Verdun

by David Mason

On 21st February 1916 one of the bloodiest, most hard-fought campaigns of World War I began. The Battle of Verdun is one of the earliest episodes in the pantheon of horrific conflict that both marred and shaped Europe in the 20th century. It is a brutal and incredible story which sometimes encompasses glory, great valour and extraordinary heroism on the part of those ranks who amassed there in their millions. It is also the story of one of the greatest abominations ever propagated in the era of modern warfare. Using primary source materials from combatants on both sides, David Mason's narrative history follows the Battle of Verdun, from its conception in late 1915 through to its denouement one year later. With special reference to the battle's wider political and strategic significance, this macabre episode of the Great War is told in detail.

Genres: History, Military History, World War I, Nonfiction

176 pages, Hardcover

First published November 22, 2000

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name

Reviews

[Dimitri · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adequate battle narrative that follows in the footsteps of Alistair Horne's popular classic but the language is much more straightforward and the facts are not framed within elegant tableaux. The lack of footnotes makes it unclear how much post-1962 research has been incorporated, alltough the "further reading" postscript does list a few solid titles such as Herwig's recently re-issued Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918 and use has been made of (older) French books such as George Blond's. Since 2000 there have been a few valuable inroads to the Verdun field; notably Ian Ousby' and German Strategy and the Path to Verdun

One star of the rating goes to nostalgia: my copy's scarred with underlining and carries a note explaining what a salient is. The traces of a Great War noob.

The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916 byAlistair Horne
The Road to Verdun: World War I's Most Momentous Battle and the Folly of Nationalism byIan Ousby
German Strategy and the Path to Verdun: Erich Von Falkenhayn and the Development of Attrition, 1870-1916 byRobert T. FoleybyRobert T. Foley