The Rape of Belgium: The Untold Story of World War I by Larry Zuckerman ISBN: 0814797040
Published by New York University Press on February 1st 2004
Pages: 339
Len's Summary: A candidate for the 2004 WFA Annual Book Award in which the author finds the seeds of WWII Nazi occupation policies in Belgium of 1914-1918. Covers the same ground as the award-winning A History of Denial (Yale University Press), but is less scholarly in approach and is more readable narrative. Lacks maps.
The Living Unknown Soldier: A Story of Grief and the Great War
The Living Unknown Soldier: A Story of Grief and the Great War by Jean-Yves Le Naour, Penny Allen ISBN: 0805075224
Published by Metropolitan Books on September 1st 2004
Pages: 240
Len's Summary: The true story of a French soldier who survives the war with permanent loss of memory and who is never identified. Recommended by WFA Director-emeritus Norman B. Tomlinson., Jr. Reminiscent of Japrisco's novel A Very Long Engagement.
Petain: How the Hero of France Became a Convicted Traitor and Changed the Course of History
Petain: How the Hero of France Became a Convicted Traitor and Changed the Course of History by Charles Williams ISBN: 1403970114
Published by Palgrave Macmillan on October 1st 2005
Pages: 298
Len's Summary: A sympathetic view of the hero of Verdun and leader of Vichy France from 1940 to 1944. Il ne passeron pas.
The Moral Disarmament of France: Education, Pacifism, and Patriotism, 1914-1940
The Moral Disarmament of France: Education, Pacifism, and Patriotism, 1914-1940 by Mona L. Siegel ISBN: 0521187788
Published by Cambridge University Press on March 3rd 2011
Pages: 317
Len's Summary: Examines the complexity of French teachers' views of war in the inter-war period and how these influenced French popular reactions to threatened German aggression in the 1930s.
The Somme
The Somme by Robin Prior, Trevor Wilson ISBN: 0300106947
Published by Yale University Press on May 11th 2005
Pages: 368
Len's Summary: From two established Australian historians, authors of the well-received 1996 work Passchendaele: The Untold Story (Yale 1996) about the Third Battle of Ypres and Command on the Western Front: the Military Career of Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1914-1918 (Pen & Sword, 2004) based on the diaries of one of the BEF's best army commanders.
My Seventy-Five: The Journal of a French Gunner August-September 1914
My Seventy-Five: The Journal of a French Gunner August-September 1914 by Paul Lintier ISBN: 9781907677304
Published by Helion on February 1st 2011
Pages: 128
Len's Summary: A rare translation of a French WWI memoir.
1914-1918, Regard D’Un Medecin Militaire
1914-1918, Regard D'Un Medecin Militaire by Leon Lecerf ISBN: 291441725X
Published by Indo Editions on May 1st 2005
Pages: 125
Len's Summary: Memories of a French military doctor along with his photographs. In French.
Victory through Coalition: Britain and France during the First World War
Victory through Coalition: Britain and France during the First World War by Elizabeth Greenhalgh ISBN: 0521096294
Published by Cambridge University Press on January 11th 2009
Pages: 324
Len's Summary: A broad look at coalition warfare with wide use of private correspondence and diaries. // The development of a winning civil-military relationship central to victory in 1918.
German Strategy and the Path to Verdun
German Strategy and the Path to Verdun by Robert T. Foley ISBN: 0521044367
Published by Cambridge University Press on November 19th 2007
Pages: 316
Len's Summary: Did Falkenhayn actually plan to wage a battle of attrition at Verdun? Draws on previously unavailable German documents held in Russian archives since WWII. Look for a full review in Camaraderie.
French Strategic and Tactical Bombardment Forces of World War I
French Strategic and Tactical Bombardment Forces of World War I by René Martel ISBN: 081085662X
Published by Scarecrow Press on November 14th 2006
Genres: France, Military, Aviation
Pages: 461
Len's Summary: Edited and translated by WFA and League of WWI Aviation Historians member Steve Suddaby and his father. Martell served as a French bombardier/observer during WWI. Reviewed in Camaraderie, July 2006.
