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1918: A Very British Victory |  | Author: Peter Hart
Creator: Clive Mantle
Publisher: Orion
Category: Book
List Price: £16.99
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as of 15/3/2010 03:08 MDT details
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New (20) Used (6) from £0.01
Seller: IMS
Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 96740
Format: Abridged, Audiobook, CD
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Abridged edition
Number Of Items: 5
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 1409100561
EAN: 9781409100560
ASIN: 1409100561
Publication Date: August 7, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
1918 : A Very British Victory February 12, 2010
J. D. Stanton (England)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I grew up at a time when the Medals with their ribbons won in the Great War were a daily sight. one of the Commissionaires who worked in our Offices, an ex Infantry Man who wore the Ribbon of the MM and Bar on certain days mentioned to us what life on the Western Front was like which at the time. The reminisces were not taken seriously as they were not in tune with the information then available.
I have studied the War in Great detail since the late forties and compared those studies with such information as is released from time to time and I now find that this book is the nearest to the histories as published in the very early 20s. The attacks at which the Canadians in particular sent forward marksmen to shoot out the Water Jackets of the German 08 Machine Guns thus making them useless after a belt or so had been fired.
The training of Empire Gunners, Machine Gunners and Mortar Men in the use of German Weapons and Infantry Men in German Grenades etc (This information appears in the Battle Orders of 169 Brigade before the Battle of Cambrai 20 November 1917)
I am glad to see the cult of hate against Earl Haig now give the Public a chance to see the other side of the controversy.
John Stanton.
Excellent description of the British Army's victories in 1918 January 3, 2010
Johnny London (london)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The book is a history of the British Army in France 1918. This year has been neglected, strangely as it had the most intensive fighting and hence the highest casualties on both sides. Rather than sticking to the hackneyed 'mud and stupid generals' writing that characterises much of the histories of this war, this book digs deeper and describes how the deadlock of the western front was broken by the British Army. The author weaves together a picture of the army in 1918 by using staff officers memoirs and lower ranks letters and diaries. Also included are some glimpses from the German side to illustrate the other face of the battles fought in that year.
If you want a book that gives the most complete picture of why the Germans surrendered in 1918, this is it. The war had sideshows in Palestine, Italy etc. but it was on the Western Front where it was decided. Excellect descriptions of the strategic decisions, battlefield tactics and eye witness tales from every arm (infantry, artillery, airman, tank corps) gives an excellent picture of how the war was fought on the ground.
Good descriptions of how the British Army was becoming a modernised and professional force come through. This is called the 'All Arms Battle'. These things range from the use of artillery in a modern way (counter battery fire), deception and secrecy of your intentions to the enemy (rather than the amateurish blundering of the early years), modern weapons in the attack such as the Lewis gun and rifle grenade, the use of aircraft for harrassment and interdiction of rear areas, and the use of fire and maneouver in the infantry attack. All of these tactics had been worked out in 1917 at a small level by the British Army and in 1918 they came to fruition. Together with this the British armaments industry finally getting into its highest gear and producing truly massive quantities of arms and munitions the possibilities suddenly opened up for a successfull extended offensive in 1918.
The background to the March 1918 offensive, politically and militarily, are gone into from the British perspective are gone into. The French shutting down as an offensive ally after the mutinies of 1917, the British having to take over 25 miles of their front, whilst at the same time the British Army in France being starved of men by the interfering Prime Minister Lloyd George who thought he knew better and was horrified by the casualties of autumn 1917. Haig is described as being human, not a butcher, a stoic and very determined man who was determined to defeat the German army, and who knew that this could only be done by defeating its main force on the Western Front. Which is actually correct and was how the war was fought to a successful conclusion. He is shown to be a lot more flexible that others would describe, being open to any idea that would lead to the defeat of the German Army. The battles he had to fight to protect his own army from being defeated by the politicians at home are also described i.e. the deliberate holding back of reinforcements in England by Lloyd George just before the Germans attacked in March 1918. He also had to deal with the defeatism of his French counterpart Petain and the French government, who both lost their nerve at the crucial moment in June 1918 and almost conceded defeat by unilaterarly retreating to protect Paris and abandoning the British flank. His flexibility in allowing his command to come under the umbrella of the French General Foch was also a demonstration of his flexibility, he realised unity of command was needed in 1918 and he actually suggested this to the French himself. Foch was a man in his own mould, resolute and commited to the defeat of the Germans.
