Aces Falling: War Above the Trenches, 1918

by Peter Hart

Relive the final days of the great aces of World War I! By 1918, the war was nearing its end and the legendary knights of the sky—names like Richthofen, Edward Mannock, Herman Goering, Billy Bishop, among others—were writing its bloody final chapters. Author Peter Hart, the Oral Historian at Britain’s Imperial War Museum, was granted unprecedented access to the museum’s archives; through these rare manuscripts and firsthand accounts, he provides a riveting perspective on the first true “air war.” From the swirling dogfights to the bombing missions that became ever more deadly, the book reveals the terrible scope of aerial combat and commemorates the men who fought, killed, and died in the clouds above.

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

386 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

About the author

Peter Hart is a British military historian.

He has been an oral historian at Sound Archive of Imperial War Museum in London since 1981.

He has written mainly on British participation in the First World War. His books include; The Somme, Jutland 1916, Bloody April on the air war in 1917, Passchendaele, Aces Falling (on the air war in 1918), 1918 A Very British Victory and Gallipoli.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Jonny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final part of Mr. Hart's trilogy on the RFC/RAF in the First World War is nothing short of a homage to the rank and file. Told in the main in the words of the participants, and building on the themes in his earlier two books, Somme Success: Aerial Warfare on the Somme 1916 and Bloody April: Slaughter in the Skies over Arras, 1917, Hart continues to point out that while the activities of the aces on both sides of the line did have importance, the day to day activities of the observation aircraft and their support scouts (fighters) were what really brought aerial warfare of age.

Sine of the stories are humorous, some tragic and some a mix of the two, but you are guaranteed a good grounding in the history the British air services and their adversaries in the final year of the Great War. Recommend, with the rest of the trilogy to any interested in how air power came of age.

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Together with its predecesor - 'Bloody April' - this book should in my opinion be on the mandatory 'to read'-list for anyone interested in history of First World War in the air. In both books, author's formula is deceptively simple - the core of the book consists of first person accounts of pilots who participated in combat. Taken from diaries, memoirs, letters and few books written by airmen on both sides, they provide an immediate insight and impact that would probably be impossible to convey solely with narrative. At the same time, author's personal contribution should not be diminished, as his narrative binds those first person recollections into a coherent whole and anchors them into wider context of final year of the war.

I cannot stress enough my opinion that 'Aces Falling' should be read after 'Bloody April', as perhaps the greatest value of this book is in showing the dramatic changes in the air over Western Front that occured in the scope of mere year. The 'conventional wisdom' says that First World War was an excercise in futile repetitions of same tactics and strategy, resulting in pointless slaughter of millions. The truth is that one is hard-pressed to find a period of quicker developement in military tactics, operational doctrine, strategy and perhaps especially on technological plane than during the Great War. 'Aces Falling' shows it as clearly as any other book you'll ever read on the subject. In scope of a mere year the opposing airforces developed concepts and had means to implement strategic bombing campaings, interdiction offensives that had real impact on course of the war as well as being able to provide hard-hitting support for ground troops. During same time period, the number of airplanes in the air expanded exponentially, with 60-80 airplanes participating in single mission becoming norm rather than exception.

'Aces Falling' illustrates those developments exceptionally well. What's more, the author also attempts to show impact of this progress on individual pilots and aces in particular. By March 1918 the illusions of knighs of the sky, lone wolfs hunting for glory and the sense of great adventure are all but gone. What's left is the daily exposure to a variety of dangers as well as never relenting presence of almost unbearable stress and fear. Seen from this perspective, 'Aces Falling' is a heart-wrenching read - the conflict between fear and duty is quite tangible, especially in the words written by the great aces themselves. One can't help but feel deepest respect for those men, regardless of on which side their fought, when you read their own thoughts about their most probable fate.

Overall, 'Aces Falling' is exactly the kind of history book that I value the most - it provides the great picture, explains why things happen the way they did, but at the same time never allows you to forget about the real people that actually 'made' that history.

Very highly recomended read indeed.

[Mike Prochot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up reading about the air war in WWI, my perspective was focused on the famous Aces: Ball, Richthofen, McCudden, Rickenbacker and all the rest. The observation planes and bombers of the time were simply fodder for their guns and scoring drives, piloted by nameless, faceless, sacrificial men who were flying around waiting to get pounced on by the faster, well armed scouts.

Well, Aces Falling sets the record straight.

Daylight "precision" bombing, troop strafing, close air support, formation flying, lethal defensive armament, aerial photography - tactics refined in the Second World War - were in fact invented and developed in the first. Piloted by no less brave or aggressive pilots than those famous aces, and manned by ballsy gunners thinly protected by doped fabric and plywood, the observation and bombing aircraft by midpoint of the war, became the true measure of air power in the conflict.

The reason is simple, and it had not occurred to me before this book; the aces were simply being killed off and the tactics of the air war changed due to the war dragging on while there was rapid advancement in airplane and armament technology. It no longer made sense to have groups of fighter planes fly around and look for targets of opportunity. Planning and a need for results on the ground curtailed the gentlemanly and chivalrous, one-on-one "contests" between the Knights of the Air.

The author does a great job of detailing the WWI tactics, targets and mission planning so familiar to readers of Word War 2 history. Information on the planes, crews and equipment - not to mention daily life of the crewmen - rounds out the story.

I most highly recommend this book which does a great job of highlighting a mostly forgotten but ultimately most important aspect of the air war in WWI.

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong finish to Hart's trilogy. It's not a quick read, perhaps because almost half its lines are quotations from participants, but Hart deftly weaves these together into a must read for anyone interested in aerial combat in WWI. Of special interest in this volume is the birth of tactical air support and its antithesis, strategic bombing.

[Mark Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book, it doesn’t just follow the Aces, there’s a very good chapter on two ordinary pilots one ends in tragedy the survives the war. Peter Hart uses real accounts from veterans, hero’s all in my opinion. Well worth reading.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and well written. A bit slanted but still well done.

[John Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aces Falling: War above the Trenches, 1918 looks at the air war in France during the final year of the Great War. The author describes the strategic implications of the ground fighting in order to place the air war in context. He intersperses the narrative with fascinating vignettes of the aerial fighting drawn from diaries, memoirs and recordings.
The days of the lone wolf ace were long over, vast formations of aircraft took to the skies to do battle, along with much increased activity in the ground attack, bombing and close support roles. The relentless pace of the missions, day in and day out would exhaust the aircrews and sooner or later ones number would be up.
When I was young my Grandfather described to me the fighting in March and April 1918. He was a Brf2b gunner in 62 Sqn and they spent many dangerous missions strafing columns of grey troops. The author even provided an excerpt from a crew of 62 Squadron who were shot down, two men surely known by my Grand pop. This book gave me a perspective of what his experiences may have been like and I felt a personal connection with the material.
This is an excellent book and well worth reading if you have an interest in WW1 and military or aviation history.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historian Peter Hart raids the archives at the Imperial War Museum, where he has worked for many years, to bring us first-person accounts of the air war in 1918 from the men who flew, fought and died in it. This rare material, taken from letters, diaries and other documents, is put into context by Hart's factual yet often moving account of the bigger picture.

[Robert Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked from the first page. An excellent account of the war in the air and how it progressed from the 'chivalrous' knightly jousting to the mechanised, industrial scale conflict.

Cannot wait to read the author's other books on the same subject.

[Rick Brindle · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent history of life as aviators in world war 1. Also included are the balloonists, and the history of parachutes and why they weren't given to pilots. Also read about the Red Baron, and what people really thought of him, especially once he'd been (finally) shot down.