The Last Battle Lib/E: Victory, Defeat, and the End of World War I

by Peter Hart

Author of The Great War , as well as celebrated accounts of the battles of the Somme, Passchendaele, Jutland, and Gallipoli, historian Peter Hart now turns to World War One's final months. Much has been made of--and written about--August 1914. There has been comparatively little focus on August 1918 and the lead-up to November. Because of the fixation on the Great War's opening moves, and the great battles that followed over the course of the next four years, the endgame seems to come as a stunning anticlimax. At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 the guns simply fell silent. The Last Battle definitively corrects this misperception. As Hart shows, a number of factors precipitated the Armistice. After four years of bloodshed, Germany was nearly bankrupt and there was a growing rift between the military High Command and political leadership. But it also remained a determined combatant, and France and Great Britain had equally been stretched to their limits; Russia had abandoned the conflict in the late winter of 1918. However complex the causes of Germany's ultimate defeat, Allied success on the Western Front, as Hart reveals, tipped the scales--the triumphs at the Fifth Battle of Ypres, the Sambre, the Selle, and the Meuse-Argonne, where American forces made arguably their greatest contribution. The offensives cracked the Hindenburg Line and wore down the German resistance, precipitating collapse. Final victory came at great human cost and involved the combined efforts of millions of men. Using the testimony of a range of participants, from the Doughboys, Tommies, German infantrymen, and French poilus who did the fighting, to those in command during those last days and weeks, Hart brings intimacy and sweep to the events that led to November 11, 1918.

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

Audio CD

First published February 15, 2018

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

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rich and well-written work.

Hart argues that the Allies inflicted a decisive military defeat on the Germans. Like his other books on the war, Hart focuses on the human experience of mostly British soldiers, and includes lengthy firsthand excerpts. He ably covers the motives of soldiers, their uncertainty over when the war will end, and their fear of being among the last deaths of the war. The maps are good. Hart also provides a generally positive portrait of Haig. His study of how the Allies devised combined arms warfare is good.

Like his other books, Hart’s focus is on the British army, so some readers may find the American role in the war’s end to be a bit hazy. The narrative is easy to follow, though.

An engaging, comprehensive and well-researched work.

[Scott Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book by a great historian who weaves the narrative with so many personal accounts masterfully.

[Arthur · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 13 hour and ten minute unabridged audiobook.

Lots of first person accounts, but the vast majority are British and Commwealth soldiers. Some American, but practically no German voices, at least not if the lower ranks. Also entirely focused on the Western front. The other fronts in 1918 essentially ignored. Other than that I enjoyed the book.

[Peter Moy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book by an oral historian on the final series of battles sponsored by the Allied Command in Chief, Marshal Foch that successfully broke the back of the German army on the Western front and finally resulted in their capitulation. Because of the exhausted state of the French forces in 1918, these battles were largely fought in the British sector.

The book provides background information of the battles and commentary on the their execution. This in interspersed with quotes from the letters and diaries of the participants to give the soldiers views of what happened. This make very interesting reading.

However, as an Australian, I am a little annoyed of his treatment of the Australian Corp commander John Monash. Sorry, I take that back. I am very annoyed. He seems to be have fallen for the anti-Monash propaganda generated by a motley crew of anti-Semitic allied war correspondents of which Keith Murdoch the father of Rupert of Fox news fame was one of the ring leaders. The author uses a paragraph of one of Monash letters where he is critical of the English junior officers to paint him as a small minded and intolerant of the fellow allied troops. John Monash had built an engineering empire starting as the son of country shopkeeper before enlisting for the war. He as an excellent man manager! If John Monash wrote that there was an issue with the competence of the English junior officers then there was a problem with these officers. I suspect that Monash was annoyed at the failure of the English to promote their junior officers from the ranks. It is ironic that most of the quotes attributed to Australians in the book come of a book written about Albert Jacka who started the war a private and ended as Captain.

