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Prologue: Making Men, Destroying Bodies: Sport, Masculinity and the Great War Experience

Never before, have the historical relationships between sport and war provoked more attention among historians. There are undoubtedly several explanations for this convergence of interest, among them the search for national identities in a time of generalised crisis and the deep gap in the historiography which offers scholars promising new questions on which to ponder and the cult of celebrations attached to anniversaries as 2014 approaches. The Great War, indeed, took place in a very particular context and developed through specific characteristics, which continue to fascinate historians. At the beginning of the twentieth century the European nations strengthened their territorial, colonial and economic ambitions. A wind of militarisation blew upon the institutions, changing behaviours and representations. Schools assisted the army in preparing both bodies and spirits for possible battles. The crisis of 1914 and the murder of Austrian Crown Prince Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife led the Austro-Hungarian Empire to declare war upon Serbia, likewise afterwards Germany upon Russia and France. Britain quickly entered the stage in order to defend the neutrality of Belgium, whose land was crossed by the German armies. In a few months the conflict escalated and reached an unprecedented scale. The mobilisation was general, from Europe to Asia and Oceania. The scenes of the Great War were numerous, but they crystallised on two fronts: in the west in France and in the east in Russia. On the Western Front, the Germans progressed rapidly towards Paris before the French-British army succeeded in stopping them and keeping them at distance. Barely three months after its debut an endless and horrifying trench warfare replaced the rather more classical pattern of warfare. In both camps the losses were dramatic, the death and injuries uncountable. When the United States entered the war in 1917 the balance of the forces was modified and gradually began to favour the Allies. The Armistice was finally signed on 11 November 1918, marking the end of the hostilities. With eight million deaths and six million disabled persons, many square kilometres of destroyed lands and economies in ruin, Europe lost its status of first world power to the benefit of the United States. The Great War remains a fascinating yet dramatic episode to study. In their remarkable historiographical account, French Antoine Prost and American Jay