This series plunges readers into the heart of World War I, weaving compelling narratives that focus on the human cost of global conflict. Each volume offers a detailed look at pivotal battles, strategic maneuvers, and the often-overlooked personal sacrifices made by those involved. It's essential reading for anyone interested in military history and the resilience of the human spirit amidst unimaginable adversity.
In the BATTLEGROUND EUROPE series, this pocket book is suitable for both the armchair traveller and those visiting the battlefield. It includes details of memorials, cemeteries and museums and contains general advice for the traveller, with photographs, maps and diagrams.
In the BATTLEGROUND EUROPE series, this pocket book is suitable for both the armchair traveller and those visiting the battlefield, covering the ground where Captain Nevill famously kicked a football on going over the top, and where pals battalions engaged in their first major engagement. Also includes details of memorials, cemeteries and museums.
Both Sanctuary Wood and the village of Hodge saw intense fighting during the First World War. Nigel Cave takes the reader on an explanatory tour of the immediate area. Included is a description of the museum at Hill 62 with its trench system, stereoscopic photos and weapons.
The book covers in detail the attacks of 14-18 July 1916 against the Bazentin Woods and villages and beyond. Walks and tours of the surroundings areas are included with detailed action maps. schovat popis
The principal action that took place here in February 1917 was of short duration and failure but with fascinating overtones. This is the dramatic story of the events on the Somme after the great battle of 1916 ended and before the Germans withdrew to the Hindenburg Line. Its focus is on a ravine easily as impressive as that at Beaumont Hamel. schovat popis
The village of Epehy gave its name to one of the most important battles of 1918.Evacuated by the Germans during their retreat to the Hindenburg Line, the ruins were occupied by British Forces until the German offensive. They were recaptured in some of the bloodiest engagements of September 1918.
During the Battle of Arras 1917, the village of Gavrelle was captured by the Royal Naval Division; the Royal Marines suffered the highest casualties in their history. This guide explains the battles and the area today.
Tells of the disastrous campaign at Gallipoli in 1915 when the allies failed to knock Turkey out of the war. Featuring photographs, this book provides detailed historical descriptions of the area and the events. It is of interest to the armchair historian and the intrepid visitor to the sites.
Courcelette is one of the many Somme villages that became a German stronghold in their tenacious fight to keep the British armies at bay. Well behind the lines on 1 July, it came into prominence on 15 September when it fell to an attack by the Canadians.
The bitter fight for Fort Vaux is one of the most famous episodes in the Battle of Verdun - it has achieved almost legendary status in French military history. The heroic resistance put up by the fort's commander, Major Raynal, and his small, isolated garrison in the face of repeated German assaults was remarkable at the time, and it is still seen as an outstanding example of gallantry and determination. But what really happened inside the besieged fort during the German attacks, and how can visitors to the Verdun battlefield get an insight into the extraordinary events that took place there almost a century ago? In this precise, accessible account, Christina Holstein, one of the leading authorities on the Verdun battlefield and its monuments, reconstructs the fight for the fort in graphic day-by-day detail. Readers get a vivid sense of the sequence of events, of the intense experience of the defenders and a wider understanding of the importance of Fort Vaux in the context of the German 1916 offensive.
The shell-ravaged landscape of Hill 60, some three miles to the south east of Ypres, conceals beneath it a labyrinth of tunnels and underground workings. This small area saw horrendous fighting in the early years of the war as the British and Germans struggled to control its dominant view over Ypres.
This tells of the fighting on Redan Ridge in 1916. The sector was occupied by the 4th Division, made up of some of the veteran regular battalions, the 'Old Contemptibles', although few of the original members had survived thus far. It was mainly Territorials and 'new army' men who fought here.
This new edition of Paul Reeds classic book Walking the Somme is an essential traveling companion for anyone visiting the Somme battlefields of 1916. His book, first published over ten years ago, is the result of a lifetimes research into the battle and the landscape over which it was fought.