While I am on my pro-Monash rant. I would like to point out to the author that the “All Arms Battle” he so enthusiastically praises was largely the creation of Monash and his staff. (Monash just didn’t just execute the tactics designed by other as the author states, he and his staff were the innovators that developed the key parts of it.) Once Monash had demonstrated the effectiveness of the tactics at La Hamel, he caught the eye of Haigh who gave him the resources to execute on a larger scale at the Battle of Amiens. This resulted in a breakthrough of the German lines. (Ludendorff’s “The Black Day of the German Army”!) Australian armoured cars were allowed to rove around behind German line and create havoc. (Monash was annoyed that orders from higher commanders prevent the Australians from exploiting the situation further.)

But Monash was not a one trick pony. He was aware that easy gains could be made if the pressure was maintained on the Germans before they had a change to really dig in. He demonstrated this to Foch in the Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin. Without the services of tanks or heavy artillery, the Australians used basic fire and movement to remove the Germans from the Somme river. (Foch later described this as one of 'finest feats of arms in a time rich in innumerable deeds of heroism'.) This breakthrough energised Foch to go all out with the allied offensive starting in late September. These battles ended the war and is focus of the book.
Monash didn’t win the war but he deserved a lot more credit for the allied victories in 1918 than this author has given him. And his treatment of Monash make me doubt the accuracy of what else he is written.

Having vented my spleen on the author’s treatment of Monash, I agree with his treatment of Haigh who faced many of the same pressures from self-serving politicians and war correspondents as Monash. It is a pity that he took the trouble look behind the half truths served up by these people for Haig and did not do so for Monash.

Overall the book is a worthwhile read, but I warn any fellow Australians to take an double dose of their blood pressure medication before they start reading.

[Scott Galloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

The Great War has fascinated for decades, we are assailed by images of mass slaughter and the pointlessness of the war. Names like Passchendaele and the Somme are well known to all readers of Great War history. The fact that the Allies, and Britain in particular, won the war is often almost overlooked, yet the years of pain were not in vain. In the last three months of the war, the allies advanced miles into German held territory driving all before them, not without cost of course, but reaping the benefit of lessons learned, of the combined arms of an experienced continental army.

The “100 days” that led to the end of the war and the capitulation of Germany is graphically described in Peter Hart’s “The Last Battle”. Drawing extensively on the letters and memoirs of those who were there we are shown how the French army, tired and disillusioned, finds the will under Foch and Petain for a final push, the British under Haig, having become a formidable force, push relentlessly driving the Germans back, and the Americans, callow and naive, newly arrived, immense in numbers, but heavily dependent on the other allies for materiel, ammunitions, guns and aircraft, choose to learn the hard way and largely ignore the lessons of the previous four years. And of course we hear from the enemy, the Germans who also fight and die, the men in the front line discovering defeat and learning of the collapse of society at home.

An extremely readable and engaging book, all scholars of the Great War will find Peter Hart’s style easy to read and the words of the men who were there, moving.

[Grouchy Historian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good account of the last few months of the war leading to the Armistice. A tad Anglo-centric, which is not unexpected, but overall a solid work that seeks to balance the numerous books on the opening of the war in 1914 with the story of 1918 and how the Allies won the new battle of maneuver long absent from the trench filled Western Front.

[James Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Battle - Endgame on the Western Front, 1918
Author : Peter Hart
Profile Books - ISBN : 978-1781254820
Hardback - 395 pages + acknowledgements, notes and index
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As we move towards commemorating the end of the Great War it's appropriate that the latest book from Peter Hart deals with the final 100 days of the conflict and it's a cracker.

Hart has an easy to read, fluid style and the narrative is expertly woven around witness statements to highlight and expand on the action. We are treated to extracts not just from British and Commonwealth soldiers but also French troops as well as the Americans, who had just joined the action. Most interestingly we also hear from the 'enemy' with German contributions posing their points of view and lastly, our senior politicians of both sides of the divide have their say too.

