The German Army On The Western Front 1917-1918 (Images Of War - Rare Photographs From Wartime Archives)

This illustrated and informative history by the retired school teacher and lecturer David Bilton principally examines Der Große Krieg (The Great War) from the viewpoint of the Deutsches Heer, (The Imperial German Army). At its heart is its Collecting together of a unique and wide ranging group of Archival images portraying all ranks of the Deutsches Heer, sourced from various image libraries from all across the world, and resulting in a detailed and fascinating photographic examination of these servicemen both at war and at rest. This photographic history first starts with an introduction to the situation facing the Deutsches Kaiserreich (The German Empire) by late 1916. David Bilton moves on from there to those dreadful winter weather conditions of 1916-17 and the strategically sound decision to withdraw while in contact with an enemy force, which was successfully completed over February-March 1917. This well planned and executed withdrawal by the Deutsches Heer back to the recently completed and in depth defensive line known by the Germans as Siegfriedstellung, and the Allies as The Hindenburg Line, took the Allied High Command totally by surprise. These fearsome defensive positions were in point of fact so well designed and fortified that they remained intact upto September 1918, with countless British and Commonwealth forces suffering heavy casualties in their efforts to breach them. After covering the events of 1917 including the leadup to the Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht of March 1918, and its failure to achieve its goals, along with the latter defeats of August -September 1918 this work concludes with the enforced withdrawal of all German forces back across the border into Germany, the signing of the Armistice in November 1918, and the formation of the first Freikorps paramilitary groups by former members of the elite Sturmtruppen or Stoßtruppen.