1918: A very British victory
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I've had an interest in general history since school days - a long time ago now. However I still find it rare to engage with a history book - often a succession of facts, dates, kings and queens. That is what is so refreshing and invigorating about Peter Hart's 1918. Real people, real stories woven by the author into a strong narrative that explains, clearly and concisely the strategic thinking from the top of the food chain down to the fortunes and misfortunes of the `poor bloody infantry'. This is a history book that really brings the first world war to life - and all too often - death. It demonstrates how the new boys on the block, the Americans, vital to the final victory - had to go through their own learning curve - they didn't learn from the suffering of the British in the previous 4 years and consequently lost many men in the early days that should have lived through it.
If you want facts and dates this book will give it to you. In addition you get the real human story and in my book that makes it a must read.
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Excellent book about the end of a terrible war
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I heard Peter Hart being interviewed about his new book "1918" on RTÃ radio a few of weeks ago and made a mental note to watch out for it the next time I was in a bookshop. Hart in the interview described the end of the war as a savage time and how even in victory, the British suffered enormous casualties - life was indeed cheap.
This book starts out well and gets better and better. Hart makes no apologies for labelling the book "A very British victory" though a more accurate title might have been "A very British victory (with a little help from our French, Canadian, Australian, and American friends)". One minor critique - though the maps are excellent and useful, there are many references to locations not shown on the maps and it can be sometimes hard to figure out where events actually happened.
The way this book is written makes it stand out from others I have read. As the oral historian in the IWM Hart has access to huge archives of first hand accounts of the action that he expertly links together with the context of events. It is a tough job to write about events from the point of view of the ordinary Tommies going "over the top" and the generals commanding at the same time, but Hart pulls this off magnificently. It is almost as if Hart interviewed each man personally at the time - excellent!
For balance, I would have liked to have had more first hand German accounts - but as this book is written from a very British point of view this is forgiveable. As I write this review, Wikipedia lists only 11 known surviving First World War veterans - it is important that books such as this one record the personal accounts of what happened for posterity. Very soon there will be nobody living who will be able to recall either military or civilian events from 1918.
Read this book and enjoy, you will not be disappointed - 5 stars.
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1918: A Very British Victory by Peter Hart
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What Peter Hart has consistently shown is that he can take numerous first hand accounts and reminiscences and weave them extremely well into any narrative of the Great War period. 1918: A Very British Victory is another fine example from his pen. Hart doesn't write in simple terms but he does write with a simplicity that makes it easy for his reader to follow the events and the chaos of warfare. Easy to follow maps detailing the Front and the lines of advance are found throughout to support the text.
As you would expect from the title, this book draws heavily upon the British participation but it is a history written from both Allied (British, French, Canadian, ANZAC and American) and the German experience and he has made very good use of his source material to bring the ebb and flow of 1918 alive. There is indeed something in this book for everyone.
And it's a mammoth book - over 500 pages detailing the return to mobile warfare after more than three years of deadlock on the Western Front. Hart has to deal with the rapid German blitzkreig and then end some seven months later following the Allied All Arms advance that finally crushed the German army. As such, it's a book of two halves! Hart makes sure his reader knows that infantry, artillery, tanks and aircraft all played their role in the final victory although mention of the air-support role is only brief as his equally impressive book, Aces Falling, has already covered the 1918 air war.
Hart outlines the context of the 1918 battles but in a book with this large a scope something has to give and the finer political perspectives are sometimes covered more in passing than detailed assessments but then this book is the soldiers' tale, not a detailed reference on such consequences as the implosion of the German home front or the previous three years of American industrial and financial support for the Allies. For all the arms and munitions that were available to the Allies in the summer of 1918 the German army still had to be defeated and this is a close to the ground account about the personal experience and the minutiae of battle. If you enjoy the first-hand account then this book is definitely worth the investment.