Covers the Old Front Line from Redan Ridge to the Ancre, and describes how the defence of the area became so strong, the reasons for German early success during the battle of Beaumont Hamel. This book explains how the British defeat of July was transformed into victory.
This latest book in the Battleground Europe series describes the battles over several years, and in particular 1917 and 1918, for a wood and small village. The Germans stubbornly refused to retreat as the area held a key position in their defense of Arras.In the bitter fighting, thousands of young men mainly from East Yorkshire (Hull) and East Lancashire were sacrificed.
Le Cateau (26-27 August 1914) was the second major action fought by the BEF in the Great War. His men exhausted after fighting at Mons and by the subsequent speedy retreat, Lieutenant-General Horace Smith-Dorrien (commanding II Corps) decided that he had to make a stand in the vicinity of Le Cateau.There his men took on elements of four German corps in an action that succeeded in giving the BEF a respite, but at considerable cost. Amongst other elements of controversy in the conduct of the battle was the handling of the Royal Artillery.The battle also undermined the already fraught relationship between Smith-Dorrien and the BEF's commander, John French. The battlefield today remains largely as it was, open countryside, and it is an ideal location to view one of the most significant British battlefields of the early days of the war.In this action no less than five Victoria Crosses were won, three of them in one howitzer battery and two by men of the 2nd King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.
The Somme is amongst the most visited battlefield areas in the world, and sees thousands of British visitors every year. For the first time provides a detailed guide to the early fighting on the Somme in 1914 and 1915 in what became the British area.
This volume includes a visit to the grave of Albert Ball VC and the graves of Waterfall and Bayly, the first British fliers killed in action, and relives the deadly thrills of war in the air over the battlefields of the Western Front.
The bridge over the St Quentin Canal at Riqueval is one of the most readily recognised images of the Great War, witnessing many ferocious engagements in the period between the retreat to the Hindenburg Line in 1917 and the final assault against the canal's defences in September 1918.
Gallipoli is well known as one of the great disasters of the Great War. Now for the first time we can see just how bad it really was and why it all went wrong.
A further addition to the extensive WW1 Battleground Series. Written by experienced and respected author, it covers a neglected yet accessible area of the Somme Front. The tours include detailed descriptions of the battle fields today.
Introducing a trilogy of books on the Battle of Ypres 1914, the last great battle of the massive clashes on the Western Front in the first, fateful months of the Great War.
Describes in detail the actions just prior and after the landings on the beaches around Helles by the British 29 Division on those fateful days of the 25 and 26 April 1915. It is dedicated to the memory of all those who fought there, many of whom did not survive. schovat popis
Manfred von Richthofen became a fighter pilot on the Western Front in August 1916. By January 1917, Richthofen had shot down fifteen aircraft had been appointed commander of his own unit. He painted the fuselage of his Albatros D-III a bright red and was nicknamed the Red Baron. In June 1917, Richthofen was appointed commander of the German Flying Circus. Made up of Germany's top fighter pilots, this new unit was highly mobile and could be quickly sent to any part of the Western Front where it was most needed. Richthofen and his pilots achieved immediate success during the air war over Ypres during August and September.Manfred von Richthofen was killed on 21st April 1918. Richthofen had destroyed 80 allied aircraft, the highest score of any fighter pilot during the First World War.This book is divided into three sectors of the WWI front line in which von Richthofen operated. Each area is conveniently reached within hours. Airfield sites, memorials and the graves of Manfred's famous victims are described and directions for the battlefield walker are included with information on related museums and historic sites with special association with this most famous of fighter pilots.
Combles was the largest village on the Somme in 1916 and fighting for its possession began in September 1916. Flanked by two large woods to the west - Bouleaux ('Bully') and Leuze ('Lousy') - these became the front line where men of the 56th (London) Division fought and died. The bastion of Combles finally fell to a combined English and French attack. Tanks were used here in their first action on the Western Front.
The Battleground series is designed for both the battlefield visitor and the reader at home. For the former, this book is an invaluable guide and each site is described in detail. For everyone there are graphic descriptions of action, often through first-hand accounts, supported by illustrations, diagrams and maps.
