The Western Front 1917-1918: From Vimy Ridge to Amiens and the Armistice

The History of World War I

by Andrew Wiest, Gary D. Sheffield (Foreword)

After the first few months of World War I, the Western Front consisted of a relatively static line of trench systems which stretched from the coast of the North Sea southwards to the Swiss border. To try to break through the opposing lines of trenches and barbed wire entanglements, both sides employed huge artillery bombardments followed by attacks by tens of thousands of soldiers. Battles could last for months and led to casualties measured in hundreds of thousands for attacker and defender alike. After most of these attacks, only a short section of the front would have moved and only by a kilometer or two. After Gallipoli, Australians were moved to fight in France on the western Front, in battles including the Battle of the Somme. On the first day of the 1916 Battle of the Somme, 60,000 Allies were casualties, including 20,000 deaths. The principal adversaries on the Western Front, who fielded armies of millions of men, were Germany to the East against a western alliance to the West consisting of France and the United Kingdom with sizable contingents from the British Empire, especially the Dominions. The United States entered the war in 1917 and by the summer of 1918 had an army of around half a million men which rose to a million by the time the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. For most of World War I, Allied Forces, predominantly those of France and the British Empire, were stalled at trenches on the Western Front. With the aid of numerous black and white and color photographs, many previously unpublished, the World War I series recreates the battles and campaigns that raged across the surface of the globe, on land, at sea and in the air. The text is complemented by full-color maps that guide the reader through specific actions and campaigns.

Genres: History, World War I, Military History

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2008

About the author

Andrew A. Wiest is presently a Professor of History at the University of Southern Misssissippi, and serves as director of the Vietnam Studies Program and co-director of the university's Center for the Study of War and Society.

Reviews

[Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really good book. I enjoyed reading it as I love learning about history. This book is packed full of fantastic information following the last 2 years of ww1. You could definitely tell the author was very knowledgeable on this subject and the book was very well researched. I loved the fact it had loads of fantastic black and white pictures. The captions on the pictures was brilliant. I really learnt so much from reading it. I would recommend this great book for all those who love reading about WW1.
Many thanks to the author and publishers for creating this fantastic history book.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good history of WWI on Western Front till 1918. There's a lot of maps, photos and the text is clear.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine