Matthias Strohn

Going into this monograph, my concern was that it was going to be another book that I had waited too long to get to, and it would turn out to be dated, or redundant. Such was not the case though, as the author tracks the process by which the German general staff went from seeing defensive action as an afterthought, or even an action corrosive of troop morale, to a point in the early thirties where offensive action and "delaying resistance" were seen as the flip side of the same coin. This is as the realities facing Weimar Germany finally sunk in, after a Franco-Belgian force marched into the Ruhr to compel German compliance with French demands. Besides that, the office politics of the German army of the time were, in a word, interesting. Finally, this work was, and is, another important step in dismantling the "blitzkrieg" legend that was so prevalent for so long; call it news that remains news.… (mehr)

1918: Winning the War, Losing the War edited by Matthias Strohn is a collection of essays on different aspects of the final year of World War I. Strohn was educated at the Universities of Münster (Germany) and Oxford. He has lectured at Oxford University and the Joint Services Command and Staff College at Shrivenham. Since 2006 he has been a lecturer in the Department of War Studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and in 2011 he was also made a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Buckingham. He holds a commission in the German Army and is currently a member of the military attaché reserve.

Strohn gathers together lecturers and senior military officers to examine the last year of the war. General Carter opens the book with the essential lessons of the war. From reviewing coalition warfare then and now, maneuvering, adaptation, and innovation, these themes are the turning points in the war. Morale of the troops gains new perspective after the near-disastrous mutiny of French forces in 1917.

Each major force is examined in their strengths and weakness of during the last year. Germany who mastered the use of rail to supply troops and material to the front now sees rail stations coming under attack delaying soldiers and supplies. Britain, the dominant naval power of the time, kept its Grand Fleet in port for most of the war. Germany, likewise, kept its surface fleet in port. Brief battles by small naval forces in the Pacific and Atlantic. But, for the most part, the war remained a land war.

The US entrance into the war changed several things. The US was the industrial leader in the world. It is interesting though that the US contributions to the war in were steel, oil, and other materials. The US did not produce a great deal of armament or planes. Instead, they relied on other countries to produce with their raw materials. Fresh troops from America also filled in for countries that could not meet the recruitment needs. Germany had no such luxury, and its allies were effectively out of the war by 1918.

Technology is also covered in the book by various countries. It is stated that the war started as a 19th-century war and finished in the 20th century. The evolution of aircraft was dramatic. The introduction of tanks changed the static trench lines. Artillery developed into an effective tool for warfare. Tanks and aircraft would play a primary role in the next war's blitzkrieg. Close air support of ground troops would also be developed for the next war.

By examining each country and not excluding the Eastern Front and the fighting in the Middle East, which created borders that still that still present friction nearly a century later, 1918 gives a description how the war changed the world. Its effects were felt much deeper than just the Balkans and the Western Front. The Second World War and even the Cold War can be directly traced to the First World War. The use of different authors presenting different essay topics presents a clearer picture of the last year of the war. The reader has the opportunity to see different perspectives on the war. Each section is extremely well documented, informative, and easy to comprehend.… (mehr)

2014 sees the centenary of the start of World War I, the Great War - the war to end all wars. This four-year conflict saw the major powers of the world commit their forces on an unparalleled scale, principally in the trenches of the Western Front, but also throughout the world from the colonies of Africa to the Chinese city of Tsingtao. This was a period of intense development in military technology, technique, and innovation as the belligerent powers sought to break the deadlock. The rise of airpower, coronation of artillery, and development of the tank as a means of restoring mobility to the battlefield all came about in this period and have had a lasting influence through to the present day. This study consists of separate articles by 13 respected academics focussing on different aspects of the Great War, ranging from the war at sea, through the Gallipoli campaign to the final offensives of 1918 to give a wide-ranging companion to this truly global conflict.… (mehr)