Historical facts and figures from Mametz Wood Somme.
Part of the Battleground Europe series, this book is a guide to both sides of a major battle - in this case to the Canadian Corps operations against 1st Bavarian Reserve Corps at Vimy from 9-12 April 1917, which formed part of the opening of the British offensive, known as the Battle of Arras.
The book offers a detailed guide to the battlefield of Verdun, site of one of World War I's most brutal confrontations. It highlights significant locations, such as the site of Colonel Driant's death and key forts like Douaumont and Vaux. Through a series of walks, the author, Christina Holstein, provides insights into the historical and emotional weight of these sites, enhancing the reader's understanding of the battle's impact on France and Germany. This exploration serves as both a memorial and a historical recounting of the enduring legacy of Verdun.
Designed to act as a diversion to the 'big push', Gommecourt was an attempt to force the Germans to commit their reserves to the front line before the main battle took place. This Battlefield Guide tells the reader what happened and relates it to the ground as it now stands today.
This wood featured significantly in the First and Third Battles of Ypres and was the scene of numerous deeds of heroism, such as that which won young Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Bent the VC. The courage of individuals and units from Britain and Australia is described in this latest edition to the series covering Ypres.
Designed to act as a diversion to the 'big push', Gommecourt was an attempt to force the Germans to commit their reserves to the front line before the main battle took place. This Battlefield Guide tells the reader what happened and relates it to the ground as it now stands today.
Walking Arras marks the final volume in a trilogy of walking books about the British sector of the Western Front. Paul Reed once more takes us over paths trodden by men who were asked to make a huge – and, for all too many, the ultimate – sacrifice.The Battle of Arras falls between the Somme and Third Ypres; it marked the first British attempt to storm the Hindenburg Line defenses, and the first use of lessons learned from the events of 1916. But it remains a forgotten part of the Western Front. It also remains one of the great killing battles of the Great War, with such a high fatal casualty rate that a soldier’s chances of surviving Arras were much slimmer than even the Somme or Passchendaele. Most soldiers who served in the Great War served at Arras at some point; it was a name very much in the consciousness of the survivors of the Great War. Ninety years later, while there has been development at Arras, it is still an impressive battlefield and one worthy of the attention of any Great War enthusiast.This book will give a lead in seeing the ground connected with the fighting in 1917. Making a slight departure from the style of the previous two walking books, the chapters look at the historical background of an area and then separately describe a walk; with supplementary notes about the associated cemeteries in that region.
Explains in detail how, from the autumn of 1914 onwards, the German defenders turned this key feature into a virtually impregnable position, from which they were able for weeks on end to repulse every attempt to capture it. This book draws upon original maps, photos and personal accounts of the German defenders.
Flers is of course best remembered for the first use of tanks in modern war. But the battles at Flers and Gueudecourt were also memorable as forming part of the last great advance of the British Army in this slogging match that was the Battle of the Somme in 1916. schovat popis
The 1914 Battle of the Aisne, officially from 12 15 September, came about as a result of the German retirement from the Battle of the Marne, which took place further south as the huge conscript armies of France and Germany jostled for position almost within sight of Paris. By the time the British arrived on the Aisne, the battle line stretched some 150 miles from Noyon in the west to Verdun in the east and it was only along a tiny fifteen-mile sector in the middle that The British Expeditionary Force was engaged. However, it fought bitter engagements, which took place in difficult conditions and casualties were heavy. The Aisne fighting was the final attempt by the allies to follow through from the success of the Marne. It also marked the successful establishment by the Germans of a sound defensive line on this part of the front."
The Great War opened with a major reversal for the BEF followed by a daring and epic withdrawal. This book describes these dramatic events.
In this latest addition to the Airfields and Airmen Series, Mike O’Connor describes the dramatic air actions that took place along the Belgian and North France coastline during The Great War.In addition to the Royal Fighting Corps and RAF aspect this volume covers the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and Belgian Air Service (AMB) as well as the German Naval Air Service.