The opening chapter of the book is a brief run through of the developments and progress of the war up to the beginning of 1918; highlighting the political meddling, dwindling in numbers and quality of reinforcements as well as the collapse of Russia and their retreat from the conflict as the country fell into Bolshevism culminating in their peace treaty of March 1918. The German troops removed from the Eastern front were redeployed to the Western Front, with the aim of helping to achieve victory prior to the arrival of the American Expeditionary Force.

The book focuses on the battles of Meuse-Argonne, Canal-du-Nord & the Hindenberg Line, Flanders, Selle, Sambre and Mons. The description of the action is easy to follow and clear, precise maps with appropriate commentary from the troops as we see the German momentum carrying on until the French 10th Army turned things round in mid-July. The ease with which the German defence collapsed is mirrored in the sense of despair in the commentary of the German troops.

Another element of the German commentary, which is particularly interesting, is their appreciation of the brave but naive American troops seeing action for the first time and suffering a similar fate to the BEF at the start of the conflict.

In the final chapter, headed Aftermath, some men were retained for a number of years and we hear of their frustration, venting at their interminable wait to be demobilised following the cessation of hostilities. Much work was still to be carried out on clearance of the battlefields and as members of the occupying army of the Rhine.

Mind you, once the troops did return home it wasn't really the land fit for heroes they were promised and Hart points out that for many of the men, their greatest battles were still to come as they tried to settle back into civilian life.

This is a book which I can't recommend highly enough, it would be a great addition to anyone's bookshelf with an interest in the Great War.

[Bill Vodra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is both an excellent book and an important one. As with Hart's many other books, the writing is superb and enjoyable; he generously intersperses statements of the men and women who were there; and he tells you what you need to know to understand what happened and its consequences. His focus is always on the human experience and he lets the actual words of others carry important lessons and observations.

The importance of this work, however, is its focus on the final weeks of the war and the motivations and conduct of the warriors during and after the fighting. John Kerry famously asked, "Who wants to be the last man to die for a mistake?" The same sort of question can be asked about the men who realize the inevitability of the outcome of a war - victory for one side, defeat for the other - and yet do not know exactly when the end will come. Who wants to be the last man to die before it is over? Why will those who smell victory still put their own lives on the line to bring victory home? Why will those who realize the game is up continue to put their lives on the line, instead of surrendering or mutinying? These are serious questions, faced by political and military leaders at the close of any war. Hart shows that, at least in October and November 1918, the Allies had troops who understood the emerging reality and persisted nonetheless, and the German soldiers bravely fought in obedience to orders and national honor.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in military history, not just the Great War.

[Keith W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extraordinarily fine book — one of the best I’ve ever read on World War I or any other war, for that matter. It is based largely on first-hand accounts of the fighting men and officers — mostly British but also French, American and German — woven together with a spare but interesting narrative about the big picture: what battles were being fought, where and why. The words of the men who were there are extraordinary. Their letters and diary accounts are clear, well-written, thoughtful and often poignant. It is especially sad to read the letters home of men who then died in the final days and hours of the war. The book’s last two chapters are especially good, one on the day of the Armistice and the end of the fighting and the last one on the occupation of the German Rhineland and the demobilization of over 3 million British soldiers and their return home. I had frankly not expected the last chapter and thought it was unnecessary until I read it and realized its great worth. When war ends, the men who fought it don’t just disappear or melt away. They are processed out of the ranks and have to return to civilian life, forever transformed by what they experienced during and as a result of horrendous combat. Author Hart points out that, for many of these men, this difficult transition was their greatest battle of all, in part because, unlike the war, they fought it alone. I respect him greatly for recognizing and paying homage to that.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENT! Truly gives you a view of the final days of The Great War through the eyes of those who lived it.