The book moves into a narrative of the intial retreats of March - July 1918, with eye witness accounts of the desperate rear guard actions fought by the British as they were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers thrown at them. Then the book moves into the description of the August offensives by the British Army, and in particular the Canadian and Australian Corps. Good descriptions of how the British viewed these units (in particular the Australians who the British soldiers thought uncouth but respected). These units were held back by Haig deliberately for the counterattack, as they were largely volunteer based and were larger units in manpower than standard British divisions. Not only that, they were better equipped in offensive Lewis guns. These units would be used continually until the Armistice in the spearhead of British attacks, until almost used up in the Australian case - the book describes the strikes that the Australian soldiers conducted when they were asked to split their units when they had been decimated - they refused to leave their old units. Normal British units were also widely used in the offensive and these are described and had their own problems - many of them had been torn apart in the German offensives of March/May and were then asked to go over to the offensive themselves later on. The book describes the utter hopelessness of the soldiers of these units, seeing their units being decimated daily and with no hope of individual survival, and then being asked later on to continually go on the attack for week after week. How they kept going is unbelievable.
Although tanks were important in some battles (tank corps soldiers experiences are also documented here), the book emphasises that the weapon that truly crushed the German Army was the Royal Artillery. It utterly dominated the battlefied from August 1918, crushing even the strongest German positions such as the Hindenburg line. Wherever the German Army stood the artillery would swiftly be brought to bear and would lay down such a weight of fire that most of the Germans would be surrendering or incapacitated by the time the infantry reached them. For example, one particular bombardment is described as being an average of one shell per 3 metres, and kept up throughout the bombardment by quick firing field artillery. You get the idea of the effect this would have on the German defenders - most of them surrendered immediately if they managed to survive.
The war reached a crescendo of total violence towards the end of 1918 that the author describes well, with truly incredible losses being suffered by both sides but the Germans always being steadily crushed in manpower, material and morale.
Others have gone into the German offensives of 1918, but these were not really inovative, they were just battles where massive quantities of artillery and gas were used before the infantry rushing the trenches. Much has been made of German infiltration tactics, but a lot of the successes from these tactics came from foggy conditions on the battlefield allowing troops to move in the open more easily. All too often later on in the summer of 1918 when fog was not available German attacks broken down into simple rushes of the enemy trenches, relying on sheer weight of numbers to overwhelm the British. Contrast this with the British Army attacking in the autumn with numbers of men that were nearly comparable, and prevailing, and you see how inovative and successfull the 'all arms battle' really was.
A compelling read December 27, 2009
tony
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have become somewhat engrossed in WW1 'stuff' of late, to the point that i spent most of my Xmas nursing this great read in bed as i had the flu...Ok not on Xmas day itself but on Boxing Day. It is always a constant reminder that one shouldn't complain about ones own lot when we consider the horrors that these men went through. This book highlights the personal experiences of the soldiers, both high and low rank as the war entered its last phase and turned from near total German Victory into allied glory. My interest in this period is inspired by my research into my great uncle who came out to join a Field Garrison Battery (No 248RGA)on 24/4/1918 and although i can only find one remark that links me to him when a soldier repoted how the 17th Brigade was pretty well wiped out (this was to be my g/uncles brigade!), the book is still compelling and informative of the battle ground and events throughout the year. It is compelling and humour is evident amongst the recollections. The antics of the Australians and how the Brits and they 'got on' is very amusing and the same realtioship exists today. The only 'criticism' of the book-though that is probably too strong a word to use here-is that the author maybe overemphasises the role of the British and Haig in 1918 because without the US and Aussies we wouldn't have been able to fight back with such vigour and i think these two nations made the difference..and also of course the French and Foch who became leader of the allied forces. The book maybe should have been called a 'Great Allied Victory' but i guess that wouldn't have the appeal to the largely English audience......
Either way a great book indeed and one i though had been missing on this period.
Excellent October 15, 2009
Mr. J. H. Pearson (Bampton UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Good research. Another perspective on 1918. The men involved in the figting that year and at the day of armistice must have had feelings that we today must be glad we do not have to repeat.
HIstory made real June 4, 2009
Chris Lamp (UK)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book gives all the details, maps, strategy, etc that most other books on this subject offer. However, by using comments from real people throughout to tell the story, Peter Hart delivers a highly readable book that leaves the reader with a better understanding of the human realities of WW1.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
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