Raiding on the Western Front

by Saunders, Anthony

• ISBN13: 9781848844858
• ISBN10: 1848844859
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-07-19
• Publisher: Casemate Pub & Book Dist Llc

Summary

The trench raid came to typify the aggression and close-combat of trench warfare on the Western Front. Inevitably, raiding by aggressively minded units had a psychological effect on the enemy. Dominance over the enemy could be established by aggressive raiding. Equally, raiding had an effect on the morale of friendly troops but not always a positive one. Successful raids buoyed spirits but unsuccessful raids could be detrimental because of the casualties sustained for no gain and raiding provoked retaliation from enemy artillery or mortars or a tit-for-tat return raid. Raids came to be the epitome of all-arms operations, combining individual weapons skills with tactical sense and requiring cooperation with artillery and mortar batteries for success. Yet, a raiding party was an ad hoc all-arms combat team put together and trained for a specific operation. In the early days of raiding, the raiders were always volunteers but the steady toll of experienced soldiers led to raiders being told off for the first task like any other. This is the first book to look at how raids were carried out, the successes, the failures, the consequences of raiding, their effect on morale and their contribution to military operations on the Western Front.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. viii
Genesis and Evolution of Raiding	p. 1
1915, the Rise of Raiding	p. 16
1916 up to the Somme	p. 30
Two Raids	p. 45
The Australians: June and July 1916	p. 56
Wearing Down and Deception	p. 68
The Kensingtons - A Farce in Diverse Acts	p. 80
Operation Wilhelm - A German Raid, July 1916	p. 89
July-October 1916	p. 101
Bomb, Bayonet and Pistol	p. 117
Weather, Moonlight and the Hindenburgh Line	p. 129
Canada and South Africa	p. 142
How not to Raid - Celtic Wood	p. 154
1917	p. 161
1918 before the German Spring Offensives	p. 174
End Game	p. 186
Notes	p. 195
Bibliography	p. 198
Index	p. 201
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