[Russel Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The histories of the Great War tend to breathlessly recount the German Spring Offensives and the mix of defensive heroism and offensive exhaustion that doomed them. Often the period from late summer to Armistice is boiled down to a few paragraphs, with digressions for battles that certain observers are inclined to spotlight (the first large-scale American offensives, in particular). The outcomes are too often reduced to a numbers game and an exhausted German Homefront. Hart makes a persuasive case that the manner in which the war ended, through effective and relentless offensive operations along the whole of the Western Front north of Nancy, was not inevitable but was the product of true combined arms operations by the Allies for the first time in four plus years of war. That is, they synthesized infantry, artillery, tanks, and airplanes along with supporting logistical elements as they had hitherto been unable to coordinate. The popular recollection of the tanks as the decisive weapon, Hart argues, is largely inaccurate, as by the latter stages of the continuous operations the tanks had been reduced to a very limited role through attrition. He explains in vivid and often very personal detail the obstacles the Allies overcame to press forward. He is critical, perhaps overly so, of the Americans and places less emphasis on the French effort, which is not surprising in light of his position, but on the whole his argument is quite effective. He reminds us as well that this phase, while effective in bringing the war to its end in 1918, was also extremely lethal for the Allies, as even the most successful offensive operations tend to be. He succeeds in carving out a well-deserved place in the story for the Allied armies of 1918 and demonstrating that the defenders, themselves greatly reduced in numbers, are themselves worthy of respect.

Hart devotes perhaps a hundred pages to Armistice and its aftermath, and while this could certainly be the subject of another book he illustrates the challenges that the Allies (in his narrative they're almost exclusively British) faced during and after demobilization, as they transitioned from a life in the shadow of death, imbued with great purpose, to a life devoid of such direction and yet burdened with the very painful memories of that wartime service.

Hart also spares a few kind words for Haig, who was rather cruelly treated by Lloyd George in the immediate aftermath of war and by historians after his death in the 20's. Hart argued in this book and has marshaled evidence elsewhere that Haig was far more effective a general than the popular recollection came to hold. I tend to agree with that viewpoint; Haig was perhaps initially inadequate for the role into which he was thrust but he was better than the alternatives and he grew into the post, especially in coordination with Foch in the decisive final year of the war.

The Great War is a well-trodden subject for historians, popular and otherwise, but Hart manages to bring out a book that introduces something new to the historical conversation, or at least the popular species of the same. I came to it through the Hardcore History podcast and was quite glad that I did.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his latest book, Peter Hart focuses on the last six weeks or so of the Great War, taking a broader approach than his previous work focussing in the British influence in the 1918 victories, including American, French and German perspectives. As with Hart’s previous works, the historical narrative is interspersed with the personal accounts of those who were involved in the events described. This helps to “bring the narrative to life” whilst also making the book more accessible to the lay reader, as well as the more knowledgable person.

Though covering lesser known details of the last hundred days, the very nature of this work, means it leaves the reading wanting more detail on many of the aspects covered, and is therefore best thought of as an overview and an introduction to these events, rather than a detailed, fully comprehensive study. Individual battles are covered well, and the chaotic political situation in Germany is also set out, though in less detail. It is also refreshing to see a balanced account of the American contribution to the final period of the war - a steep learning curve, but an increasingly valuable contribution.

A well recommended book, for layman and expert, who want to develop a fuller understanding of the final weeks of the war.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a really interesting book about the offensives on the Western Front in 1918. It uses memoirs, diary entries, letters home, and other primary sources to show the Allied armies comprehensively winning on the battlefield through the Hundred Days. Hart, an oral historian, relies on his sources to paint this picture, although unlike some who rely on block quotes to make up a book, he clearly connects his sources and pulls out themes, including clearly explaining the All Arms Battle tactics that the Allies developed. This was the crucial tactical innovation that brought dynamic maneuvers back to warfare after the previous domination of trench lines (and yes, this involved the tank and the airplane, but it also focused on artillery tactics and communication, and Hart comprehensively proves it was not just the tank that unlocked movement on the battlefield). At times, the book feels like an appetizer to bigger stories (and to the diaries and other sources Hart makes such good use of), and some of the zoomed-out, higher level summaries of battles seem a little brief after the detail we get from the soldiers' accounts.

