Germany's Western Front: Translations from the German Official History of the Great War, 1914, Part 1

ISBN-13: 9781554585007 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 580 str.

Mark Osborne Humphries; John Maker

Opis

This multi-volume series in six parts is the first English-language translation of Der Weltkrieg, the German official history of the First World War. Originally produced between 1925 and 1944 using classified archival records that were destroyed in the aftermath of the Second World War, Der Weltkrieg is the inside story of Germany's experience on the Western front. Recorded in the words of its official historians, this account is vital to the study of the war and official memory in Weimar and Nazi Germany. Although exciting new sources have been uncovered in former Soviet archives, this work remains the basis of future scholarship. It is essential reading for any scholar, graduate student, or enthusiast of the Great War. This volume, the second to be published, covers the outbreak of war in July-August 1914, the German invasion of Belgium, the Battles of the Frontiers, and the pursuit to the Marne in early September 1914. The first month of war was a critical period for the German army and, as the official history makes clear, the German war plan was a gamble that seemed to present the only solution to the riddle of the two-front war. But as the Moltke-Schlieffen Plan was gradually jettisoned through a combination of intentional command decisions and confused communications, Germany's hopes for a quick and victorious campaign evaporated.

Spis treści

• Germany's Western Front: Translations from the German Official History of the Great War, 1914, Part 1 edited by Mark Osborne Humphries and John Maker
• List of Maps, Sketches, and Figures
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part I: The Battle of the Frontiers in the West
• 1. Introduction
• The Two-Front War and Comparison of Strengths
• The Outbreak of War
• The War's Duration and Economic Management
• 2. The Campaign Plan for the Western Front
• The Historical Development of the Operative Idea
• The Campaign Plan in 1914
• 3. The Deployment
• The German Deployment in the West
• Initial Border and Railway Security Operations in the West and the Occupation of Luxembourg
• The Capture of Fortress Liège
• The Strategic Reconnaissance
• The Execution of the German Deployment in the West
• 4. The Beginning of Major Operations
• The German OHL before the Start of the Advance
• The Advance of the German Wheeling Wing, 18-20 August
• The Right Wing (First, Second, and Third Armies)
• 5. The Battle of the Frontiers
• The OHL before the Start of the Battle of the Frontiers
• The Battles of Mons and Namur
• The Operations of First, Second, and Third Armies on 21 August
• The Operations of First, Second, and Third Armies on 22 August
• Second and Third Armies, 23 August
• The Capture of Namur
• First Army's Operations on 23 and 24 August
• The OHL during the Frontier Battles
• 6. The Pursuit
• 1. The Operations of the German Right Wing until 27 August
• Second Army on 25 August
• Third Army on 25 and 26 August
• Second Army on 26 August
• First Army's Pursuit of the British from 25 to 27 August
• Second and Third Armies on 27 August
• The OHL during the Pursuit-Operations to 27 August
• 7. Review
• Part II: From the Sambre to the Marne
• 8. The OHL at the Beginning of the New Phase of Operations
• 9. Operations on the Meuse and Aisne
• 1. Third Army's Battle North of the Aisne, 28-30 August
• 2. The Operations of Third and Fourth Armies on the Aisne, 31 August and 1 September
• 10. The Operations of First and Second Armies to the Oise
• 1. The Operations of First Army on the Somme and Avre, 28-30 August
• 2. The Battle at St. Quentin
• The Beginning of the Battle, 28 August
• The Battle on the Right German Flank on 29 August
• The Battle on the Left German Flank on 29 August
• Continuation and Conclusion of the Battle on 30 August
• 11. The OHL, 29-30 August
• 12. The Pursuit by the German Right Wing to the Marne, 31 August-2 September
• 1. First Army's Crossing of the Oise (31 August)
• 2. Second Army's Halt (31 August)
• 3. First Army's Advance across the Aisne
• 4. Second Army's Advance on the Aisne
• 5. First Army's Pursuit Battle South of the Aisne
• 6. Second Army's Crossing of the Aisne
• 7. Third Army's Pursuit East of Reims
• 13. The OHL, 31 August-2 September
• 14. The Pursuit of the German Right Wing across the Marne on 3-4 September
• 1. First Army Crosses the Marne
• 2. Second Army's Advance towards the Marne
• 3. Third Army's Pursuit Battles up to the River Vesle
• 4. First Army's Operations South of the Marne
• 5. Second Army's Pursuit across the Marne
• 6. Third Army Reaches the Marne
• 15. The OHL, 3-4 September
• Appendices
• Appendix 1
• Comparison of the Organization of German, French, British, and Belgian Units
• Appendix 2
• The Strength of the Mutual Forces on the Western Front on 22 August 1914
• Bibliography
• Index