Armoured Onslaught: 8th August 1918

Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II / the Violent Century: Battle #25

by Douglas Orgill

The tanks moved up, causing terror and confusion. Through German eyes: 'everything was affected by the fearful impression that the fire-vomiting iron dragons had made...panic had seized on everything...where any dark shapes moved, men saw the black monster.' A new era was beginning.

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Armoured Onslaught: 8th August 1918 is part of Ballantine's Illustrated History of the Violent Century, and is Book #25 in the Battle Book series.

Genres: History, Military History, War, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

UK author, mostly of thrillers, from the early 1960s; of sf interest are his two novels with John R Gribbin.

Reviews

[Christopher Rush · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable book. One might suspect that is simple praise considering how predisposed I admit I am toward this Ballantine series, but my predilection for this series works against potential poor entries in it. I say "potential" because I haven't read one disappointing entry yet. I usually enjoy (so to speak) well-told stories about World War I, and this facet of the development of tank warfare was one facet I wasn't so familiar with, as most of my WW1 reading has been broad whole-war surveys (plus Ms. Tuchman's The Zimmerman Telegram). I appreciated Mr. Orgill's treatment of the diverse attitudes to the tank coupled with his generous portrayal of the technical aspects of the tank's development. It would be easy for lesser writers to be tendentious about the technical aspects or overwhelm the audience with specifications and minutiae, but Mr. Orgill does neither. His tone is inviting and educational and engaging even when explaining the data of the generations of tanks.

I found the reticence for the tank quite interesting, both from the Allied side and the Central Powers side. The general failure of Allied tanks at Cambrai due both to cool-headed Germans with tantamount anti-tank guns and the failure of the construction of early tanks could have easily been the end of tanks for decades if not longer ... but a very few visionaries saw the potential of the tank, even as the nature of WW1 itself demanded so much revision of "musket and pike"-era warfare strategy. Perhaps my favorite line was the line about how so few leaders understood just how different WW1 was from everything they were used to in war, especially the traditional cavalry. Gone were the days of outflanking your opponent with clever cavalry charges and scouting - with trench warfare, there were no flanks anymore. It is such a momentous notion in a few words: the world has changed significantly and fully. Technology is not a neutral thing. This was an enjoyable, educational book.

[spike marlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well written and fascinating read. I had know idea about the beginning of armoured war fare and the importance of two small and then one larger attack using tanks during World War I. Anyone interested in the beginnings of combined tactics and the use of armour would be well advised to read this book.

[Alex MacKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far more interesting than I first imagined. The detail of the Allied Offensive was reminicient of the Canadian assault on Vimy Ridge, but with sufficient armoured support.
Of note, this is the first book I have read that pays significant attention to the proposed Plan 1919.
Like all Ballantine books, this is a gem.

[Lloyd Lietz]

Very good.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

🖊 My review: An excellent history book.
🤔 My rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
📕 Media form: Read from my private library.
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