The principal action that took place here in February 1917 was of short duration and failure but with fascinating overtones. This is the dramatic story of the events on the Somme after the great battle of 1916 ended and before the Germans withdrew to the Hindenburg Line. Its focus is on a ravine easily as impressive as that at Beaumont Hamel.
On 4 July 1918, American and Australian troops captured the village of Hamel and the ridge overlooking it. It was not a big the equivalent of one Australian division and one battalion of newly arrived Americans were the only infantry involved. Although Hamel is not a famous named battle it is noteworthy for an increased level of sophistication . At Hamel machines went a long way towards relieving the infantry of the obligation to fight its way forward. After the battle, Haig's Headquarters promulgated its lessons for other commanders.Among the senior officers who visited Monash's Headquarters was Brigadier-General Bernard Montgomery. The military thinker and former Tank Corps officer, Major-General J.F.C. Fuller, thought Hamel more important in making the reputation of the Tank Corps than the battle of Cambrai.
The Battleground series is designed for both the battlefield visitor and the reader at home. For the former, these books are invaluable guides and each site is described in detail. For everyone there are graphic descriptions of actions, supported by illustrations, diagrams and maps.
Covers a German offensive whose failure was crucial to the outcome of the First World War, yet is strangely neglected.
The landing at Suvla Bay, part of the August Offensive, commenced on the night of 6 August 1915. It was intended to support a breakout from Anzac Beach. Despite early hopes from a largely unopposed landing, Suvla was a mismanaged affair that quickly became a stalemate.
The battle for Guillemont raged throughout August 1916. Like so many of the battles into which the 'Big Push' degenerated, the struggle centred around a wood, Trones, and a heavily fortified village. It was in this battle that Noel Chavasse won the first of his two VCs.
The Battleground Europe series has helped create a new audience for the story of the desperate battles of World War I, But up to now the series has largely been concerned with the ground war. Popular demand has inspired the editors to create a new series of guides to the air war 1914-1918. The first volume is devoted to the Ypres Salient, the northernmost sector of the Western Front. Here the Royal Flying Corps battled the German Imperial Air Service for supremacy over the battlefield, while the Royal Naval Air Service attempted to intercept Germany's Zeppelins and early long-range bombers before they could reach the skies over London.
The attack at Fromelles is significant for a number of reasons. It was the Australians' first major operation on the Western Front and pitted them against a part of the German line that was an object lesson in the siting of a defense.Before the battle, the Australian Gallipoli veterans had airily dismissed the fighting in the new theater as 'pleasant'. After it, they said grimly that Anzac was 'a picnic' compared to France. Fromelles came as a terrible shock and was a foretaste of things to come. Both the genesis and aftermath of the operation were controversial. The objectives and the tactics employed to achieve them were changed several times and the sufficiency of resources vigorously debated.After the war, the British and Australian Official Historians argued as to how the battle should be interpreted. Most of the correspondence that accompanied their exchange of drafts has not been published. It makes interesting reading!On a more trivial note, the List Regiment of the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division held the Sugar Loaf on 19/20 July. Numbering among the regimental runners was one Adolf Hitler.
The Anzac legend was born on the shores of Gallipoli during the historic morning of 25th April 1915. Landing on a hostile beach, under the cover of darkness, the Anzacs moved inland rapidly, but the response of the Ottoman forces was equally quick. The outcome of the campaign was arguably sealed during the first day, when the door for an Anzac victory was closed. With the order to dig, dig, dig and to stick it out, a stalemate was secured from the clutches of almost total disaster. After the Australians and New Zealanders received their baptism of fire, they became a stubborn thorn in the sides of the Ottoman army. Futilely after eight grueling months of fighting, the campaign came to an end with the complete evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula.Failure did not mar the actions and sacrifice of the Anzacs who bestowed a powerful legacy, as well as being a landmark in the birth of modern Turkey. Almost a century later, with all the veterans now sadly gone, their legacy still survives in Anzac Day and with the ever increasing numbers of pilgrims who visit the battlefield today.This attractive and well-written book will serve as either a handy guide or concise history (or both).
