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Author: Ian Sumner
Illustrator: Giuseppe Rava
Osprey (Warrior)

'Why,' the Kaiser enquired of Czar Nicholas in 1913, did he wish to ally himself with France when 'the Frenchman is no longer capable of being a soldier?' Indeed, during World War I (1914-1918) the French Army was in a state of disarray, plagued by indiscipline, mutinies and desertion. The ordinary French citizens that were called upon to defend their motherland, the Poilu, were disrespected and demoralized, and the infamous mutinies of 1917 by the Poilu were not protests against the war itself, but against how the war was conducted. The rebellions sent a stark warning, forcing a reform in the management of the war. Consequently, the performance of many French regiments improved and the Poilu went on to become the only European troops to fight the entire war within their own borders. Ian Sumner expertly charts the history of the Poilu, from the conscription of hundreds of thousands of men, through their training, to the horrors of the trenches and the fear of no-man's land, providing a fascinating insight into the events that led to the 1917 revolts. New artwork and diagrams illustrate the experiences of the soldiers as the comforts of civilian life were stripped away from them and the trenches became their homes.

Author: Nik Cornish
Illustrator: Andrei Karachtchouk
Osprey (Men-at-Arms)

Often overshadowed by the drama of its catastrophic collapse in the November 1917 Revolution, the Imperial Russian Army's record in 1914-16 included some notable victories. Its human qualities of patriotism and endurance were remarkable, and in 1916 the 'Brusilov Offensive' on the South-Western Front outdistanced anything that was being achieved in France. The variety and romance of its uniforms—infantry and cavalry, Guards and Line, Cossacks, armour and Air Service crewmen, even a priest—are splendidly captured here by Russia's leading military artist; and Nik Cornish's expert text is supported by tables of insignia and many rare photographs.

Author: Colonel Rod Paschall
Da Capo Press

This book goes a long way towards showing how many of the conventional beliefs concerning WW1 are totally innaccurate. He dosen't diminish the loss of life but he does show that the generals in charge were no less capable than their WW2 counterparts. Much of what was practiced in WW2 started in WW1. Pascall builds a compelling case that the generals on both sides invented ingenious new strategies that simply failed in the context of a war of attrition. An outstanding contribution to the body of knowledge of World War One.

January 1917. On the Western Front the armies of Imperial Germany, Great Britain, and France were locked in grim stalemate. Repeated attempts by both sides to achieve breakthrough in the face of machine-gun fire, barbed wire, long-range artillery, and poison gas had brought only enormous casualties.The Defeat of Imperial Germany focuses on the innovative plans created by generals on both sides in their struggles to dislodge the entrenched enemy and to restore maneuver and victory on the Western Front. In a series of vivid analyses of successive offensives, Paschall examines the problems of command and what happened when the massed soldiery sought to carry out their orders. These strategies and tactics developed by the military leadership in 1917–1918, though largely failing to shatter the deadlock, would prove successful when implemented twenty years later in World War II.The first volume in the Major Battles and Campaigns series published under the general editorship of John S.D. Eisenhower, The Defeat of Imperial Germany has been designed for the "armchair strategist." Dozens of photographs, many never before published, as well as clearly drawn theater and battlefield maps help to make this book an outstanding, challenging, and original contribution to the history of the Great War.

Author: Wolfgang Fleischer
Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.

Shown are the various caliber mortars used by the German infantry during World Wars I & II., over 70 b/w photographs, 8 1/2" x 11"

Author: Ian Drury
Illustrator: Gerry Embleton
Osprey (Warrior)

Okay, I bought this book (used) a few years back. It's okay, but has some inaccuracies. If you need a basic primer on the Sturmtruppen, then buy it... it's not that bad.

The first official German stormtroop unit was authorized on 2 March 1915 when the Supreme Command of the field army ordered the VIII Corps to form a detachment for the testing of experimental weapons and the development of approximate tactics that could break the deadlock on the Western Front. By the summer of 1915, stormtroop units were springing up throughout the German armies in the west, and by the end of 1916 official stormtroop battalions were established throughout the western armies, providing a deadly new threat for the Allies. This book examines the uniform, equipment and tactics of Germany's feared elites of World War I (1914-1918).

Author: Wolfgang Fleischer
Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.

Reviewer: Mal Wright from Adelaide, South Australia.

This booklet, by Wolfgang Fleischer, is a bit misleading as the title leads one to expect more coverage of WW1. Instead it skips over the 1914-18 period and seems to use it more as an introduction to WW2. That is a shame as even though it does not mention many WW1 guns, those it does skip across are interesting weapons. After a couple of pages of fairly vague text on WW1 it goes into WW2 infantry guns in considerably more detail. Once again it is often tempting, but not very fulfilling. However the photographic coverage of WW2 Infantry guns is quite extensive. It should prove helpful to those wanting to model some of the weapons in detail and at the price is therefore a bargain. As a serious work on the subject, it is however lacking in technical data and comparisons. I give this booklet 3 stars for WW2 and would give it half a star for WW1. It is worth adding to your collection and won't break your budget.

Author: Mark Henry
Illustrator: Darko Pavlovic
Osprey (Men-at-Arms)

Though the US Marines initially struggled to maintain their distinctive identity within the huge American Expeditionary Force in France, their unforgettable performance at Belleau Wood, Soissons, St Mihiel, Blanc Mont and the Meuse-Argonne established their reputation as 'the most aggressive body of diehards on the Western Front'. This book describes the organization of this formidable force during World War II, from 1917 to 1918, and details their uniforms, insignia and decorations, weapons and equipment. Numerous photographs and eight full colour plates vividly depict the various ranks of the US Marine Corps.


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