The Myth of the Great War : A New Military History of World War I

Based on previously unused French and German sources, this challenging and controversial new analysis of the war on the Western front from 1914 to 1918 reveals how and why the Germans won the major battles with one-half to one-third fewer casualties than the Allies, and how American troops in 1918 saved the Allies from defeat and a negotiated peace with the Germans. "Based on a decade of research into previously unused French and German sources, The Myth of the Great War shows what actually happened at the front as the participants perceived it at the time, as opposed to what French and British commanders and governments claimed. John Mosier, who visited all the major battlefields, describes and analyzes campaigns that are routinely neglected or ignored and shows why conventional accounts of such major battles as Verdun are incorrect. He explains how German tactics, weapons, training and leadership were consistently superior, and why the endless, ineffective attacks of the French and British with inferior weapons and battle tactics of the previous century resulted in mindless slaughter and defeat. Mosier also discusses the major military leaders on both sides - including Joffre, Petain, Foch, Gallieni, French, Haig, Wilson, Moltke, Ludendorff, Falkenhayn, Mudra, and Pershing.". "The French and British military controlled, suppressed, and manipulated all battlefield reports. German losses were magnified; failures became successes, defeats victories. Allied intelligence was grossly inaccurate and inadequate, and the result was a distorted picture of what was really happening. Absorbing and persuasive, The Myth of the Great War is a striking new assessment of the military realities of World War I."--BOOK JACKET.

this Is A Paperbound Reprint Of A 2001 Book, About Which Book News Wrote: Coming From Outside The Field Of History (he's A Professor Of English At Loyola U. In New Orleans), Mosier Upends Many Widely Held Views Of Wwi, Including The Importance Of The Allies, The Lack Of Military Success Of The Germans, And The Negligible Role Of The Americans. He Emphasizes As Well The Tendency Of Historians To Misrepresent Statistics And Facts Concerning Casualties. Mosier Stresses The Central Importance Of The Battle Of The Woëvre And The Battle Between France And Germany On The Western Front, Making This An Unusual History, One Which Will Provoke Controversy Among Historians And Anyone Interested In Wwi. Annotation C. Book News, Inc., Portland, Or

h.w. Brands

students Of Military History Love To Argue, And John Mosier Gives Them Much To Argue About. From Armaments And Tactics To Strategy And Politics, He Challenges Conventional Wisdom And Forces A Rethinking Of The War That Inaugurated The Modern Era.

The issues that determined how the Great War would be fought stemmed from the French war with Germany in 1870, the postwar responses to the defeat by the new French government, and the responses of the German Army to meet France's constantly shifting war plans. Argues that, during the First World War, the French and British military issued false battlefield reports, hiding the truth that the Germans defeated the Allies consistently throughout the war, and that the Americans thus saved the Allies from ultimate defeat A controversial new history of World War I argues that the Germans beat the French and British, who were rescued by American intervention in 1918