Early Trench Tactics in the French Army: The Second Battle of Artois, May-June 1915

by Jonathan Krause, John Bourne

Overview

In the English-speaking world the First World War is all too often portrayed primarily as a conflict between Britain and Germany. The vast majority of books focus on the Anglo-German struggle, and ignore the dominant part played by the French, who for most of the war provided the bulk of the soldiers fighting against the central powers. As such, this important and timely book joins the small but growing collection of works offering an overdue assessment of the French contribution to the Great War. Drawing heavily on French primary sources the book has two main foci: it is both an in-depth battle narrative and analysis, as well as a work on the tactical evolution of the French army in Spring 1915 as it endeavored aggressively to come to grips with trench warfare.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781409474678
Publisher:	Ashgate Publishing Ltd
Publication date:	02/28/2013
Series:	Ashgate Studies in First World War History
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Jonathan Krause is a visiting lecturer in the Defence Studies Department, King's College London at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham. He studied history at the University of California, Riverside (2002-2006) before earning an MA (2007) and PhD (2010) from the War Studies Department, King's College, London. Jonathan has published in both French and English on a range of topics related to the French Army in La Grande Guerre, and is an Associate Member of the British Commission for Military History.

Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction; GQG and the changing doctrine of trench warfare; Artillery; Manifest disarray (9-11May); A tale of two divisions, Part I; Grignotage (12 May-12 June); The second general offensive, 13-18 June; A tale of two divisions, Part II; Conclusion: the impact of Second Artois; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'Early Trench Tactics in the French Army offers some interesting detail about French tactics and operations at this transitional point of the war.' H-France Review 'In many ways, the year 1915 is the black hole of the Great War. ... Thus, Jonathan Krause’s book fills a gap in the writing on the war and is very much a welcome addition.' H-War 'This book is an invaluable account of the French Artois offensive of 1915... This is an excellent book, which deserves to be widely read by everyone and anyone interested in the Great War.' Stand To!

From the Publisher