The Guns of August, also published as August 1914 (1962), is a military history book written by Barbara Tuchman. It primarily describes in great detail the events of the first month of World War I, which for most of the great powers involved in the war was August 1914. The book was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction for publication year 1963.

The focus of The Guns of August is to provide the history of the early stages of World War I, from the declaration of war to the start of the Franco-British offensive that stopped the German advance through France. The book provides a brief history of the plans, strategies, world events, and international sentiments prior to and during the war.

Tuchman covers the two most widely known theatres in Europe and the Mediterranean, the European (or Western) front and the Russian (or Eastern) front. The war in the Balkans is largely omitted, excepting one chapter discussing the pursuit of the German battlecruiser Goeben by Allied forces in the Mediterranean. In addition, this chapter explains how the events of the pursuit helped trigger the Ottoman Empire's entry into the war on the side of the Central Powers, and how this in turn led to the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign.

The Guns are a four-piece rock band from South Wales. The current line-up consists of Alex Wiltshire (vocals and guitar), Adam Turner (lead guitar), Tom Coburn (bass guitar) and Chris 'Stix' Davies (drums). The band have stated that they would like to remain independent and have turned down numerous record deals as a result of that. As of 2012, The Guns have released two EPs, and two albums.

After the once popular South Wales band When Reason Sleeps, which contained the frontman for fellow Welsh band The Blackout, Sean Smith, broke up, lead singer Alex Wiltshire set out and recruited Adam Turner on lead guitar, Tom Coburn on bass guitar, and Kob on drums. The Guns were formed, and after a small amount of gigs, they were asked by Pontypridd band Lostprophets to support them during their Liberation Transmission tour, The Guns accepted the offer and went on to play on the main stage at The Full Ponty 2007. Also, during this period The Guns had started work on their debut album With The Guns, and had released a self-titled 3 track CD available through their Myspace and at gigs.