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Amiens 1918
On 8 August 1918, the Allied forces launched the surprise attack that heralded the end of the First World War. With skill and daring, 21 divisions of men breached the German lines, supported by 500 tanks (the largest number to have been active in any one battle of the war) and 1,000 aircraft. In their wake they left 50,000 dead or wounded German soldiers along a stretch of 11 miles. On this 'black day' for the Germans the Allied forces began to see a glimmer of hope and the dawn of victory that was to come only 100 days later with the Armistice on 11 November 1918. "Amiens 1918" not only considers the successes and failures of both sides in this conflict but also brings the slaughter and chaos of the Western Front to life, through the startling and emotive eyewitness accounts of battle survivors.
328 pages, Paperback
Published January 12, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 2, 2016
Good look at the Battle of Amiens in the summer of 1918. Considering that less than six months before, the Allied Army had been fighting for survival, this turnaround had a profound effect on the course of the war. Overextention on the part of the German Army along with a momentous effort on the part of Allied troops produced what became known as "the black day of the German Army". Unfortunately, after a short period the Allies were forced to halt operations due to increased resistance on the part of the enemy, and their own need to rest and refit.
July 29, 2017
The first day of this battle was a prototype of blitzkrieg. Many tanks, armored cars, mechanized infantry, elite Canadian and Australian shock troops, ground-support air units and deceptive communications were combined to stun the Germans to the extent that Ludendorf lost his nerve and thought about peace. The fact that the success was limited is due to High Command's inability to deal with success after four years of failure. Nevertheless, this limited achievement tore the heart from the German Army.
May 1, 2016
This review refers to the British 2007 edition: Amiens 1918: The Last Great Battle
This book started life over 30 years ago, when McWilliams & Steel interviewed a number of surviving Australian participants in the battle. The project stalled, only to be revived some 20 years later in the form of this book. The result is a useful contribution to the study of this vital battle, in that it supplements the official histories of Britain, Australia and Canada with significant firsthand accounts.
The authors have adopted a largely narrative approach, dealing with the origins of the battle and then covering each phase of the battle, division by division. The result is a very clear description, but the depth of analysis is limited. This is made more significant by the absence of any real examination of the battle from the German side, other than through material already contained in the Allied official histories and a handful of standard works, focused on Lunderdorff.
As a consequence, while this is a very welcome contribution to the literature on this fascinating battle, and is well written and readable, the more serious reader will need to look elsewhere for a full understanding of why the events described so well by McWilliams and Steel happened the way they did.
This book started life over 30 years ago, when McWilliams & Steel interviewed a number of surviving Australian participants in the battle. The project stalled, only to be revived some 20 years later in the form of this book. The result is a useful contribution to the study of this vital battle, in that it supplements the official histories of Britain, Australia and Canada with significant firsthand accounts.
The authors have adopted a largely narrative approach, dealing with the origins of the battle and then covering each phase of the battle, division by division. The result is a very clear description, but the depth of analysis is limited. This is made more significant by the absence of any real examination of the battle from the German side, other than through material already contained in the Allied official histories and a handful of standard works, focused on Lunderdorff.
As a consequence, while this is a very welcome contribution to the literature on this fascinating battle, and is well written and readable, the more serious reader will need to look elsewhere for a full understanding of why the events described so well by McWilliams and Steel happened the way they did.
August 29, 2015
The authors are to be commended for their perseverance (read the short 'The Authors' Acknowledgement' at the end of the book for more details). This book is essential reading for anyone who wishes to become acquainted with the last phase of the Great War, and the contributions made by the Australian and Canadian Corps towards the Allied victory in November 1918. As mentioned in other reviews the maps published are lamentable. But the published Order of Battle is very useful.
March 28, 2015
Excellent overview of the battle along with some reasonably insightful comment on causes and consequences of it all. I rated it only three stars because it suffers in using old, unclear maps and not too many of those. Other than that a good starting point for someone wanting to study this battle in particular and the Hundred Days overall.
September 7, 2011
A look at the Great war and the turning point for Canada and it's allies. Steel and McWilliams are masterful in making history a pleasure to read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews