The German Army at Ypres 1914

by Jack Sheldon

Overview

This book will be the first complete account of the operations of the German army in the battles north of Lille in the late autumn of 1914. The main emphasis will be placed on the battles around Ypres against the Old Contemptibles of the BEF, but the fighting against the French and Belgian armies will also be featured, thus providing fresh insights into a campaign. There are those who consider that the BEF was all that saved world civilization as the first year of the Great War drew to its end.

The book uses the comprehensive histories of the participating German regiments found in the Kriegsarchiv in Munich and the Hauptstaatsarchiv in Stuttgart. Their use adds authority and authenticity to the book.

The narrative adopts a chronological approach. The book focuses on some of the most bitterly disputed battles of the first three months of the war, when the Germans strained to achieve a breakthrough and the BEF resisted heroically, at the price of its own destruction.

The book employs a similar format to the authors previous works; that is to say the greater part of the text uses the words of the German participants themselves and the primary focus of the book covers the experiences of the fighting troops at regimental level and below. Linking paragraphs provide historical context and commentary and evidence from senior commanders will be introduced as necessary.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781399014526
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	02/03/2022
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	1,042,200
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Educated at Inverness Royal Academy, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the Universities of Lancaster and Westminster, Jack Sheldon completed a thirty-five year career as a member of the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment.

In 1982 he graduated from the German General Staff course at the Führungsakademie, Hamburg and went on to fill international staff appointments and to command an infantry training battalion. His final post before retirement in 2003 was as Military Attaché Berlin.

He now lives in France and has rapidly established himself as an expert in German First World War history. He was an honorary researcher for the Thiepval Visitor Centre Project, is a member of the British Commission for Military History and is the author of the highly acclaimed The German Army on the Somme 1914 – 1916, The German Army at Passchendaele and a number of Battleground Europe titles.

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Introduction x

Author's Note xvi

Acknowledgements xvii

Prologue 1

Chapter 1 Preliminary Skirmishing around Ypres October 1914 12

Chapter 2 From Antwerp to the Ijzer 53

Chapter 3 Bloody Fiasco at Langemark 92

Chapter 4 The Battle for Beselare, Geluveld and the Menen Road 132

Chapter 5 Diksmuide 180

Chapter 6 The Attempted Breakthrough by Army Group Fabeck 223

Chapter 7 Endgame at Langemark 269

Chapter 8 Stalemate on the Menen Road 341

Postscript 359

Maps

Fourth Army Advance to 19 Oct 14 9

Eyewitness Locations Chapter 1 13

Eyewitness Locations Chapter 2 54

Eyewitness Locations Chapter 3 93

Eyewitness Locations Chapter 4 133

Battle for the Menen Road 28 Oct - 9 Nov 14 158

Eyewitness Locations Chapter 5 181

43rd Division Attack Diksmuide 10 Nov 14 215

Eyewitness Locations Chapter 6 225

26th Infantry Division Attack Messines 31 Oct 14 242

Eyewitness Locations Chapter 7 270

46th Reserve Division Attack Langemark 30 Oct 14 281

9th Reserve Division Attack Langemark 10 Nov 14 296

Eyewitness Locations Chapter 8 315

Eyewitness Locations 11 Nov 14 340

Final Situation 360

Appendix I German-British Comparison of Ranks 365

Bibliography 368

Index 374

Editorial Reviews

…high quality research offers so much helpful (and deep) textual and footnoted documentation…a thoroughly excellent account of a key battle in World War I…highly recommended.

Over the Front