My research focuses on the military history of the First World War, particularly the German army. I was awarded a PhD by King’s College London and have developed my thesis into a book, Holding Out: The German Army and Operational Command in 1917, published in CUP’s Cambridge Military Histories series. There’s more about the book here.
I have lectured and written widely on the German army in the First World War. I’m a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a member of the British Commission for Military History, the Society for Military History, the Army Records Society and the Western Front Association.
My undergraduate degree was in classics at Trinity College Oxford. After that I joined the British Diplomatic Service and served for over 30 years, with postings in Beijing (Peking when I was there!), Hong Kong twice, Brussels and The Hague.
There’s more about my research on academia.edu and about me in this interview with Professors Brian Feltman and Bill Allison for their podcast Military Historians are People, Too – including some Terrible Confessions.
You can follow me on X/Twitter @TonyCowan5 and Bluesky @tonycowan5.bsky.social, and you can contact me here.
Remembrance
In memory of the members of my family who fought in the First World War.
Ὦ ξεῖν’, ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῆιδε
κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.
Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
that here obedient to their laws we lie.
Site last updated: 10 November 2025