In the Centennial Footsteps of the Great War

Throughout history, all wars have been given names. But not the one to which Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy's two-volume book is dedicated. It was simply called the Great War. The events of 1914–1918, also referred to as the First World War or World War One, and the sacrifices made by our forebears a century ago should always be remembered because peace can never be taken for granted. Understanding the reasons, circumstances, and the consequences of the First World War will help us to prevent the Third World War.

„Book of the Month. Essential for anyone interested in World War One“

Britain at War Magazine

United Kingdom

„This new book provides a rich visual chronicle for each year of the Great War, with stunning photography of centennial commemorations and living history events around the world“

History of War Magazine

United Kingdom

„MHQ highly recommends Szalay-Berzeviczy's book series. His photography collection creates an immersive experience of World War I“

MHQ, The Quarterly Journal of Military History

U.S.A.

„A huge tome, In the Centennial Footsteps of the Great War is an absorbing read with over 700 stunning photographs“

Classic Military Vehicle Magazine

United Kingdom

For an entire century, from after the Napoleonic Wars until the outbreak of the Great War, the British Empire was the leading military and economic power in the world. In 1916, however, the balance of power shifted from Europe to America because the warring nations could no longer sustain the costs of offensive war and needed the Americans. Britain and France needed to outfit their forces by placing larger and larger war orders with the United States, and paid for these purchases by floating larger and larger bond issues to American investors. The output of the U.S. soon overtook that of the British, turning the country into a creditor for the first time in its history. By the time the United States formally entered the war on 6 April 1917, it had a huge economic interest in winning. By mid-1918, 10,000 fresh American troops arrived in France daily to enter the fray on the Western Front. The German Empire was forced to sign the Armistice on 11 November 1918. On that day, the world order became fundamentally realigned, with a new superpower at its centre. The U.S., whose casualties and economic hardships were far lesser than those of their European allies, emerged from the Great War with more power than ever before. In fact, one could say that America was the only country that really won the war. All of the others, including the victors, lost so much. The second volume of the book will depict the battlefields where American troops fought in 1918: Cantigny, Chateau-Thierry, Belleau Wood, St Mihiel Salient, the Aisne, the Somme, Flanders, the Meuse, and the Argonne Forest.

The Book

The two-volume book chronicles and explains the historical events of the Great War through photos taken by the author one hundred years later, between 2014 and 2021, in each and every theatre of this global conflict. Beginning in Sarajevo, continuing through the battlefields of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific, all the way to Versailles, the book covers a total of 57 different countries.

1st volume

Author / Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy

Foreword / Georg von Habsburg

Historical consultants / Dr Spencer Jones, Dr Ignác Romsics

Publisher / MCC Press, Budapest

Book and cover design / Zoltán Keczeli, Zoltán Dózsa

Hard cover / 410 pages with 720 full-color photos

Product dimensions / 235 x 330 mm / 2.9 kg

US $ 66.50

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2nd volume

Author / Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy

Foreword / Dr Spencer Jones

Historical consultants / Dr Spencer Jones, Dr Ignác Romsics

Publisher / MCC Press, Budapest

Book and cover design / Zoltán Keczeli, Zoltán Dózsa

Hard cover / 558 pages with 980 full-color photos

Product dimensions / 235 x 330 mm / 3.4 kg

US $ 66.50

Order now

1st and 2nd volume

US $ 124.50

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The Journey

As a photographer, Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy knows that nothing expresses itself quite like a finely crafted photography book. The devastating events of the Great War had been captured in myriad photographs as they occurred. Since then, thousands of books have been published using these black-and-white photographs to depict the carnage. He thus decided to work on a two-volume book on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the First World War that is not only very different from anything that has been published before in terms of its content, but also unrepeatable. To achieve his goal, the author embarked on an eight-year-long journey in 2014, mirroring the events of war as they had unfolded one hundred years earlier. Following in the footsteps of the Great War with his Nikon D4 and D5 cameras, he set about photographing the centennial commemorations, the war memorials, the battlefield monuments, the military cemeteries and the battle re-enactments around the world in weather conditions that were the same as a hundred years earlier. He travelled many thousands of miles – by airplane, by car, by ship and on foot – spanning the entire theatre of this truly global war. Attila's photography also came to rely heavily on the passionate work of local re-enactors who, dressed impeccably in historical costumes, played their roles with the utmost dedication out of respect for those who fought in the Great War. Their enthusiastic commitment helped him evoke the spirit of the past in his photos. Without their contribution, he would not have been able to take you back to 1914–1918.

Gallery

The Author

Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy is a noted Hungarian economist and a banking and capital markets executive with over 30 years of experience in Austria and Central-Eastern Europe. Between 2004 and 2008, he served as the president of the Budapest Stock Exchange and is a proud recipient of the Knight’s Cross Order of the Republic of Hungary, awarded to him in recognition of his contribution to the development of the Hungarian securities market and pension system.

As an amateur historian, Attila has been studying the 1914–1918 period since he learned of the involvement of his great-great-grandfather, Albert Berzeviczy, and that of his cousin, Béla Berzeviczy, in the Great War. Albert served as the president of the Hungarian Academy of Science during the war. He was a close friend of Prime Minister István Tisza and a loyal supporter of Emperor Franz Josef, and he strongly and publicly opposed the declaration of war on Serbia, fearing that it would lead to the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Béla was a high ranking officer in the Dual Monarchy's Army, leading various cavalry and infantry army units into battle on the Russian, Italian and Romanian Fronts from the first day of the war until the very end, before being appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Hungarian Royal Honvéd Army in March 1920.

Since 2012, as a professional photographer, he and his company — Historical Military Photos — have been producing First and Second World War-related photographic images for — among others — the French company, the Beaches of Normandy Tours. In 2014, on the eve of the centenary of the start of the Great War, he began to work on his book: In the Centennial Footsteps of the Great War.

Donation to the National WWI Memorial
in Washington D.C.

Two dollars from every copy sold in the United States will go to the Doughboy Foundation, the 503(c)(3) partner of the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission. The generous donation will be used for supporting the maintenance of the National World War I Memorial in Washington D.C. The Memorial has been officially dedicated on 13 September 2024 after the main sculpture, A Soldier's Journey, was installed. Website