France and the French: A Modern History
France and the French: A Modern History by Rod Kedward ISBN: 9781585678815
Published by Overlook Press Genres: France
Pages: 740
Len's Summary: A History Book Club selection. Published in the UK under the subtitle La Vie en Bleu. The entire first section of the book is devoted to French politics and society from 1900 to 1931 including French participation in the Great War and postwar diplomatic struggles. Sections on political movements, the French army, the mutinies and the use of colonial troops on the Western Front are of particular interest as are chapters on the impact of the war on domestic politics and the postwar peace process. In all a subtle and engrossing analysis of the French Third, Vichy, Forth and Fifth Republics.
Marshal Joffre: The Triumphs, Failures and Controversies of France’s Commander-in-Chief in the Great War
Marshal Joffre: The Triumphs, Failures and Controversies of France's Commander-in-Chief in the Great War by André Bourachot ISBN: 1783461659
Published by Pen & Sword Books on August 19th 2014
Pages: 240
Aisne 1918
Aisne 1918 by David Blanchard ISBN: 9781783376056
on June 20th 2015
Genres: Military, Travel, France
Pages: 192
Len's Summary: Germany’s May attack, part the 1918 Ludendorff offensive.
The Blood Tub: General Gough and the Battle of Bullecourt 1917
The Blood Tub by Jonathan Walker ISBN: 9781473827547
on March 4th 2015
Pages: 240
Len's Summary: A disastrous engagement which drove a wedge between British and Australian soldiers.
Liaison 1914: A Narrative of the Great Retreat
Liaison 1914: A Narrative of the Great Retreat by Edward Spears ISBN: 9781473827462
on February 19th 2015
Pages: 588
Len's Summary: Sir Edward Spears was a key player in Anglo-French coordination throughout WWI. At the outset of WWII, he was Churchill’s personal representative to French Premier Paul Reynaud and is credited with arranging DeGaulle’s escape to England in June 1940.
French Generals of the Great War
French Generals of the Great War by Jonathan Krause, William Philpott ISBN: 9781781592526
Published by Pen & Sword Books on 2014
Genres: France, Military
Pages: 288
Len's Summary: Advertised as an original study. Philpott is a winner of our Tomlinson Book Prize.
The Long Silence: The Tragedy of Occupied France in World War I
The Long Silence: The Tragedy of Occupied France in World War I by Helen McPhail ISBN: 9781784530532
Published by I.B.Tauris on August 30th 2014
Genres: France, Great Britain, World War I
Pages: 256
Len's Summary: Based on primary sources, this is the story of the often brutal German regime in occupied France. First published by I. B. Tauris in 2011.
Paris at the End of the World: The City of Light During the Great War, 1914-1918
Paris at the End of the World: The City of Light During the Great War, 1914-1918 by John Baxter ISBN: 9780062221407
Published by Harper Perennial on April 15th 2014
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Europe, France, Travel
Pages: 416
Len's Summary: Paris and Parisians survive and even thrive during WWI as the City of Lights blazes brightly.
Fields of War: A Visitor’s Guide to Fifty Key Battlefields in France & Belgium
Fields of War: A Visitor’s Guide to Fifty Key Battlefields in France & Belgium by Robert J. Mueller ISBN: 9780982367704
Published by French Battlefields on January 1st 2009
Genres: History, Military, World War I, World War II, Travel, Europe, France
Pages: 407
Len's Summary: A guide to 600 years of warfare in northwestern France and Flanders; from Crecy to Bastogne. Order from sales@frenchbattlefields.com or fax (224) 735-4378.
Soldier and Warrior: French Attitudes toward the Army and War on the Eve of the First World War
Soldier and Warrior: French Attitudes toward the Army and War on the Eve of the First World War by H. L. Wesseling ISBN: 9780313307218
Published by Greenwood Press on January 1st 2000
Genres: History, Europe, France, Military, General, World War I
Pages: 248
Len's Summary: How French publicists glorified the Army and idealized war in the decade before 1914.
A Youth in the Meuse-Argonne: A Memoir, 1917-1918
A Youth in the Meuse-Argonne: A Memoir, 1917-1918 by William S. Triplet, Robert H. Ferrell ISBN: 0826212905
Published by University of Missouri Press on August 1st 2000
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Historical, Military, History, Europe, France, World War I
Pages: 344
Len's Summary: Another interesting Great War memoir produced by an important American regional publisher.