The guide describes the ground and operations covered by the British, French and US Expeditionary Forces deployed from France to the area North of Venice between November 1917 and Spring 1919. This guide covers the Allied contribution and the Piave Defence Line, as well as, rear areas such as supply and repair services, training and recreation. It also describes the movement of Italy and subsequent service and care of 16,000 British and 20,000 French horses and mules
Provides an outline narrative describing the arrival of the war on the Somme and some of the notable and quite fierce actions that took place that autumn and, indeed, into December of 1914
This is a guide to the battlefields that inspired the young and sensitive poet, whose poems are probably the twentieth centuryÕs best-known literary expressions of experience of war. Detailed maps, military diaries, photographs and modern roads guide the visitor through the battlefields. Owen\'s letters are used extensively, together with his poetry, linking specific places events, vividly describing the suffering of the trench.
Villers-Bretonneux was the key to the strategically important communications centre of Amiens, a principal objective of the German offensive that began in March 1918. This story tells how the initiative fell to brigade and battalion commanders and how units were hastily cobbled together to stem the German tide.
The American Expeditionary Forces' first independent Offensive in the First World War. číst celé
Focusing on the wartime experiences of Siegfried Sassoon and Robert Graves, this guide highlights their roles as officers in the Royal Welch Fusiliers during World War I. It connects their literary works to real people and locations, providing insights into their lives and careers after the war. Additionally, the guide features a comprehensive bibliography, making it a valuable resource for both literature enthusiasts and history buffs interested in the authors' contributions beyond their military service.
This volume covers the battlefields of Arras around Vimy Ridge dealing with the activities of the French and the British and the start of the Battle of Arras. Vimy Ridge gives a balanced view of the fighting by detailed descriptions of various units and individuals.
This book describes the action of 9 May 1915 when the battalions of the 1st Division, 7th Division and the Indian Army attacked Aubers Ridge. Their objective was to break the German line and cut the supply route to the enemy troops fighting to the south against a French Offensive at Vimy Ridge.
Here we have a series of walks designed to take the visitor across this most heavily fought-over part of the Western Front. The 'immortal salient' has had its fair share of guide books, but this one takes the reader across the landscape in the way that 'Tommy' would have seen it on foot.
The book follows the war career of this first world war poet. Details of maps, military diaries, photographs and modern roads to guide the visitor through the events, describing the sufferings of battle and trench life.
The Battle of Loos formed part of a wider offensive conducted by both French and British Forces in September 1915. The British First Army, under the leadership of General Haig, were to break through the German line at Loos thanks in part to their superior numbers, while other operations were to achieve a similar result in Champagne and at Vimy Ridge. Due to lack of artillery the Loos attack was planned to be preceded by a massive gas attack. Chlorine gas would hopefully entirely overcome the Germans inadequate gas masks and lead to a swift breakthrough. Unfortunately all did not go to plan. First some of the gas was blown back into the British trenches causing over 2,000 casualties. Then when the assault itself took place the attackers were met by fierce German resistance, none more so than at Hill 70 where the German defenses were strong. Despite many waves of attack, very few troops made it into enemy trenches. After a few days the attack had to be called off. It had cost 60,000 British casualties for virtually no gain. Rudyard Kipling's son John, serving with the Irish Guards, was also lost.
Introducing a trilogy of books on the Battle of Ypres 1914, the last great battle of the massive clashes on the Western Front in the first, fateful months of the Great War.
Nery was one of the first battles of the Great War. There were three Victoria Crosses awarded. It included one of the only classic cavalry actions of the War. Nery is a classic case study of an artillery duel and cavalry action.
Covers a German offensive whose failure was crucial to the outcome of the First World War, yet is strangely neglected.
Almost every British regiment saw action in 'Devil's' Wood at some stage in the long Somme summer. This book examines some of the incidents and individuals who contributed to the history of the British Army and Delville Wood.
