All the Kaiser's Men: The Life and Death of the German Army on the Western Front 1914-1918
Ian Passingham | 2005-12-01 00:00:00 | The History Press | 304 | Germany
Convinced that both God and the Kaiser were on their side, the officers and men of the Imperial German army went to war in 1914, supremely confident that they were destined for a swift and crushing victory in the West. The much-vaunted 'Schlieffen Plan' on which the anticipated German victory was based provided for an equally decisive victory on the Eastern Front. But it was not to be.
From the winter of 1914 until the early months of 1918, the war on the Western Front was characterized by trench warfare. But the popular perception of war takes little or no account of the reality of life 'across the wire' in the German front line. A re-examination of the strategy and tactics of the German Army throughout the war, from the commanding generals to the ordinary soldiers at the Front, this book also assesses the implications of the Allied naval blockade on the German home front, the increasing problems of food and fuel shortages and the specters of nationwide disease, hunger and then widespread starvation in Germany. Ian Passingham gives a unique and fully illustrated insight into the daily life of the German troops facing the British and French between 1914 and 1918 and fills a significant gap in the historiography of World War I.
Reviews
Illustrated with photographs, postcards, maps and drawings this book does a good job of giving the reader an idea of the war fought by the WWI landser. Mr. Passingham did an excellent job of researching the material and I thoroughly enjoyed his writing. The organization of the book and the perspective of the author made All the Kaiser's Men eminently readable. I recommend this to anyone who is reading up on World War One.
Reviews
In this well written and excellently illustrated book, complete with maps, the story of the German army in the First World War is laid out. This stody is one not often told except for in All Quiet on the Western Front: The Illustrated Edition. The story is one that is interesting and is rarely told. Most English language histories of the Great war examine the history of the allied powers. John Keegan's The First World War is guilty of this. The German army entered the war with a brilliant plan to knock the French out before they could mobilize. The Germans knew the Russians would mobilize slowly and that the Tsars army had to march as much as thousand miles, the railways being inefficient, to be within striking distance of the frontier.
So the Germans struck through Belgium, sweeping away the low countries and aiming for Paris. But it was not to be. Four years of terrible conditions, food shortages and trench warfare were to come. In the end the Germans launched one last great offensive in 1918. Depite brilliant commanders such as Ludendorf and Hindenberg the Germans could not break the deadlock. They bled the French white at Verdun and cuased French mutinies but could not destroy the allies.
A fascinating book that finally sheds light on the other side of the Great War.
Seth J. Frantzman
Reviews
For me, this was something of a disappointing 'coffee table book of WWI.' It is lavishly illustrated with interesting photographs and maps. Many of the maps are in the original German. I read a little German so found this interesting. Others may find it frustrating. This leads to one of my serious reservations about the book. The text often mentions place-names that are not on any of the maps. So, unless you know every village or ship canal in Flanders and Northern France, you search somewhat in vain for where they are talking about. This is particularly so when they talk of an offensive between place A and place B--and sometimes neither of them can be found. Frustrating.
A second major reservation has to do with opinions being stated as fact. Several examples... Ludendorff had no strategic goal in mind when he threw most of the 1 million soldiers released from the Eastern Front against the British in Flanders in the 1918 battles. The author contradicts himself frequently in his own text, by making clear that the strategic objective was to knock the British Army out of the war, after which Ludendorff believed France would fall easily.
And again... he maintains that Ludendorff was essentially a military dictator--without much other than his own say-so to back this up. I haven't seen this in more serious works on WWI such as Liddel-Hart's.
The book does make the point that the Germans suffered massively from the Somme and Passchendale battles and lost hundreds of thousands of men also.
The major contribution of the book is what it provides about the life of the German trench-dweller. Otherwise there are better books.
Reviews
This is one of the better guides to the "average" German Soldier on the Western Front of WW I. This book has clear, concise writing and excellent photographs, many of which are very uncommon. This is a super reference book for the serious historian or someone with only a passing interest. Great gift book for the WW I armchair historian who "has everything" already! Soft cover edition is large and easy to read with no photos deleted from hard back version. Highly recommended!
Reviews
Other reviewers have done a very good job of summarising the book, so I will not attempt it here. I will just add some of my own comments.
This book is invaluable in plugging a gap in the story of the First World War that was being told over the past decades. In recent years, a movement has arisen that attempted to address (or revise, depending on your perspective) the many myths concerning the First World War. Much of the works from this movement had concentrated on the British contribution to the war.
While this is much needed, in attempting to revise the misconceptions of the British contribution and military achievements in WW1, the authors had concentrated on the British perspective and experiences. Often, other countries such as France, Germany, Russia and the United States had been neglected.
Here is where this book make an important contribution. While in parts, the author could not resist correcting misconceptions about British military effectiveness, he at least attempted to show what it was like for the German soldiers on the Western Front. As he made clear, it was every bit as horrific as that for the British and French - perhaps more so. Worse, quite contrary to the popular misconception of the abilities of German commanders, the German soldiers often served under commanders that were wasteful of their lives to achieve little strategic gain.
Under these conditions, the author rightly paid tribute to the endurance and fighting skills of the average German soldier, who much more than his British counterparts, had to endure hell to 'do his bit'.
In showing the German perspective, the author had plug an important gap in recent WW1 studies.
This is highly recommended for junior staff officers as a general account of the German war effort in WW1.
Download this book!
Free Ebooks Download