This book provides a study of the military leadership of Marshall Foch, the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in World War I. This has a fantastic introduction to the politics of coordination of war among the Allies and the personalities involved. Includes several good maps.

Offers detailed coverage of every country that played a significant role in World War I, from key participants including France, Germany, Great Britain, the Ottoman Empire, and the United States, to smaller nations such as Bulgaria, Montenegro, and New Zealand. World War I: A Country-by-Country Guide is a comprehensive reference exploring the role various nations played in this devastating conflict. Each of the 22 country sections provides detailed background information, the reasons behind the country's entry into the war, a summary of its combat effort in the war, a discussion of the home front experience, and a description of the war's impact on that nation. Illuminating sidebars offer an interesting war anecdote involving each country, while essays survey each country's military branches and key military and political leaders. Finally, a timeline for each nation covers all of the important events involving that country during World War I. In addition to the country coverage, a battles section offers entries on 18 of World War I's most important engagements and a separate section on weapons and tactical changes is included. The book also features dozens of maps and images throughout the text that serve as important visual aids that help readers to understand all aspects of the conflict.

Histories of the First World War are often written from a British perspective, ignoring the coalition element of the conflict and the French point of view. In Strategy and Command, Roy Prete offers a major new interpretation supported by in-depth research in French archival sources. In the first of three projected volumes, Prete crafts a behind-the-scenes look at Anglo-French command relations during World War I, from the start of the conflict until 1915, when trench warfare drastically altered the situation. Drawing on extensive archival research, Prete argues that the British government's primary interest lay in the defence of the empire; the small expeditionary force sent to France was progressively enlarged because the French, especially Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre, dragged their British ally into a progressively greater involvement. Several crises in Anglo-French command relations derived from these competing strategic objectives. New information gleaned from French public and private archives - including private diaries - enlarge our understanding of key players in the allied relationship. Prete shows that suspicion and distrust on the part of both sides of the alliance continued to inform relations well after the circumstances creating them had changed. Strategy and Command clearly establishes the fundamental strategic differences between the allies at the start of the war, setting the stage for the next two volumes.

This lively biography of the French military commander chronicles his legendary and controversial career through WWI, WWII, and beyond. The extraordinary life of General Maxime de Nimal Weygand offers a fascinating glimpse into the perils and politics of 20th century French military leadership. From obscure origins, Weygand rose to a distinguished career as chief of staff for Marshal Foch during World War I and continued to serve his country after the war in Poland and Syria. Alarmed by Nazi Germany’s prodigious rearmament, Weygand locked horns with politicians who were blind to the growing military threat. In fact, he faced accusations that his desire for a strong army was anti-democratic. With German invaders again threatening Paris, Weygand argued for armistice rather than face certain military defeat. During Nazi occupation, he was no friend of the newly-installed Vichy government, and was sent to North Africa. There, he plotted the army’s return to the Allied cause and was imprisoned. Released at wars end, he was rearrested on the orders of Charles de Gaulle and afterwards fought to restore his name. In this concise biography, Anthony Clayton traces the vertiginous changes in fortune of a soldier whose loyalty to France and to the French army was unwavering.

Who's Who in Modern History is a unique reference book which examines those individuals who have shaped the political world since 1860. Coverage is truly global, including the most important figures in Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, Africa and Australasia. It provides: * an easy-to-use A-Z layout * authoritative, detailed biographies of the most important figures since 1860, from Clemenceau and Chief Buthelezi to King Fahd and Benazir Bhutto * bibliographical references for each entry, to aid further research * extensive cross-referencing * an essential guide for students, researchers and the general reader alike.

This troubling book offers a striking illustration of how history can be used and abused--how a gifted individual can create their own self-serving version of the past.

The decision to fortify northeastern France has usually been considered a tragic mistake, an example of bad planning and missed opportunities. Not so, says Judith M. Hughes, who provides a convincing view of how France’s military and political leaders tried to safeguard their nation and why they failed. As critic Michael Hurst writes in The American Historical Review, " The trends of French interwar history are deftly carried through onto these pages with an unobtrusive lucidity and persuasiveness."

This book contains some 600 entries on a range of topics from ancient Chinese warfare to late 20th-century intervention operations. Designed for a wide variety of users, it encompasses general reviews of aspects of military organization and science, as well as specific wars and conflicts. The book examines naval and air warfare, as well as significant individuals, including commanders, theorists, and war leaders. Each entry includes a listing of additional publications on the topic, accompanied by an article discussing these publications with reference to their particular emphases, strengths, and limitations.

America and World War I, the first volume in the new Routledge Research Guides to American Military Studies series, provides a concise, annotated guide to the vast amount of resources available on the Great War. With over 2,000 entries selected from a wide variety of publications, manuscript collections, databases, and online resources, this volume will be an invaluable research tool for students, scholars, and military history buffs alike. The wide range of topics covered include war films and literature, to civil-military relations, to women and war. Routledge Research Guides to American Military Studies will include concise, easy-to-use bibliographic volumes on different American military campaigns throughout history, as well as tackling timely subjects such as women in the military and terrorism.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, the United States had already become an international power and a recognized force at sea, but its army remained little more than a frontier constabulary. In fact, when America finally entered World War I, the U.S. Army was still only a tenth the size of the smallest of the major European forces. While most previous work on America's participation in the Great War has focused on alliance with Great Britain, Robert Bruce argues that the impact of the Franco-American relationship was of far greater significance. He makes a convincing case that the French, rather than the British, were the main military partner of the United States in its brief but decisive participation in the war-and that France deserves much credit for America's emergence as a world military power. In this important new look at the First World War, Bruce reveals how two countries established a close and respectful relationship-marking the first time since the American Revolution that the United States had waged war as a member of a military coalition. While General Pershing's American Expeditionary Forces did much to buoy French morale and military operations, France reciprocated by training over 80 percent of all American army divisions sent to Europe, providing most of their artillery and tanks, and even commanding them in combat. As Bruce discloses, virtually every military engagement in which the AEF participated was a Franco-American operation. He provides significant new material on all major battles—not only the decisive Second Battle of the Marne, but also St. Mihiel, Cantigny, Reims, Soissons, and other engagements—detailing the key contributions of this coalition to the final defeat of Imperial Germany. Throughout the book, he also demonstrates that there was a mutual bond of affection not only between French and American soldiers but between the French and American people as well, with roots planted deep in the democratic ideal. By revealing the overlooked importance of this crucial alliance, A Fraternity of Arms provides new insights not only into World War I but into coalition war-making as well. Contrary to the popular belief that relations between France and the United States have been tenuous or tendentious at best, Bruce reminds us that less than a century ago French and American soldiers fought side by side in a common cause—not just as allies and brothers-in-arms, but as true friends.