World War I Trench Warfare (2): 1916–18

Osprey Elite #84

by Stephen Bull, Adam Hook (Illustrator)

Osprey's examination of trench warfare tactics during World War I (1914-1918). The Allied attempt to break the stalemate of trench warfare by the 'big pushes' of 1916 led to massively costly battles of attrition. The Germans responded by developing schemes of defence in depth anchored on concrete bunkers; the Allies, by sophisticated artillery tactics in support of infantry assaults, and by the introduction of the tank - at first an accident-prone novelty, but later a front-breaking weapon. On both sides the small, self-reliant, opportunistic infantry unit, with its own specialist weapons, became the basic tool of attack. This second of a fascinating two-part study of the birth of 20th century tactics is illustrated in colour and includes rare photographs.

Genres: History, Military History, Nonfiction, World War I, Military Fiction, World History

64 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 2002

Reviews

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

#84 in the "Osprey Elite" series covers the later years of the War to End All Wars- 1916-1918. After trying to smash through each others' trench lines with bigger and bigger waves of men- in the 1916-18 period the European Armies got serious about real professionalism, in both defence and assault. But the Solution was not just the Tank and the Yanks..... They introduced the "Empty Battlefield", defense and offense in depth and breadth- saving men and making technologies bear more of the brunt. The big innovations were in Artillery preparation, and in better entrenching, but also covered personal armour (EVERYONE in a helmet now), real manufactured grenades, and then a myriad of smaller moves. Better aerial photography, better phones, better vehicles- better trains behind the lines and and then for the allies a continuing improvement in supplies and ammunition.

The Germans tried the Stormtrooper assault idea- with infiltration in dead spots- bypassing strong points and trying to get into the rear areas -ideas that would become WWII's "Blitzkrieg". The British came up with Artillery/Infantry combination- adding Tanks for the first time- and making by 1918- an almost unbeatable combination- although the Germans would push the Allies to the wall in the Michael offensive of 1918. Stephen Bull, the author really covers a lot of ground in the book and gives the reader a good base of late WWI innovations-putting it all in a compelling and readable format.

There are few adult themes and little injury description, so this is fine source for Junior Readers over about 10 years old. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast, a really useful book. This is not the most gamed period- but this would be great for understanding the basics of the WWI warfare. Modellers get the Colour section in the middle, and all those great B/W pics in the narrative- and for enthusiasts it's a great basic resource- one sure to lead to more study. Learning how the deadlock was finally broken by refined techniques and better materiel is more interesting than it sounds.