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The Great War will always be synonymous with trench warfare and the mass slaughter inflicted by machine guns on the helpless but gallant infantry. There is a good reason for this view as the machine guns took a terrible toll, and the infantry's experiences continue to fascinate and appal people today. But one aspect of the fighting that gets insufficient attention is the artillery. Histories of the major battles often reduce the role of the big guns to a few paragraphs, and this has created a seriously distorted impression of the reality of the fighting. A better balance needs to be struck, and that is the intention of John Hutton's new book on the gunners of 1914.??He tells the story of the war as the gunners themselves saw it, focusing on the first few months of warfare which were fundamental to the conduct of the campaign. The gunners may not have always shared the trench experiences of the infantry in the front line, but they were in the thick of the action, and success or failure depended on them. The personal testimonies of those who served with and supported the guns provide a vital insight into the colossal tragedy and drama of the war from the artilleryman's point of view.
In August 1914 the German main attack was conducted by the 2nd Army. It had the missions of taking the vital fortresses of Liège and Namur, and then defeating the Anglo-French-Belgian forces in the open plains of northern Belgium.The German attack on the Belgian fortress at Liège from 5 to 16 August 1914 had tremendous political and military importance. Nevertheless, there has never been a complete account of the siege of Liège. The German and Belgian sources are fragmentary and biased. The short descriptions in English are general, use a few Belgian sources, and are filled with inaccuracies. Making professional military use of both German and Belgian sources, this book for the first time describes and evaluates the construction of the fortress, its military purpose, the German plan, and the conduct of the German attack on the night of 5-6 August. Previous accounts emphasize the importance of the huge German “Big Bertha” cannon, to the virtual exclusion of everything else: the Siege of Liège shows that the effect of this gun was a myth, and shows how the Germans really took the fortress. This is how the whole bloody mess started.
This work presents the personal narrative of a French writer and volunteer during the First World War. Paul Lintier followed a straightforward, concise manner, devoid of any fancy literary style, with intriguing descriptions of the incidents. The commendable patience, the great spirit, the intelligence and fearless devotion with the plain, simple bravery, and all qualities of the French Race are found in this book. Excerpt from the book "Blood, money, and more and more blood! And then we have so often heard people say: "Now there'll be war," and nevertheless we remained at peace. And it will be so this time. Europe is not going to become a shambles because an Austrian Archduke happens to have been murdered."
Like many teenage boys, John Richard (Jack) Green joined the rush to war in August 1914. Unlike many others, he returned four-and-a-half years later. Jack's initial ambition to be a gunner was thwarted by his lack of height. Instead Jack drove a gun limber, supplying the front with ammunition, a fortunate choice for the son of a Hanson cab proprietor who had grown up with horses. Jack went on to see action in Ypres, Poperinghe, the Somme. He survived injury, underwent court-martial, and endured field punishment for making a horse bleed when retreating under fire. A hundred years on Jack's story provides a unique insight into an ordinary soldier's war, of his transformation from innocence through experience, from unquestioning patriot to staunch trade unionist, from boy to man.