French Women and the First World War: War Stories of the Home Front
French Women and the First World War: War Stories of the Home Front by Margaret H. Darrow ISBN: 9781859733660
Published by Bloomsbury Academic on August 1st 2000
Genres: History, Europe, France, Military, World War I, Social Science, Women's Studies
Pages: 341
1918: War and Peace
1918: War and Peace by Gregor Dallas ISBN: 9781585671571
Published by Overlook Press on 2001
Genres: History, Europe, General, France, Military, World War I, Modern, 20th Century
Pages: 616
Len's Summary: Answers the question: “how did World War One end?” Not a pretty sight…
Foch: Supreme Allied Commander in the Great War
Foch: Supreme Allied Commander in the Great War by Michael S. Neiberg ISBN: 9781574886726
Published by Brassey's on October 1st 2003
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Military, History, Europe, France, World War I
Pages: 124
Capital Cities at War: Paris, London, Berlin 1914-1919, Volume 2: A Cultural History
Capital Cities at War: Paris, London, Berlin 1914-1919, Volume 2: A Cultural History by Jay Winter ISBN: 0521870437
Published by Cambridge University Press on September 6th 2007
Genres: History, Europe, General, France, Great Britain, Military, World War I, Modern, 20th Century, Social History, Social Science, Anthropology, Cultural
Pages: 545
Len's Summary: The first volume in this useful and finely-crafted comparative study covered social and economic effects of the war; this volume concentrates on the cultural impact of the conflict on the home front. Contributors include Tomlinson Prize- winner Annette Becker.
Flanders: A Cultural History
Flanders: A Cultural History by Andre de Vries ISBN: 9780195314939
Published by Oxford University Press on June 11th 2007
Genres: History, Europe, Western, Travel, France, Historical Geography, Social Science, Customs & Traditions, General
Pages: 296
Len's Summary: A Flanders native looks at a region – the cockpit of WWI — that has been a battle ground since the Middle Ages.
The Embattled Self: French Soldiers’ Testimony of the Great War
The Embattled Self: French Soldiers' Testimony of the Great War by Leonard V. Smith ISBN: 9780801445231
Published by Cornell University Press on June 7th 2007
Pages: 214
Len's Summary: An examination of fiction and non-fiction writings by French war veterans reveals how they viewed their service and suffering. The author is Professor of History at Oberlin and the author or co-author of several prize-winning works on French society during WWI.
Britain, France and the Entente Cordiale since 1904
Britain, France and the Entente Cordiale since 1904 by Antoine Capet ISBN: 9780230009028
Published by Palgrave Macmillan on January 9th 2007
Pages: 240
Len's Summary: A scholarly study tracing the Anglo-French alliance from the signing of the Entente Cordiale in 1904 through World War One, Lloyd George and Clemenceau, the inter-war years and disarmament, World War Two, Churchill and DeGaulle, the Cold War and beyond.
Maxime Weygand: A Biography of the French General in Two World Wars
Maxime Weygand: A Biography of the French General in Two World Wars by Barnett Singer ISBN: 9780786435715
Published by McFarland on May 19th 2008
Genres: History, Military, World War II, World War I, Biography & Autobiography, General, France
Pages: 261
Len's Summary: Biography of General Foch’s chief of Staff in WWI who inherited command of a defeated French army in 1940. See also: Maxime Weygand and Civil-Military Relations in Modern France, Philip Charles et al, Harvard, 1997, 445 pages, ISBN 978 0674 4557 017, $33.50 from Barnes & Nobel; less from used booksellers.
French Army, Volumes One & Two, 1914 August – December and 1915 to Victory
French Army, Volumes One & Two, 1914 August – December and 1915 to Victory by Andre' Jouineau ISBN: 2352501040
Published by Histoire & Collections on March 1st 2009
Pages: 68
Len's Summary: France mobilized 2.9 million men in 21 infantry corps during the summer of 1914. By 1918, 40% of all troops on the Western Front were artillerists. Written in French.
Petain: Verdun to Vichy
Petain: Verdun to Vichy by Robert Bowman Bruce ISBN: 1574885987
Published by Potomac Books on September 1st 2008
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Military, History, Europe, France, World War I, World War II
Pages: 150
Len's Summary: A short biography by the winner of the WFA 2004 Norman B. Tomlinson, Jr. Book Prize.
