The author of The First Day on the Somme details what it was like during the 1918 Spring Offensive during World War I, which led to Germany’s defeat. At 9:30 AM on March 21, 1918, the last great battle of the First World War commenced when three German armies struck a massive blow against the weak divisions of the British Third and Fifth Armies. It was the first day of what the Germans called the Kaiserschlacht (the Kaiser’s Battle), the series of attacks that were intended to break the deadlock on the Western Front, knock the British Army out of the war, and finally bring victory to Germany… In the event, the cost of the gamble was so heavy that once the assault faltered, it remained for the Allies to push the exhausted German armies back and the war was at last over. Praise for The Kaiser’s Battle “The clever blending of written and oral accounts from some 650 surviving British and German soldiers makes the book an extremely convincing reconstruction.” —The Sunday Times (UK) “Mr. Middlebrook’s industry and patience are displayed in his amazing collection of eyewitness accounts, the compassion in his commentary, the good sense in his analysis.” —Daily Telegraphy (UK)

The book deals with the fate of Poles from Poznań, Upper Silesia, Masuria, and Eastern Pomerania, who served in the German Imperial Army during the First World War. In regiments recruited on the Polish soil, it was common to use the Polish language, and from 1917 Poles deserted to the Polish Army in France

Convinced that both God and the Kaiser were on their side, the officers and men of the German Army went to war in 1914, confident that they were destined for a swift and crushing victory in the West. The vaunted Schlieffen Plan on which the anticipated German victory was based expected triumph in the West to be followed by an equally decisive success on the Eastern Front. It was not to be. From the winter of 1914 until the early months of 1918, the struggle on the Western Front was characterised by trench warfare. But our perception of the conflict takes little or no account of the realities of life 'across the wire' in the German trenches. This book redresses that imbalance and reminds us how similar these young German men were to our own Tommies. Drawing from diaries and letters, Ian Passingham charts the hopes and despair of the German soldiers, filling an important gap in the history of the Western Front.

At 9.30am on 21 March 1918, the last great battle of the First World War commenced when three German armies struck a massive blow against the weak divisions of the British Third and Fifth Armies. It was the first day of what the Germans called the Kaiserschlacht (‘the Kaiser’s Battle’), the series of attacks that were intended to break the deadlock on the Western Front, knock the British Army out of the war, and finally bring victory to Germany. In the event the cost of the gamble was so heavy that once the assault faltered, it remained for the Allies to push the exhausted German armies back and the War was at last over. Critics accounts: The clever blending of written and oral accounts from some 650 surviving British and German soldiers makes the book an extremely convincing reconstruction. SUNDAY TIMES Mr Middlebrook’s industry and patience are displayed in his amazing collection of eyewitness accounts, the compassion in his commentary, the good sense in his analysis’ DAILY TELEGRAPH

A year-by-year examination of key WWI battles and how the ongoing advances in artillery shaped strategy, tactics, and oprations; includes battlefield maps! World War I is often said to have been an artillery war, yet the decisive role artillery played in shaping military decisions—and therefor the war itself—has rarely been examined. Artillery in the Great War traces the development of this all-important technology, the differing approaches to its use, the many innovations it underwent on both sides, and how those approaches and innovations in turn effected key battles such as the Battle of the Somme. This highly readable and informative history is perfect for any reader interested in understanding the legacy of World War I, or the evolution of modern warfare.