The Story of World War One

For the russians, the first phase of war, war won, was defined by victories against austria hungary in the southwest and defeats to germany in the northwest. By september, the russian line looked a lot like a yin yang symbol, pulled back in the north and bulging out in the south. The story of the opening round world war on, for all sides, was not so much this or that battlefield victory or defeat, but the appalling costs to victors and vanquished alike.