Prit Buttar studied medicine at Oxford and London before joining the British Army as a doctor. After leaving the army, he has worked as a GP, first near Bristol and now in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. He is extensively involved in medical politics, both at local and national level, and serves on the GPs' Committee of the British Medical Association. He appears from time to time on local and national TV and radio, speaking on a variety of medical issues. He contributes regularly to the medical press. An established expert on the Eastern Front in 20th century military history, he previously wrote the critically acclaimed Battleground Prussia: The Assault on Germany's Eastern Front 1944-45 (Osprey 2010) and Between Giants: The Battle for the Baltics in World War II (Osprey 2013). Published to coincide with the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, Collision of Empires is the first in a three-volume series, the definitive study of the First World War on the Eastern Front.

Introduction Part 1: Preparing for war The German War Machine The development of the German Army, and the Schlieffen Plan; the advent of Moltke the Younger, and his modifications of the plan; the impact of political and strategic concerns (such as the development of the High Seas Fleet) on preparation for a land war The Russian Steamroller The impact of the Russo-Japanese War; the modernisation of the Russian Army; conflict between reformers and conservatives; faction-fighting within the Russian Army; Russian plans for a war against the Central Powers The Austro-Hungarian Empire: The Other Sick Man of Europe The creation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; the resulting tensions between Vienna and Budapest; the political wrangles that led to the failure to develop the army adequately prior to the First World War; confusion about war aims, with conflicting requirements for possible war in the Balkans and against Russia; the Redl spy scandal; the central role of Conrad von Hotzendorf Part 2: The War Begins Over the brink Mobilisation, and the key part that it played in shaping the campaigns that followed Dreams of a quick victory The Russian advance into East Prussia and the fighting around Gumbinnen; tensions between Samsonov and Rennenkampf; the advent of Hindenburg and Ludendorff; Tannenberg; the Russian-Austrian clashes in Galicia; the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes Lost opportunities The failure to capitalise on the German successes in East Prussia; the rapid collapse of Austrian forces in Galicia; the German attack towards Warsaw, and its defeat; initial Russian advance to the Carpathians and across the Polish plain No peace by Christmas The Russian advance to the west and southwest, and the reasons for its failure; the German counterattack at Lodz