The History Book Club discussion

Band of Brigands: The First Men in Tanks

by Christy Campbell (no photo)

Synopsis:

Inspired by a visit to northeast France to witness the excavation of a remarkably intact World War I tank from beneath a suburban vegetable plot near the town of Cambrai, Christy Campbell—then defense correspondent of the Sunday Telegraph—began to piece together the little-known story of the young men who formed the British Tank Corps. Very few of them had been professional soldiers; they were car enthusiasts and mechanics, plumbers, motorcyclists, circus performers, and polar explorers. One officer declared "I have never seen such a band of brigands in my life." They had trained in conditions of great secrecy in the grounds of a stately home in East Anglia and were originally known as the Heavy Branch, Machine Gun Corps. The word "tank" itself was deliberately chosen to mislead. Men in tanks saw the face of battle at its most brutal. Their task was to crush and burn the enemy out of his fortifications, and to carve a path for the infantry so they could finish the job with bayonet and grenade. Captured tank crews were beaten up or sometimes shot out of hand by the Germans. They fought in their stifling armored boxes packed with gas and explosives, aware that at any moment a shell-hit might incinerate them all. Christy Campbell has combed contemporary diaries and letters and later recollections to tell properly for the first time the robust yet harrowing story of how the first men in tanks went to war. The time frame is 1916-18, with a coda on how German blitzkrieg ideas developed from an English root.

The history of another of the nasty weapons of the Great War.

German Flamethrower Pioneers of World War I

by Thomas Wictor

Synopsis

German Flamethrower Pioneers of World War I is the definitive reference on the topic. Lavishly illustrated, its main sources are the history of the flamethrower regiment, written by its former commander; a manual of assault-troop and flamethrower tactics, by a former flamethrower officer; and the death book published by veterans of the flamethrower regiment. Prewar, wartime, and postwar developments are covered, along with detailed descriptions of weapons, tactics, and epic flame battles. New information, such as the combat use of an aircraft-mounted flamethrower, is included. Includes over 300 photographs and illustrations, most previously unpublished.

The Poisonous Cloud: Chemical Warfare in the First World War

by L. F. Haber (no photo)

Synopsis:

The introduction of chemical warfare during the First World War was a major event in the history of military technology. It not only posed an unusual challenge to military thinking of the day, which was largely conventional and wholly unfamiliar with science; it also created a heated moral controversy surrounding the new weapon that did not discriminate between soldiers and civilians. This study, based on a previously unavailable range of archival material and statistical data, explores the military role of chemical warfare as well as its effects on people, industries and administration on both sides. The book also fully examines the complex issues raised by this new technology, which were debated endlessly between the wars and have led to recent agreements among the powers to curb their use of chemical or biological warfare. This study was planned in close cooperation with Sir Harold Hartley, who became head of British chemical warfare in 1918.

The use of gas warfare was such a horrid way to fight. If it didn't kill you, you were incapacitated for life (which wouldn't be very long). One of the biggest propaganda fallacies was that only the Germans used poison gas when indeed, the Allies also used it. Nasty.

A history of one of the most feared weapons of the men hunkering in the trenches.

German Trench Mortars and Infantry Mortars

by Wolfgang Fleischer(no photo)

Synopsis:

Shown are the various caliber mortars used by the German infantry during World War I.

The bi-wing pride of the British Flying Corps.

Sopwith Camel Aces of World War I

by Norman Franks(no photo)

Synopsis:

Responsible for destroying 1294 enemy aircraft between June 1917 and November 1918, the Camel was the most successful fighting scout employed by either side in terms of the sheer number of victories that it scored. The Camel was renowned for its sensitivity and need for skill and experience, and casualties amongst pilots undergoing training on the type were very high. More than 5490 examples were constructed, and this book covers its combat use on the Western Front, in Palestine, on the Italian front, in the Home Defence role in the UK and in Russia.

Here is a short episode from one of my favorite Youtube sources, The Great War, a Canadian production. Entitled "Gas Warfare in WWI", it covers the use of poison gas from beginning to end with original footage.. Take a look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrHFE...

Zeppelins Over the Wire

by B.Z. Kelly (no photo)

Synopsis:

As powered flight was in its infancy, the transatlantic cable brought news reports "over the wire" from Europe to the United States in hours. These news reports shed light on the development of the large rigid airships and uncover many amazing facts. Some of those facts include:

Orville Wright rode aboard a Zeppelin prior to WWI.

Count Zeppelin piloted one of his aircraft on his 75th birthday.

One Zeppelin was captured because none of the bullets fired at it, including those of the commanding officer after the crash, would light the craft on fire.

Also included is an account by an Allied pilot that flew an airplane, at night, in search of an attacking Zeppelin.

Most of the 23,800 words are articles or portions of articles as published before and during WWI. Some discussion is provided for context, flow and to provide occasional contrast to the present day. Dollar figures reported are translated into present day values to provide perspective.

The collection of articles provide insight to the perception of airships from the early years of doubt, through the years when "aeromania" gripped the world, to fear of destruction, and finally confidence that Zeppelin attacks could be repelled with anti-aircraft guns and airplanes.

Looks quite interesting. One that I might not have ever picked up to read. Thanks Jill.

You are most welcome, Doug. It does look like something a little bit different......can you imagine fighting an air war with Zeppelins?

An upcoming book:
Release date: April 19, 2017

Military Technology of the First World War: Development, Use and Consequences

by Wolfgang Fleischer (no photo)

Synopsis:

Like any war before or since, the First World War formed the catalyst for a wealth of technical inventions with only one goal in mind: to inflict as much damage on the opponent as possible. No one would have dreamed that as a result of these new technologies, the death tolls on all sides would be so high, nor would the physical destruction of the opposition have seemed possible.

In this new work, Wolfgang Fleischer has meticulously documented all the weaponry was used by the Central Powers and their opponents, including machine guns, artillery guns, gas, the first armored combat vehicles, aircraft and submarines.

German Commerce Raiders 1914-1918 (Osprey New Vanguard #228

by Ryan K. Noppen (no photo)

Synopsis:

This is the story of Germany’s commerce raiders of World War I, the surface ships that were supposed to starve the British Isles of the vast cargoes of vital resources being shipped from the furthest reaches of the Empire.

To that end pre-war German naval strategists allocated a number of cruisers and armed, fast ocean liners, as well as a complex and globe-spanning supply network to support them – known as the Etappe network.

This book, drawing on technical illustrations and the author’s exhaustive research, explains the often overlooked role that the commerce raiders played in World War I.

Whilst exploring the design and development of the ships, it also describes their operational history, how they tied up a disproportionate amount of the British fleet on lengthy pursuits, and how certain raiders such as the SMS Emden were able to wreak havoc across the oceans.

Table of Contents
Introduction/ The Commerce Raiders/ Commerce Raiding Operations/ Conclusion/ Index

About the Author:

Ryan Noppen is a military author and aviation analyst originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan. A Master of Arts holder from Purdue University, he specialized in the history of aviation, completing a major thesis on German trans-Atlantic aviation in the interwar years. He has worked as a subject matter expert for a defense firm on projects involving naval and aviation logistics, and has taught several college courses on the World Wars. The author lives in Grand Rapids, MI.

Review:

". . . this is a valuable book." - Northern Mariner

From the Publisher