The German Army at Ypres 1914

by Jack Sheldon, Hew Strachan (Foreword by)

Overview

The WWI military expert presents his authoritative study of the German Army’s operations during the First Battle of Ypres.

Soon after the First World War broke out in 1914, Allied and German forces attempted to outflank each other in a series of battles along the Western Front. Some of the most intense fighting came in Flanders, Belgium, at the First Battle of Ypres. It was during this battle that generals on both sides confronted the end of maneuvering as they became locked into positional warfare.

Historian Jack Sheldon is a renowned expert on the German Army during WWI. In this groundbreaking study of the First Battle of Ypres, he presents a tactical narrative of German operation at the regimental and battalion level. Focusing on the battles around Ypres against the British Expeditionary Force, Sheldon also analyses the fighting against the French and Belgian armies. This book also features the first complete account of German army operations in the battles north of Lille in the late autumn of 1914.

Drawing on extensive research into German sources, Sheldon presents the testimony of German participants, shedding light on the experiences of the fighting troops at regimental level and below. He supports this material with historical context and commentary, as well as evidence from senior commanders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781844681563
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/31/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	9 MB

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