Hart sets out his stall from the very beginning - he is sympathetic to Haig and Gough whilst pointing a finger at Lloyd-George and the politicians. This isn't the book to closely question their respective performances in 1918, rather, the depth and the essence of the book is to be found in the dramatic and sometimes disturbing first hand accounts of the fighting men. This book provides a very personal account of war and dispels some myths whilst raising new questions - many of the Old Sweats no longer cared for war and the new drafts of 1918 were mostly inexperienced - men at the end of their mental tether looked for ways to avoid battle. Hart raises these sensitive issues whilst never taking his focus off the bravery and courage of the men that achieved.
Peter Hart is making a good name for himself and 1918: A Very British Victory is another outstanding effort. Similar to Hart's Somme, this is a book you will want to read again!
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1918 A Very British Victory
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1918 A Very British Victory
Peter Hart
ISBN: 978 0 297 84652 9 HB 552 Pages
Published Weidenfield and Nicholson
If one listens to the popular myths and legends regarding the Great War, it would be very easy to come to the conclusion that the victory of 1918 was at best using a footballing metaphor a score draw!
Peter Hart however as one of the more progressive Great War historians and writers has in this his latest work very much laid this myth to rest.
This book looks in detail at the men who helped to forge this great victory. As the Oral Historian at the Imperial War Museum he has found many decisive and pertinent recollections from the men who did the dirty work of war. He refers to men from all sections of the British army from the generals, through the ranks right down to `Tommy Atkins.
A great amount of time is spent in this book covering the reasons why the battles of 1918 took place, both in the political and geographical context. The flow and style of the writing is both light and informative
In his inimitable style Peter Hart weaves the true facts of this momentous year into an easily readable format. The book is well referenced and well illustrated with excellent photographs. It certainly makes a change too see new photographs of the war, rather than the same old hackneyed pictures used by so many Great War authors.
I would recommend this book without hesitation. It pays true respect to all those who in a time where by people put duty ahead of themselves into a correct prospective. It is a truly momentous piece of writing.
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1918 - A Forgotten Victory
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There is a perverse aspect to the British character that, whilst firmly believing everything British to be the best, at the same time positively revels in its failures. The ultimate example of this trait is the even more bizarre ability to turn what was the greatest achievement in British military history, the victories over the German army in 1918, into some kind of defeat. For too many, including very many historians, the history of the Great War seems to stop in March/April 1918 amidst much reverent expressions of admiration for German stormtroop tactics, clearly so superior to anything the staid old British could come up with (sic). The truth, though, is that the old fashioned stick-in-the-mud British did actually develop the all arms battle that so eluded the Germans - until 1940 anyway - and this is made brilliantly clear in Peter Hart's latest book.
Peter Hart once again displays his skill at telling the story from all angles, from the higher levels of command to the private soldier. The perspective gained by this approach helps explain what happened and why but, all importantly, what this meant for those quite literally in the firing line. And this is where, I feel, Peter Hart's work is unmatched by any other historian of the period writing today (and there are some very, very good ones too!).
What comes across time and again is how this book is rooted in a deep respect for those who went through experiences that most of us, fortunately, will never have to. That respect does not wallow in tales of 'mud, blood and endless poetry'; those that get trapped in that particular quagmire do no justice to the men of 1918. These were no passive victims blindly following a bunch of red-faced, stupid generals but first class, professional soldiers who achieved in 1918 what had been learned at such cost by the British army through the Somme, Messines, Third Ypres and Cambrai. But, as anyone reading this book will be left in no doubt about, war is hardly ever glorious, honourable or noble. And lessons learned or no, the cost was never cheap.
Time and again, after elegantly outlining the reasons for tactical and strategic success or failure, Peter Hart brings the reader back to the price paid by the ordinary soldier. You're never allowed to become an arm chair strategist pondering the events of 1918 in the abstract. What took place happened to real people and the author's clear passion to keep their memory fresh shines through each and every page.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It should be read alongside the author's earlier book about the 1918 air war, "Aces Falling", to get an even more complete appreciation of the events of 1918. My own grandfather was a young 1918 recruit who served in the final advance to victory. I can think of no higher tribute to him and his generation than this superb book. Outstanding!
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