Synopsis:
World War I stands as a watershed in the evolution of modern warfare, with the development of sophisticated trench systems forming a battlefield over 400 miles long, innovations in weaponry and equipment and the introduction of tanks in battle. Without the ordinary soldier, however, there could have been no war: the Great War was very much a conflict of infantrymen - the largely forgotten masses of Tommies, Fritzes, Poilus and Doughboys. With a foreword by renowned World War I historian Gary Sheffield, War on the Western Front examines the day-to-day lives of these men as they fought and died in the trenches, from their recruitment and training to combat experience, vividly recounting the shock of life on 'the front'. It also provides an extensive re-assessment of trench warfare, a revolutionary tactic that challenged the very idea of war, and details developments in weaponry and armoured vehicles, including terrifying innovations in the use of poison gas, flamethrowers and tanks. This book contains material from previously published books: War 12, 16, 79 and Elite 78 & 84.
Review:
"This is an interesting introduction to a complex subject, well illustrated as usual." --Bolling Smith, Coastal Defense Journal (August 2007) "Overall, an excellent reference with a useful bibliography containing 50 titles from each combatant nation." --Barrett Tillman, War on the Western Front (August 2007) "War on the Western Front: In the Trenches of World War I is a narrowed focus on the Western Front of the first world war and is a pick for any college-level military library strong in the era's history. Its focus is on the daily lives of soldiers: as such it provides both first-person history and survey of trench warfare and tactics which changed the strategies and nature of warfare. An excellent, well-detailed analysis." --California Bookwatch (August 2007) "Throughout the book are superb photographs and illustrations to give the reader a real sense of not only what went on during these times, but how things changed over the course of the conflict... Overall it is an outstanding compilation and at a price that makes it a real bargain to the reader. I found it a fascinating read and can highly recommend this one to you." --Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (July 2007) "Overall, the authors make their case that trench warfare presented an ever changing dynamic of new ideas and experiments to break the deadlock... Recommended. General libraries, in particular, and undergraduate collections." --P.L. de Rosa, Bridgewater State College, CHOICE (April 2008) "A remarkable collection of photographs and commentary from a variety of authors allows readers to learn about the complexities of trench design (and the theories behind construction) as well as such innovations as flame-throwers, poison gas, and tanks. Readers will also get a sense of how men managed to endue the war's unprecedented change." --Nicholas Wood, Military History Quarterly (Spring 2008)
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