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New Approaches to European History
France and the Great War
This book tells the story of how the French community embarked upon, sustained and prevailed in the Great War. The scholarly survey on France's role in the war blends diplomatic, military, social, cultural and economic history.
222 pages, Hardcover
First published March 13, 2003
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About the author
Leonard V. Smith
17 books5 followersA specialist in modern French history, Leonard V. Smith is Frederick B. Artz Professor of History at Oberlin College. Smith earned his BA from Oberlin College in 1980 and his MIA (1982) and Ph.D. (1990) from Columbia University.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 3, 2017
3.5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2012
This is a short book, intended to target an undergraduate or non-specialist audience, and introduce them to some of the major themes in current academic study of France in World War One. I read it, fairly cursorily, in graduate school, and kept notes in preparation for comprehensive exams. In that sense, it served its function well, forcing me to look at the "other side" of the First World War in a serious and analytical manner, without distracting me from my major work on Germany.
Much of its focus is on the home front and the means by which the "war culture" of France resulted in a relatively unified French society throughout the hardships and occupation of the prolonged trench combat. A chapter which focuses specifically on the soldiers demonstrates the degree to which the horrors of this war prefigured the even greater horrors of the next. Perhaps the most interesting discussion is in regard to mass strikes against the war that took place both in civilian and military workplaces in 1917. These strikes, which did express mass dissatisfaction with the harshness of conditions and the seeming futility of successive assaults against the Germans, did not result in a true anti-War movement, as most French still wanted an honorable peace through victory. Ultimately, the result was the rise of Clemenceau and an associated "brutalization" of French politics, as the leaders of the strikes were court-martialed and shot or harshly sentenced. A final chapter muses on the ambiguity of the final victory and the ways in which the French tried to memorialize their dead.
The authors have done a fine job of introducing their subject matter to an unfamiliar audience. When they stray from their expertise, they sometimes make errors (as on page 185, wherein 1998 is claimed to be the "50th" anniversary of Kristallnacht in Germany, when it would have been the 60th), but the main text is free of obvious mistakes. A serious researcher would prefer more citations to follow up on the information given, but the bibliography at the end is probably sufficient for its intended audience. A short but serviceable index at the end also adds to its value. In all, it is a good book to supplement University-level study of one of the most interesting periods in French history.
Much of its focus is on the home front and the means by which the "war culture" of France resulted in a relatively unified French society throughout the hardships and occupation of the prolonged trench combat. A chapter which focuses specifically on the soldiers demonstrates the degree to which the horrors of this war prefigured the even greater horrors of the next. Perhaps the most interesting discussion is in regard to mass strikes against the war that took place both in civilian and military workplaces in 1917. These strikes, which did express mass dissatisfaction with the harshness of conditions and the seeming futility of successive assaults against the Germans, did not result in a true anti-War movement, as most French still wanted an honorable peace through victory. Ultimately, the result was the rise of Clemenceau and an associated "brutalization" of French politics, as the leaders of the strikes were court-martialed and shot or harshly sentenced. A final chapter muses on the ambiguity of the final victory and the ways in which the French tried to memorialize their dead.
The authors have done a fine job of introducing their subject matter to an unfamiliar audience. When they stray from their expertise, they sometimes make errors (as on page 185, wherein 1998 is claimed to be the "50th" anniversary of Kristallnacht in Germany, when it would have been the 60th), but the main text is free of obvious mistakes. A serious researcher would prefer more citations to follow up on the information given, but the bibliography at the end is probably sufficient for its intended audience. A short but serviceable index at the end also adds to its value. In all, it is a good book to supplement University-level study of one of the most interesting periods in French history.
April 15, 2013
Another from the World War One research stack, this is by the same authors as 14-18 which I also found very helpful. The authors are particularly good about going back to the 1914-1918 source material rather than accepting the narrative of the war which emerged in the mid to late 1920s.
As the title suggests, this focuses on the French experience of WW1. The chapters on the experience of civilians in German occupied France and on the 1917 mutinies were especially helpful. I've added a couple of Leonard Smith's other books to my to-read pile based on this: The Embattled Self deals with how war veterans dealt with their experience of the war through written expression, and the changes and conventions which writing a narrative imposed on many authors. Between Mutiny and Obedience deals specifically with the 1917 mutinies.
A very useful substantive read that pointed me towards a lot of good primary sources and helped me think through some of the issues involved in understanding the French experience of the Great War. Though not dry or dull, it's a fairly academic book. Not the sort of thing one would turn to first as a general reader, but very helpful for my current project.
As the title suggests, this focuses on the French experience of WW1. The chapters on the experience of civilians in German occupied France and on the 1917 mutinies were especially helpful. I've added a couple of Leonard Smith's other books to my to-read pile based on this: The Embattled Self deals with how war veterans dealt with their experience of the war through written expression, and the changes and conventions which writing a narrative imposed on many authors. Between Mutiny and Obedience deals specifically with the 1917 mutinies.
A very useful substantive read that pointed me towards a lot of good primary sources and helped me think through some of the issues involved in understanding the French experience of the Great War. Though not dry or dull, it's a fairly academic book. Not the sort of thing one would turn to first as a general reader, but very helpful for my current project.
September 1, 2016
A both thorough and understandable book about France's role in the First world war.
Some of the covered topics include:
Prewar situaton
Social and economical situation throughout the war
1914 battles
Life of POWs and in occupied territories
1917 Chemins des dames battle/mutinies and their fallout
Propaganda
Results of WW1 in the interwar period and after-WW2
A list of tens of cited works at the end of the book expand the various topics and thus offer place for expansion of the reader's knowledge, France and the Great war is a definite recommend for any WW1 student, mostly for the intermediate level (you know the basics and would like to delve into the details of a particular country).
Some of the covered topics include:
Prewar situaton
Social and economical situation throughout the war
1914 battles
Life of POWs and in occupied territories
1917 Chemins des dames battle/mutinies and their fallout
Propaganda
Results of WW1 in the interwar period and after-WW2
A list of tens of cited works at the end of the book expand the various topics and thus offer place for expansion of the reader's knowledge, France and the Great war is a definite recommend for any WW1 student, mostly for the intermediate level (you know the basics and would like to delve into the details of a particular country).
August 10, 2008
A relatively short undergraduate survey, although great for a general introduction, which I kind of needed, as, frankly, there were a good many things about this war that I knew nothing about until this book told me. Poor World War I, always overshadowed by that other one....
As I've said before, I really like these 'New Approach' things from Cambridge for their reliability and readability.
As I've said before, I really like these 'New Approach' things from Cambridge for their reliability and readability.
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September 27, 2015From the Cambridge New Approaches to European History series, this volume provides an overview of France's involvement in the war that's just as much cultural and political as military -- a welcome breadth. Audoin-Rouzeau and Becker are the directors of the Historial de la Grande Guerre in Péronne (the main French museum of the war), and are ably suited to their work in this volume.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews