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

"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'."--Bloomsbury Publishing. " More than 80 years on, the Great War - and particularly the great battles such as the Somme and Verdun - continues to fascinate us and to cast long shadows over the world in which we live. For Britain, the effort and sacrifice involved in creating and sustaining its first-ever and biggest-ever mass citizen army, and in helping to defeat the main enemy in the decisive theatre of operations, left deep emotional and psychological scars that have influenced much of the nation's subsequent history and that are still felt today. In this volume Peter Simkins re-examines the struggle and sheds an interesting new light on the nature, course and effects of the fighting in France and Belgium from 1914 to 1916."--Bloomsbury Publishing. Cover; Title; Contents; Introduction; Chronology; Background to war: Strategic choices for 1917; Warring sides: The opposing armies; The fighting: War on the Western Front, 1917-1918; Portrait of a soldier: Private Frederick 'Fen' Noakes; The world around war: The home fronts 1917-1918; Portrait of a civilian: Caroline Webb; How the war ended: The final month; Further reading; Copyright