This book, the first in a two-volume work resulting from a 2018 conference organized by the International Railway History Association (IRHA), examines the relationship between the railways and the First World War from a global theoretical, methodological and geographical perspective.

Although World War I (1914–1918) has been studied extensively from virtually every angle, the question of the railways has not been the subject of robust historical interest, despite their crucial role in every respect and at every stage. The war forced the railways to adopt more efficient techniques more quickly than they would have done in peacetime, to the extent where military operations would not have been possible without their massive and multifaceted help. This collection of essays brings together specialists in the field from a broad range of disciplines and backgrounds to demonstrate how this topic is integral to understanding the developments of European and world history throughout the 1910s and 1920s.

Railways in the First World War will be a useful tool for students, scholars and non-specialist readers interested in the history of transport, the history of the First World War and World history.