The Last Battle: Victory, Defeat, and the End of World War I

The Last Battle: Victory, Defeat, and the End of World War IThe Last Battle: Victory, Defeat, and the End of World War I by Peter Hart
ISBN: 0190872985
Published by Oxford University Press on March 1, 2018
Genres: Strategic Studies
Pages: 464

The author is oral historian at the Imperial War Museum in London and has access to large archives of original testimonies…. describing and enlivening the final battles of 1918.

The author does admit that his “emphasis as a British historian is on the British Army with an appreciative reflection on the massive contributions of victory made by the French, American and Belgian forces.”

Politics and personalities involved in the cease-fire agreements were complex and often cantankerous…. [and left] “an unpleasant taste in the mouth when one considers that men were being maimed and dying in huge numbers with every day that passed.”

Ironically, it didn’t take long before the business of “battlefield tourism” began to flourish…. [while veterans now] “had to fight to retain their self-respect in a society that did not seem to care one iota for their welfare.”

This is a rich and comprehensive book, one I can certainly recommend.

Abridged from review by David F. Beer in RoadstotheGreatWar-ww1.blogspot.com/

Dennis Showalter: “…well-paced analytical text with first-hand accounts by participants.”

New York Journal of Books: “…an exceptional collection of personal narratives….”

Bloody April: Slaughter in the Skies Over Arras, 1917

Bloody April: Slaughter in the Skies Over Arras, 1917Bloody April: Slaughter in the Skies Over Arras, 1917 by Peter Hart
ISBN: 9780304367191
Published by Cassell Military on April 1st 2007
Genres: Military, Aviation
Pages: 381

Len's Summary: Battle of Arras resulted in devastating losses for RFC and RNAS observers and spotters for BEF artillery, and marked the apogee of Germany's premier air ace, Manfred von Richthofen. The author is a member of The Western Front Association.

Passchendaele: The Sacrificial Ground

Passchendaele: The Sacrificial GroundPasschendaele: The Sacrificial Ground by Nigel Steel, Peter Hart
ISBN: 0304352683
Published by Cassell on November 2nd 2000
Pages: 351

Len's Summary: Another look at the mud and blood of Third Ypres. British military historians fixation on Third Ypres ranks second only to that of Battle of the Somme… Available from Barnes and Noble on line.

1918: A Very British Victory

1918: A Very British Victory1918: A Very British Victory by Peter Hart
ISBN: 9780297846529
Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson on October 7th 2008
Genres: History, Europe, Great Britain, Military, World War I
Pages: 552

Len's Summary: A new look at the final German and British offensives of 1918, now available in the America from Orion for $29.95. Also available as an audio book.

Aces Falling: War Above the Trenches, 1918

Aces Falling: War Above the Trenches, 1918Aces Falling: War Above the Trenches, 1918 by Peter Hart
ISBN: 9780753824078
Published by Phoenix on January 6th 2009
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Aviation
Pages: 386

Len's Summary: Dogfighting, bombing and sudden death.

The Somme: The Darkest Hour on the Western Front

The Somme: The Darkest Hour on the Western FrontThe Somme: The Darkest Hour on the Western Front by Peter Hart
ISBN: 1605980811
Published by Pegasus Books on March 1st 2010
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Great Britain, Germany
Pages: 624

Len's Summary: Popular British historian Hart argues that the Somme battle was hardly senseless and that its participants were by no means “helpless victims.” Hart is also the author of many other books on the WWI era including A Very British Victory, Aces Falling and Bloody April.

Gallipoli

GallipoliGallipoli by Peter Hart
ISBN: 9780199361274
Published by Oxford University Press on March 5th 2014
Genres: History, Australia & New Zealand, Europe, General, Military, World War I
Pages: 534

Len's Summary: British oral historian Hart reexamines the failed Gallipoli campaign drawing on letters and memoirs of soldiers on both sides. Lively and very readable.

The Great War: A Combat History of the First World War

The Great War: A Combat History of the First World WarThe Great War: A Combat History of the First World War by Peter Hart
ISBN: 9780199976270
Published by Oxford University Press on May 9th 2013
Genres: History, Military, World War I
Pages: 522

Len's Summary: A new narrative survey history of the conflict finds that Britain tipped the balance with a crucial assist from America. Hart is the author if earlier books on Gallipoli and the Somme, as well as on the Irish Republican Army and Irish patriot Michael Collins.

Somme Success: The Royal Flying Corps and the Battle of the Somme 1916

Somme Success: The Royal Flying Corps and the Battle of the Somme 1916Somme Success by Peter Hart
ISBN: 9781848848825
Published by Pen & Sword Books Limited on June 30th 2012
Genres: History, Europe, Great Britain, Military, World War I, Aviation
Pages: 223

Len's Summary: Another dimension of the Somme battles by an established British historian.