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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 untold story of Germany’s experience on the Western front, in the words of its official historians, making it vital to the study of the war and official memory in Weimar and Nazi Germany. Although exciting new sources have recently 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 focuses on 1915, the first year of trench warfare. For the first time in the history of warfare, poison gas was used against French and Canadian troops at Ypres. Meanwhile, conflict raged in the German High Command over the political and military direction of the war. The year 1915 also set the stage for the bloodbath at Verdun and sealed the fate of the German Supreme Commander, Erich von Falkenhayn. This is the official version of that story.
Foreword by Hew Strachan
Co-published with the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies
Mark Osborne Humphries is Associate Professor; Dunkley Chair in War and the Canadian Experience at Wilfrid Laurier University and Director, Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies (LCMSDS). He is the author of numerous publications, including The Last Plague: Spanish Influenza and the Politics of Public Health in Canada (2013).
|John Maker received his PhD in history from the University of Ottawa in 2010. His work has been published in Canadian Military History and Histoire Sociale.
Table of Contents for Germany's Western Front: Translations from the German Official History of the Great War 1915, edited by Mark Osborne Humphries and John Maker
Table of Maps
Preface
Introduction
Acknowledgements
A Note on the Translation and Sources
PART I: WINTER AND SPRING
1. The Question of the War’s Centre of Gravity in January
2. The Western Front to the Middle of April
Decision-making at the OHL
Operations on Western Front until the Middle of February 1915
The Battle of Soissons
Seventh Army
The Winter Battle in the Champagne
Fifth Army
The French and British High Commands at the Beginning of the Year
The Apex of the Winter Battle in the Champagne from the Middle of February until the Middle of March 1915
Intentions of the French Commanders in the Champagne
The German Defence
Operations on the Remainder of the Western Front from the Middle of February to the Middle of March 1915
The Battle at Neuve Chapelle
Armee Abteilung Strantz
The OHL’s Return to the Western Front
The Defensive Battles from the Middle of March until the Middle of April
The Defensive Battle of Armee Abteilung Strantz
Armee-Abteilung Strantz
3. The Change in Falkenhayn’s Plans
The Creation of the New GHQ Reserve
The Plan to Mount a Decisive Breakthrough Operation in the West
The Political Situation and its Influence on the Military Decision-Making
To the Dardanelles Offensive
To the Employment of the GHQ Reserve in the East
PART II: SPRING AND SUMMER
4. The General Situation of the Central Powers in May
The Intervention of Italy
The Intensification of the Economic Situation and Economic Warfare by Submarine
The Manpower and Ammunition Situation to the End of the Year
5. The Western Front from the Middle of April to the Beginning of August
Operations to the Start of the Spring Battle at the Beginning of May
The OHL and the Western Army in April
Fourth Army’s Gas Attack at Ypres
The Offensive Battles of the Armee Abteilungs Strantz and Gaede
The Actions of the French and British Commanders to the Beginning of May
The Beginning of the Spring Offensive in the Artois
Sixth Army’s Battles from 9–14 May
General Lochow’s Assumption of Command on the Main Battle Front and the Fighting until the Middle of June
Operations of the Remaining Armies on the Western Front from the Middle of May to the End of July
The Renewal of the Major Offensive in the Artois: Operations from 16–18 June to the End of the Spring Offensive
The Reorganization of the Western Army Part I: Until the Beginning of August
6. Overview of the Multi-Front War During the Summer
The General Situation to the Beginning of August
The OHL’s Peace Efforts
Shifting the War’s Centre of Gravity
PART III: SUMMER AND AUTUMN
7. Overview of the Military Situation to the Middle of September
8. The Western Front from Mid-August to the Beginning of the Autumn Offensive
The Enemy’s Situation and Plans in the Summer
The OHL from August to 22 September
The Events on the Western Front until 22 September
In the Artois
In the Champagne
On the Remainder of the Western Front
9. The Autumn Offensive in the Artois and Champagne
The Preparation for the Battle (22 to 24 September 1915)
In the Artois
In the Champagne
The OHL until Noon on 25 September
The 25th of September
The Attack in the Artois
The Attack in the Champagne
Actions of the OHL during the afternoon of 25 September
26 September
In the Artois
In the Champagne
The Situation at the OHL
The Further Course of the Battle until the end of September
In the Artois: Operations, 30 September–10 October
In the Champagne: Operations, 11–13 October
In the Artois: Operations, 30 September–10 October
In the Artois: Operations, 11–13 October
In the Champagne: Operations, 30 September–5 October
In the Champagne: New Major Offensive Operations after 6 October
The Enemy’s Situation at the End of the Offensive
Lessons Learned from the Fall Offensive
10. The Western Front to the End of the Year
Operations of the Remaining Armies until mid-October
The Reorganization of the Western Army Part II
Operations from mid-October until the End of the Year
Fourth Army
Sixth, Second, and Seventh Armies
Third Army
Fifth Army
Armee Abteilung Strantz
Armee Abteilung Falkenhausen
Armee Abteilung Gaede
The Entente’s Situation in the West at the End of the Year
The Situation at the OHL in November and December
11. The Central Powers’ Situation at the End of 1915
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: A Comparison of German, British, and French Artillery in the Spring Battles in the Artois
Appendix 2: A Comparison of German, British, and French Artillery in the Autumn Battles
Appendix 3: A Comparison of Forces at War’s Beginning and the end of 1915
Appendix 4: Overview of Powder and Munitions Production from War's Beginning to the End of 1915
Appendix 5: Standing Orders for the Defence in the West
Selected Bibliography
Index