The Gambardier: the Experiences of a Battery of Heavy Artillery on the Western Front During the First World WarThe First World War with the big gunsGambardier is a title-not completely complimentary-for a heavy or siege artilleryman. It was bestowed most usually by his comrade (but rival) of the field artillery. This is the story of a young officer-a Gambardier-from the outbreak of the Great War to its end on the Western Front. In this compelling and unusual book, we experience life on campaign, the tension and danger of Observation Posts (O. Ps), the brutality of counter barrages from the...

The Gambardier: the Experiences of a Battery of Heavy Artillery on the Western Front During the First World War The First World War with the big guns Gambardier is a title-not completely complimentary-for a heavy or siege artilleryman. It was bestowed most usually by his comrade (but rival) of the field artillery. This is the story of a young officer-a Gambardier-from the outbreak of the Great War to its end on the Western Front. In this compelling and unusual book, we experience life on campaign, the tension and danger of Observation Posts (O. Ps), the brutality of counter barrages from the...

The experiences of two young men in a momentous conflict
The Battle of the Somme, fought in 1916 on the Western Front, became emblematic of the futility of the First World War. This grand attack was intended by the British and their allies to be the solution to the stalemate of trench warfare that had prevailed since the First Battle of Ypres in the winter of 1914/15. Instead, it proved to be yet another failed attempt to break through lines of heavily defended fixed positions. The resulting loss of life for no real tactical-much less strategic-advantage reached new and staggering...

The experiences of two young men in a momentous conflict
The Battle of the Somme, fought in 1916 on the Western Front, became emblematic of the futility of the First World War. This grand attack was intended by the British and their allies to be the solution to the stalemate of trench warfare that had prevailed since the First Battle of Ypres in the winter of 1914/15. Instead, it proved to be yet another failed attempt to break through lines of heavily defended fixed positions. The resulting loss of life for no real tactical-much less strategic-advantage reached new and staggering...