The First World War (3) The Western Front 1917–1918

by SIMKINS, PETER

• ISBN13: 9781841763484
• ISBN10: 1841763489
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-06-25
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Summary

In this, the second volume covering the war on the Western Front, Peter Simkins describes the last great battles of attrition at Arras, on the Aisne and at Passchendaele in 1917. Then he moves on to relate the successive offensives launched by Germany in the spring and summer of 1918 in an effort to achieve victory or a favourable peace before American manpower proved decisive. Again, questioning and correcting several myths and long-held assumptions about the nature and conduct of war on the Western Front, the author also looks at the aftermath and legacy of the 'war to end wars'.

Author Biography

Peter 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 Historial Society. Peter Simkins is the author of numerous publications on the Great War, including the book Kitchener's Army (1988), which was awarded the Templar Medal by the Society for Army Historical Research, and hs is now working with Dr Gary Sheffield and John Lee, on a two-volume study, Haig's Army.

Table of Contents

Introduction	7	(2)
Chronology	9	(1)
Background to war
Strategic choices for 1917	10	(4)
Warring sides
The opposing armies	14	(2)
The fighting
War on the Western Front, 1917--1918	16	(61)
Portrait of a soldier
Private Frederick `Fen' Noakes	77	(3)
The world around war
The home fronts 1917--1918	80	(5)
Portrait of a civilian
Caroline Webb	85	(2)
How the war ended
The final month	87	(6)
Further reading	93	(1)
Index	94