Originally published in Dutch for the Memorial Museum Passchendale in 2016. This English-language edition provides a unique view of the long and bloody conflict in the Ypres Sector of the German positions, making great use of primary sources. – Most Highly Recommended
NAME: Defending the Ypres Front 1914-1918, Trenches, Shelters & Bunkers of the German Army FILE: R2731 AUTHOR: Jan Vancoillie, Kristof Blieck PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword BINDING: hard back PAGES: 294 PRICE: £25.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWI, World War One, World War 1, First World War, The Great War, Western Front, tactics, strategy, attrition, Germany , Austria, Russia, France, Great Britain, Commonwealth, United States, trench warfare, Ypres sector, Western Front, fortifications, mining, bombardment, frontal assault
ISBN: 978-1-52670-746-2
IMAGE: B2731.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/yd7z76ox LINKS: DESCRIPTION: Originally published in Dutch for the Memorial Museum Passchendale in 2016. This English-language edition provides a unique view of the long and bloody conflict in the Ypres Sector of the German positions, making great use of primary sources. - Most Highly Recommended The Germans decided in 1915 to undertake offensive actions on their Eastern Front, requiring those troops on the Western Front, running through Belgium and France, to fight an essentially defensive war of attrition. The only way to achieve this requirement was for the German troops to dig in but the sub soil of the Ypres Front was not suitable for trenches, making construction of a trench line difficult and maintenance equally challenging. The British and French did of course face the same challenges because they had to construct opposing trenches along the German front. Much has been written from the British and French perspectives but very little has been published in English from the German side. The conditions meant that it was extremely difficult to construct mined defences where the troops were provided with deep shelters that could withstand heavy artillery barrages. Once trenches were established it was also extremely difficult to conduct mining and counter mining, so that conflict became an exchange of fire and frontal assault, depending on the guns and the infantry, until the arrival in numbers of armoured vehicles. Casualties were therefore expected to be very heavy and contrasted with the Somme where the chalk could be easily worked to establish a network of trenches, fire points and deep bunkers, offering protection and relative comfort for the troops on both sides. For the Allies, it meant that mining companies could dig towards the enemy positions and establish large pockets of explosive to seriously damage German positions before an infantry attack. The situation on the Ypres Front has been extensively researched by the authors and they have made considerable use of primary sources for what must be the definitive work on the subject. The English- language edition has added to their work to include a tours section that takes the visitor to accessible remaining structures in the Salient area, with a glossary of German terms and their English equivalents. There is extensive illustration of the highest quality. The publisher has used full colour printing throughout. Naturally many images were lit and shot in black and white, but photographs taken later include full colour images. By using colour printing throughout, this has enable the production team to use all photographs as embedded images in the body of text without having to place full colour images in isolated colour plate sections. The printing process also has the added advantage that monochrome images are produced with a tint and in a clarity that traditional printing is not usually able to match. To complete the visual presentation, the publisher has employed a hard back binding where the cover is colour printed, avoiding a loose paper jacket.