352X - Panorama of the Western Front

Great Britain, Sutton Publishing Ltd, 1993. First Edition, Binding: Cloth, Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall Octavo 075090352x Hardback harback price clipedd/j Panorama of the Western Front. Following the German invastion of Belgium in 1914, the British and French armies went to war against the Germans. Germany's famous Schleiffen Plan to knock out France in six weeks went awry. Nevertheless, the British, French and Belgians quickly had to retreat to what was to become one of the best known battlefronts in history - the Western Front. This produced a new type of battlefield, with both fiercer conflicts and fire power. A network of trenches crossed Belgium and France for a distance of 460 miles, but the multiple lines of front, support, reserve and communications trenches covered a total of many thousands more, with troops on both sides facing each other across a wasteland of mud and barbed wire. In the midst of the devastation of that horrific theatre of war, it is often hard to picture the French and Belgian landscapes, which provided these decisive battlefields. This book does just this. Dr. John Laffin has spent many years researching the Western front, and has explored its entire length on visits to the region. In this book he reproduces a rare contemporary portrait of the entire length of the Front which was originally published in the Histoire Illustree de la Guerre du Droit (1916). here the panorama is reproduced in double-page spreads and annotated with details of the individual engagements, famous battles and key events which relate to each location. The result is a fascinating geographical presentation of this crucial period in military history. it is an invaluable asset to anyone interested in the First World War, touring the region, or trying to locate the many events which go to make up the war on the Western Front. Illustrated. 120 pp.