14-18. Les Refus de la Guerre: Une histoire des mutins
14-18. Les Refus de la Guerre: Une histoire des mutins by André Loez ISBN: 9782070355235
Published by Gallimard on January 28th 1010
Genres: History, Europe, France
Pages: 690
Len's Summary: An entry into the continuing French political dispute over the nature of the 1917 French Army mutinies that helps make WWI a perennial flash point between the French anti-war left and right-wing conservatives.
French Tanks of World War I
French Tanks of World War I by Steven J. Zaloga, Tony Bryan ISBN: 1846035139
Published by Osprey Publishing on December 21st 2010
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Europe, France, Weapons, Illustrated
Pages: 48
Len's Summary: The emergence of the first modern tank, the Renault FT of 1917.
The First Battle of the Marne 1914: The French ‘miracle’ halts the Germans
The First Battle of the Marne 1914: The French 'miracle' halts the Germans by Ian Sumner, Graham Turner ISBN: 9781846035029
Published by Osprey Publishing on May 25th 2010
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Europe, France, Germany, Illustrated
Pages: 96
Len's Summary: A brief, illustrated history of the battle.
Organizing for War: France, 1870-1914
Organizing for War: France, 1870-1914 by Rachel Chrastil ISBN: 9780807136799
Published by Louisiana State University Press on November 1st 2010
Genres: History, Europe, France, World War I
Pages: 226
Len's Summary: Private voluntary associations helped prepare France for WWI.
They Shall Not Pass: The French Army on the Western Front 1914-1918
They Shall Not Pass: The French Army on the Western Front 1914-1918 by Ian Sumner ISBN: 9781848842090
on May 19th 2012
Genres: History, Military, World War I, France
Pages: 256
Len's Summary: A survey history of the French Army.
Home Before the Leaves Fall: A New History of the German Invasion of 1914
Home Before the Leaves Fall: A New History of the German Invasion of 1914 by Ian Senior ISBN: 9781849088435
Published by Osprey Publishing on July 24th 2012
Genres: History, Military, World War I, Europe, France, Germany
Pages: 392
Len's Summary: Germany’s near victory in World War One reexamined in detail. A History Book Club selection.
Strategy and Command: The Anglo-French Coalition on the Western Front, 1914
Strategy and Command: The Anglo-French Coalition on the Western Front, 1914 by Roy A. Prete ISBN: 0773540792
Published by McGill-Queen's University Press on August 20th 2012
Pages: 280
Len's Summary: First published in hardcover in 2009, this is the first of three planned volumes on the Franco-British military alliance. // First of three planned volumes on the ever-evolving Anglo-French alliance in WWI.
Fusillé vivant
Fusillé vivant by Odette Hardy-Hémery ISBN: 9782070138111
Published by Gallimard on September 20th 2012
Pages: 284
Len's Summary: Story of a French conscript (a miner) condemned to death who survived a firing squad, was pardoned, and returned to duty only to die in combat in 1915. Also in Kindle from Amazon France.
1917
1917 by Claire Garnier ISBN: 9782359830194
Published by Centre Pompidou-Metz on 2012
Pages: 591
Len's Summary: An exhibit catalog including presentation of essays by historians and art historians and a journal for the year with a timeline illustrated by the documents (principally posters and magazines) available to the French public during the war year 1917.
President’s Quarterly Update—April 2024
Dear Members and Friends,
I’m extremely pleased with the level of WW1HA’s activities, some of which may be unseen by you.
Our Journal, “World War One Illustrated,” is now published three times a year with an average length of 48 pages. Each issue is filled with high-quality articles covering a variety of topics, including the popular “My Kin in the Great War” series.
Our electronic newsletter, “Here and There with the WW1HA” is published monthly, with an assortment of Association events and articles covering WW1 topics.
Sal Compagno’s San Francisco Bay Area Chapter continues to hold monthly meetings via Zoom, while Mark Benbow’s Eastern Chapter is holding quarterly meetings.
As President, I am also hosting a quarterly “Fireside Chat” online. The last one emphasized WW1 poetry. The next one will emphasize WW1-era music.
If you’re already a member, I thank you for your membership and encourage you to take part in these activities. If you’re not a member, I ask you to join and participate in these activities. Participate in the events and consider submitting an article for the journal or newsletter.
Reach out to me with your comments: lavarennes@meuse-argonne.com.
Regards,
Randy Gaulke
