000			04744cam a2200397Ki 4500
001			ocn906804298
003			OCoLC
005			20240726104951.0
008			150408s1994 ctua ob 001 0 eng d
040			_aNT _beng _erda _epn _cNT _dIDEBK _dTEFOD _dYDXCP _dOCL _dJSTOR
020			_a9780300160611 _q((electronic)l(electronic)ctronic)
043			_aew-----
050	0	4	_aD546 _b.B388 1994
049			_aMAIN
100	1		_aGriffith, Paddy. _e1
245	1	0	_aBattle tactics of the Western Front : _bthe British Army's art of attack, 1916-18 / _cPaddy Griffith.
260			_aNew Haven : _bYale University Press, _c(c)1994.
300			_a1 online resource (xvi, 286 pages) : _billustrations.
336			_atext _btxt _2rdacontent
337			_acomputer _bc _2rdamedia
338			_aonline resource _bcr _2rdacarrier
347			_adata file _2rda
504			_a2
520	0		_aHistorians have portrayed British participation in the Great War as a series of tragic debacles, with lines of men mown down by machine guns, untried new military technology and incompetent generals who threw their troops into improvised and unsuccessful attacks. In this book Paddy Griffith, a renowned military historian, examines the evolution of British infantry tactics during the war and challenges this interpretation, showing that while the British army's plans and technologies persistently failed during the improvised first half of the war, the army gradually improved its technique, technology and, eventually, its self-assurance. By the time of its successful sustained offensive in the autumn of 1918, he argues, the British army was demonstrating a battlefield skill and mobility that would rarely be surpassed even during the Second World War. Evaluating the great gap that exists between theory and practice, between textbook and bullet-swept mudfield, Griffith argues that many battles were carefully planned to exploit advanced tactics and to avoid casualties; but that the breakthrough was simply impossible under the conditions of the time. By the end of 1916 the British were already masters of 'storm-troop tactics' and, in several important respects, further ahead than the Germans would be even in 1918. In fields such as the timing and orchestration of all-arms assaults, predicted artillery fire, 'commando-style' trench raiding, the use of light machine guns or the barrage fire of heavy machine guns, the British led the world. Although British generals were not military geniuses, the book maintains they should at least be credited with having effectively invented much of the twentieth century's art of war.
505	0	0	_aPart one: Setting the scene -- _t1. Introduction -- _tCompetence and incompetence -- _tThe larger second half of the war -- _t2. The tactical dilemma -- _tThe nature of tactics -- _tLines, densities and timescales -- _tThe storm of steel -- _tPart two: Infantry -- _t3. Infantry during the first two years of the War -- _tTactics of the old contemptibles -- _tThe new armies arrive -- _t4. The lessons of the Somme -- _tRifles, hayonets and the cult of the bomb -- _tThe importance of careful preparaton -- _tThe assault spearhead of the BEF -- _t5. The final eighteen months -- _tThe formal battles of 1917 and the chaotic battles of 1918 -- _tFlexible formations for mobile war -- _tPart three: Heavier weapons -- _t6. The search for new weapons -- _tThe mobilisation of invention -- _tBombs, smoke and gas -- _t7. Automatic weapons -- _tThe struggle to control automatic fire -- _tThe rise of the light machine gun -- _t8. Artillery -- _tThe evolution of precision munitions -- _tThe shift from destructive to neutralising fire -- _tThe emergence of the deep battle -- _t9. Controlling the mobile battle -- _tCavalry and armour -- _tSignals and command -- _tPart four: The BEF's tactical achievement -- _t10. Doctrine and training -- _tCaptain Partridge and the dissemination of doctrine -- _tTrainitg schools and other exhortations -- _t11. Conclusion -- _tAppendix 1. Some limitations in the university approach to military history -- _tAppendix 2. A Great War perspective on the American Civil War -- _tAppendix 3. Armies, corps and divisions of the BEF -- _tNotes -- _tBibliography -- _tIndex.
530			_a2 _ub
610	1	0	_aGreat Britain. _bArmy.
650		0	_aWorld War, 1914-1918 _xCampaigns _zWestern Front.
650		0	_aTactics.
650		0	_aStrategy.
655		1	_aElectronic Books.
856	4	0	_uhttps://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=976359&site=eds-live&custid=s3260518 _zClick to access digital title | log in using your CIU ID number and my.ciu.edu password
942			_cOB _D _eEB _hD _m1994 _QOL _R _x _8NFIC _2LOC
994			_a92 _bNT
999			_c84453 _d84453
902			_a1 _bCynthia Snell _c1 _dCynthia Snell