Stephen Bull

An Officer's Manual of the Western Front (eBook, ePUB)

1914-1918

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

A compelling insight into the lives of the soldiers behind the war that not only changed the direction of world affairs but also brought with it a modernised, mechanised style of warfare.

Many people have the idea that the 'Great War' on the Western Front was simple, if ghastly, to fight - with few tactics, and unbroken, monotonous, trench lines as the main feature of the battlefield. In such a scenario the archetypal image of battle is of soldiers with rifles and bayonets charging each other in blind obedience to stupid repetitious orders.

Though undeniably bloody the war was in fact a ferment of new ideas and new weapons. Gas, flame throwers, super-heavy artillery, concrete bunkers, tanks, aircraft and other innovations were all introduced, whilst older notions such as barbed wire, machine guns and armour took on a new lease of life.

No single manual was ever enough to encompass 'modern war', and even before 1914 numerous publications were required. With the focus on the Western Front and the soldiers fighting there, this unique compendium collects together a huge variety of contemporary manuals, leaflets and booklets, and shows how although operations often failed, British commanders made attempts to devise new tactics and weaponry.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury UK
• Seitenzahl: 160
• Erscheinungstermin: 27. Juni 2019
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781472841377
• Artikelnr.: 57135078

Autorenporträt

Dr Stephen Bull worked for the National Army Museum and BBC in London before taking up his current post as Curator of Military History and Archaeology with Lancashire Museums. A consultant to the University of Oxford he is also a Member of the Institute for Archaeologists, and has made TV appearances that include the series Battlefield Detectives, news and archaeology features. Published on both sides of the Atlantic and in several languages, he is the author of a number of works for Osprey including titles on tactics in World War II. Dr Bull has been one of the key contributors to the accompanying television series screened in the United Kingdom and North America.

Inhaltsangabe

Introduction by Dr Stephen Bull 1. Infantry Training
1914
Chapter X. Infantry in Attack
pp.133-147 2. Manual of Field Engineering
reprinted 1914
Chapter V. Earthworks
pp.24-31 3. Notes From the Front
Part 1
1914
Tactical Notes
pp.2-10 4. Notes From the Front
Part 3
1915
pp.10-25 5. Trench Standing Orders 1915-16: 124th Infantry Brigade 6. Notes on Minor Enterprises
March 1916 7. Notes on the Tactical Employment of Machine Guns and Lewis Guns
March 1916
pp.3-19 8. Games for Use with Physical Training Tables and Training in Bombing
1916 9. Collection of Information Regarding the Enemy
1915-17 10. Instructions for the Training of Platoons for Offensive Action
February 1917 11. Gas Warfare Monthly Summary of Information
No. 15
September 1918 Glossary Index