Incorporating the lessons learned in the fighting at Passchendaele in the summer and early autumn of 1917, the first part of this official tactical summary of machine gun operations for October 1917 emphasises the importance of machine gun support of infantry operations by barrages. The second part of the booklet takes in the lessons learned in the battle of Cambrai in November 1917, including dealing with harassing aircraft. Taken together, and printed in one volume by the Naval and Military Press, these two official publications give an excellent picture of how lessons learned on the battlefield are quickly absorbed into tactical doctrines. They should be of consuming interest to anyone concerned with the evolving effects of machine guns on the western front in the Great War.

The Battle for Passchendaele on 12 October 1917 was one of the epic struggles of the First World War. British Field Marshal Douglas Haig allocated II ANZAC Corps to capture Passchendaele village, with Major General Monash’s 3rd Australian Division and the New Zealand Division leading the attack. For both divisions the battle was a bloody debacle. Monash’s division started the battle with 5800 men and, just 24 hours later, could only muster 2600, suffering horrendous losses for a small territorial gain which was later relinquished. The New Zealand Division was trapped in front of the German wire and barely moved from its start line, suffering one of its highest casualty rates of the war. Fought in conditions which seemed to preclude any chance of success, the battle has become a metaphor for pointless sacrifice. After the battle the British and Australian leadership were unanimous in placing blame for the defeat on the all-pervasive mud. Monash, writing to his wife, believed that his plan ‘would have succeeded in normal conditions’. Yet, two weeks later, in similar weather and terrain, Lieutenant General Currie’s Canadian Corps succeeded where Monash and Godley’s II ANZAC Corps did not. The central focus of this book is a detailed analysis of the 3rd Australian Division’s plan and execution of the attack on Passchendaele. By examining the differences between the Australian and Canadian plans for the capture of Passchendaele, the author casts this iconic battle in a completely different light. It is a re-examination that is long overdue.

Issued in May 1917, these three booklets, reprinted by the Naval and Military Press in one volume, Cover the use of Machine Guns in various theatres and situations of the Great War - from the trenches of the Western Front to the deserts of the Middle East - informed by intelligence reports to GHQ. Part 1 covers personnel, transport, Co-operation, Gas, as well as general and operational notes on such subjects as the effects of barrage fire. Part Two (Training and Technical) covers equip,ment, demonstrations, experiments, and tests. Part Three (Machine Gun Intelligence from Foreign Countries) includes detailed diagrams of German machine guns; translations of captured German documents and reports by a deserter on the effects of a British gas attack.

Colonel Williams presents a comprehensive study of British bombing efforts in the Great War. He contends that the official version of costs and results underplays the costs while overplaying the results. Supported by postwar findings of both US and British evaluation teams, he argues that British bombing efforts were significantly less effective than heretofore believed.Colonel Williams also presents a strong argument that German air defenses caused considerably less damage to British forces than pilot error, malfunctioning aircraft, and bad weather. That we believed otherwise supports the notion that British bombing raids had forced Germany to transfer significant air assets to defend against them. Williams, however, found no evidence that any such transfer occurred. Actual results, Colonel Williams argues, stand in strong contrast to claimed results.

Discusses the Allied invasion of Normandy, with extensive details about the planning stage, called Operation Overlord, as well as the fighting on Utah and Omaha Beaches.

From the Publisher: This latest edition of an official U.S. Government military history classic provides an authoritative historical survey of the organization and accomplishments of the United States Army. This scholarly yet readable book is designed to inculcate an awareness of our nation's military past and to demonstrate that the study of military history is an essential ingredient in leadership development. It is also an essential addition to any personal military history library.