Following on the success of Airfields and Airmen of Ypres, the author turns his attention to the most legendary sector of the British effort in World War I, the Somme. From 1916 to 1918 the British and German armies were locked in a deadly struggle here, while the Royal Flying Corps and the Imperial German Air Service flew overhead. Initially acting as scouts and artillery spotters, the ever more sophisticated aircraft became instruments of war themselves, engaging in deadly conflict far above the deadlocked armies below.This new volume uses the Battleground Europe format of maps and then-and-now illustrations to cover all the airfields, crash sites and areas associated with the units, battles and individual aces of the aerial conflict of World War I. Coverage also includes French actions, and a few American units that served in the region near the end of the war.
This battlefield guide and history will focus mainly on the events of attack that fell on the British sector of the front between the 27th 1st June 1918, although the offensive which also befell the French forces will not be totally neglected. This area had been a French held sector since 1915 and the French had fought one of its major engagements of the war here in 1917, the ill-fated Nivelle Offensive. French monuments and cemeteries dominate the landscape. The British were also here in 1914, and they too have left reminders of their relative brief presence. However, the actions fought here early in the war tend to be found mainly to the west of the sector. The battlefield of May 1918 scales the heights of the Chemin des Dames ridge, along the Californe Plateau and descends to afforested valley of the Aisne river and canal. The retreat of the Britsh forces during the course of the first day and in following days extends further south almost to the Marne and takes in part of the Champagne region.
The Somme Offensive which opened on 7 July 1916 is the battle that symbolises the horrors of the Great War, with its appalling carnage and waste in return for negligible tactical achievement. This book not only describes the action but has many personal accounts. It gives details of numerous walks and explains the locality's military significance.
The defeat at Caporetto in 1917 forced the British to send troops to the Italian front, where some remained for the rest of the war. June 1918 found British troops on the Asiago Plateau, 40 miles north of Venice. British positions were at 3,000 feet elevation, flanked by mountains twice as high. Their Austrian opponents had one last chance for victory. The beloved Emperor Franz Joseph had died after a 68 year reign and the loyalty of Austria's multi-ethnic army to the new and untried Emperor Karl could not be guaranteed.The British positions were struck on the morning of June 15 by five Austro-Hungarian divisions, not as formidable as the Germans but containing many competent light infantry and mountain troops. Although the issue was in doubt, the British held onto their wooded and fog-shrouded positions. The Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolved by year;s end, creating the unstable Eastern Europe and Balkans of modern times. This little-known but dramatic battle above the clouds is covered in the detailed then-and-now fashion made famous by the Battleground Europe series and will be the first of several volumes covering the Italian front.
The tiny French hamlet of Serre is the subject of this guide. It covers four battles for the high ground upon which Serre is situated: June 1915: July 1916: November 1916 and July and August 1918.
A volume in the BATTLEGROUND EUROPE series, a battlefield guide which draws upon material in national and local archives, documentary evidence, personal reminiscence and British and German unit histories of the Somme battlefield during World War I.
The book details the actions of the Australians but also includes the contributions made by the 7th, 58th and 62nd British Divisions that also took part.
"The battle, which lasted from 21 February to 15 December 1916, was a turning point in the First World War, and Fort Douaumont was at the heart of it. In 1914 the fort was the strongest and most modern of the fortifications around Verdun and it formed the keystone of the French defence in the area. Using both French and German sources, Christina Holstein introduces ... the fortress system around Verdun, explains the construction, reinforcement and armament of Fort Douaumont and describes its surprise capture by the Germans in February 1916. Its loss was a terrible blow to French morale and their repeated attempts to retake the fort are portrayed in graphic detail. As the months ground on and the Battle of Verdun turned into stalemate, the desire to keep or to recapture Fort Douaumont, whatever the cost, became the reason for both sides to go on fighting ... [This book] provides insight into the brutal nature of the struggle -- and into the soldiers ... who took part in it"--Publisher's website.