German Army At Ypres 1914

Product Description

This book will be the first complete account of the operations of the German army in the battles north of Lille in the late autumn of 1914. The main emphasis will be placed on the battles around Ypres against the Old Contemptibles of the BEF but the fighting against the French & Belgian armies will also be featured thus providing fresh broader insights into a campaign. There are those who consider that the BEF was all that saved world civilisation as the first year of the Great War drew to its end. The book uses the comprehensive histories of the participating German regiments found in the Kriegsarchiv in Munich & the Hauptstaatsarchiv in Stuttgart. Their use adds authority & authenticity to the book. The narrative adopts a chronological approach. The book focuses on some of the most bitterly disputed battles of the first three months of the war when the Germans strained to achieve a breakthrough & the BEF resisted heroically at the price of its own destruction. The book employs a similar format to the authors previous works; that is to say the greater part of the text uses the words of the German participants themselves & the primary focus of the book covers the experiences of the fighting troops at regimental level & below. Linking paragraphs provide historical context & commentary & evidence from senior commanders will be introduced as necessary. Jack Sheldon is now firmly established as the leading authority on the German Army in the First World War. A retired soldier he lives in France & is fully engaged researching & writing. His German Army on the Somme was a run-away success & he has built on his reputation with The German Army At Passchendael the German Army at Cambrai & The German Army on Vimy Ridge all with Pen & Sword Books. He lives in France. Foreword: Hew Strachan. Professor of the History of War All Souls College University of Oxford.