[Mark Latchford · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the author correctly observed, the last year of the Great War has not been covered by historians as extensively as earlier disasters and triumphs. Hart has set out to remedy this with a thoughtful, quite gripping narrative of the Allied offensive from the summer of 1918 through to the Armistice. By generous but careful use of first person primary sources, included letters, reports and reminiscences, the reader is taken from Haig and Foch’s headquarters right through to the front line. German, American and Australian sources are included as well as British which adds to the book immensely. Highlights include the arrival of the inexperienced Americans at the front line; the demobilisation of the troops after the war (and the laughable attempts at distracting education) as well as Allied observations when occupying the Rhineland. Some adequate photos and maps included. I would have liked to have heard a little more about the political machinations going on jn parallel with the battles. A good read and valuable addition to the telling of WW1.

[Ian Hakes · Rating 3 out of 5]

As in previous works, the transcription of the oral accounts from actual soldiers on the battlefront make this book as interesting to read as other books by Hart.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the salient points that one comes away with from this book however: Haig was a strategic and tactical genius who won the war pretty much all on his own, the British politicians were worse than useless, the other Allied nations were garbage by 1918, Australia, NZ, Canada have gotten too much credit, the Americans were inept and led by a truculent fool, and the Western Front was the only front that mattered.

If you agree with, or at least are prepared for those views, this is the history of the last 100 days of 1918 for you.

[Matthew Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

If, like me, you are immediately attracted to the CWGC graves an English churchyard you miss notice how often those who perished in 1918 were heavily in the 18 to 21 age range. Simply because so many older men had perished. Modern books tend to reject the Alan Clark 'Lions led by Donkeys' approach. After all, if at any time the allies had adopted this tactic, the Germans would have downed tools too, right? Wrong, they were it for the long haul too. Thus in 1918, despite being at breaking point, and knowing that the US entry brought defeat ever more sharply into focus it was they who made the crucial breakthrough. A fascinating book, a must read for all those who rely too heavily on the Blackadder viewpoint for their history...

[Shrike58 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm inclined to agree that this book is a little too Anglocentric, as one might expect from a senior staffer at the Imperial War Museum. Still, Hart does make a good argument that, in the last great campaign of the Western Front, the breaking of the Hindenburg Line, British arms did do a disproportionate amount of the heavy lifting on the way to victory. Not the last word on the campaign, but a good first word for the general reader. David Stevenson's "With Our Backs to the Wall" remains, for me, the best overview of 1918 and the end of the war in the West. My actual rating of Hart's book is 3.5.

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely phenomenal book about the last 4 months of the Great War. Hart draws heavily on memoirs and sources directly from the soldiers themselves. Hart does a great job of putting these sources in context and provides a compelling yet informative and detailed recounting of the final battles of the war. Those last few battles are always glossed over within ww1 lit but this book does at least a bit of justice in giving the men that fought in said battles the attention they deserve. This book struck me emotionally many times, and taught me many things I did not know about the last desperate battles on the western front. I would recommend this to anyone interested in reading it

[Bernie Charbonneau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This variation of the "One Hundred Days War" was very well done with new information for any history reader to digest. This was my first time reading/listening to a Peter Hart history lesson, with Julian Effer as narrator, and will definitely investigate his other works regarding historical conflicts.

[Patrick Womack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book to fill in what happened at the end of the First World War! And it is done through personal accounts of the soldiers who were there, which brings it ‘home’ a bit more than reading a textbook. I’m a sucker for this time period in military history, but I think this book is VERY accessible to anyone remotely interested in the war. Enjoy!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Hart knows his stuff.

As always, Peter Hart gives a great informative lesson of the Great War and its participants. Primary source docs make this time in history come alive again to not be forgotten. I thank him for his works.

[Jim Blessing · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although the first chapter was interesting, the book began to be too detailed and I lost interest.

[Francis Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good look at the last 100 days of the war.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75