a few specific topics, this is an excellent primer for someone starting to read about the Great War. Roy delves into the personalities of several leaders, exploring strengths and weaknesses, and how these contributed to victories, defeats, and disasters. His discussions of terrain explain much about Gallipoli and Verdun and the part that German mindsets played in making Verdun a mutual catastrophe. A good basic (and lengthy) read!

Ron Drees