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Chronicles of the Great War: The Western Front 1914-1918
Book by Simkins, Peter
221 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1997
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9 people want to read
About the author
Peter Simkins
33 books3 followersPeter Simkins worked at the Imperial War Museum for over 35 years and was its Senior Historian from 1976 until his retirement in 1999. Awarded the MBE that year for his services to the Museum, he is currently Honorary Professor in Modern History at the University of Birmingham, a Vice-President of the Western Front Association and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 13, 2020
Chronicles of The Great War: The Western Front 1914-1918 was just that, a synopsis of the land fighting on the Western Front. This 80th anniversary edition was anything but 'just another book' about it, for it managed to go into just the right amount of detail without dragging topics out into voluminous chapters.
What was refreshing was all the little mini special features which covered such topics as Rest & Recreation, where we learned that in 1917 twice as many men were admitted to the hospital for VD than for pneumonia, trench foot and frostbite combined, while in Communications we read where one of the most reliable yet dangerous methods of transmitting information was by human runners, one of which was a young Adolf Hitler.
As important as the air and naval fighting was, this was only touched upon. A couple of interesting facts were presented concerning the air war though. In 1918 the Allied ground offensives utilized not only massive barrages and tanks but also ground attack planes and the delivery of ammunition to front line troops by parachute. Being as most of the reconnaissance was carried out by aircraft, most air battles centered around the missions of these two seaters. In order to win localized air superiority, the Germans would move their bands of top scoring pilots in colorful planes up and down the line. These groups, such as that of the Red Baron, were referred to as the Flying Circus.
And speaking of barrages, these were probably more intense than many battles before and after being as the front lines didn't move much for four years, and the intensity was such that before and after photos show what appears to be craters on the moon where once stood trees and buildings. Even streams were erased from the topography. And it wasn't only cannons that fired non-stop day in and day out, but water-cooled machine guns too.
There were plenty of fine maps and period photographs included which rounded out this fine work.
In closing, the cost in human life was mentioned. Millions died, and for what?
What was refreshing was all the little mini special features which covered such topics as Rest & Recreation, where we learned that in 1917 twice as many men were admitted to the hospital for VD than for pneumonia, trench foot and frostbite combined, while in Communications we read where one of the most reliable yet dangerous methods of transmitting information was by human runners, one of which was a young Adolf Hitler.
As important as the air and naval fighting was, this was only touched upon. A couple of interesting facts were presented concerning the air war though. In 1918 the Allied ground offensives utilized not only massive barrages and tanks but also ground attack planes and the delivery of ammunition to front line troops by parachute. Being as most of the reconnaissance was carried out by aircraft, most air battles centered around the missions of these two seaters. In order to win localized air superiority, the Germans would move their bands of top scoring pilots in colorful planes up and down the line. These groups, such as that of the Red Baron, were referred to as the Flying Circus.
And speaking of barrages, these were probably more intense than many battles before and after being as the front lines didn't move much for four years, and the intensity was such that before and after photos show what appears to be craters on the moon where once stood trees and buildings. Even streams were erased from the topography. And it wasn't only cannons that fired non-stop day in and day out, but water-cooled machine guns too.
There were plenty of fine maps and period photographs included which rounded out this fine work.
In closing, the cost in human life was mentioned. Millions died, and for what?
December 28, 2024
Large, informative and highly useful to read. The images were helpfully plentiful and illustrated key people, places and equipment. Has proved useful over the years. Imagine if he had made one for the Eastern Front too!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews