jfishm1981 | 30 Aug 2017 8:47 p.m. PST |
Hey all, Could anyone recommend a book or two containing information on some of the tactical doctrines for European infantry in 1914? I'm looking for something readable without too much jargon- something I could assign to relatively bright HS students. Thanks so much, J |
monk2002uk | 30 Aug 2017 9:33 p.m. PST |
That's really hard because most generalist books on this topic repeat the myths that the Germans attacked in close order formations, the British shot them down in great numbers, and the French just ran headlong into wire and machine guns. There are a few specialised books that describe what actually happened or provide information about how the armies were trained. To my knowledge, no-one has précised these works into something that is concise and accurate. The better bet is to use the Internet. There is a detailed description of German infantry tactics here, which I translated: link This thread contains a whole series of quotes from various sources on British, German, and French infantry tactics in 1914: link An interesting exercise, perhaps, for the students would be search out other descriptions of infantry actions and then compare/contrast these views. For example, the 'offensive ŕ outrance' notion of alleged all-out attack by the French versus the examples of what actually happened. Why did these myths emerge? What do these tell us about how to interpret information on military actions today? Robert |
monk2002uk | 30 Aug 2017 9:58 p.m. PST |
I should have noted that there are some references in the Lead Adventure Forum thread to contemporaneous film sequences that are now available in video. These show pre-war manoeuvres that, while somewhat stylised and compressed in space, illustrate pre-war infantry tactics. Robert |
Porthos | 31 Aug 2017 3:00 a.m. PST |
"Why did these myths emerge?". One of them is about the young German students who ran arm in arm singing to the machineguns. This myth of Langemarck (although in reality Langemark is without c) started in 1914, and if there was singing it probably was because of the German artillery that was falling much too short. The Nazis later used this myth for propaganda. And surely propaganda will have been an important reason for creating those myths, on all sides. |
mildbill | 31 Aug 2017 3:45 a.m. PST |
Some of the myths about the great war was post war propaganda to stop the next war. The west read 'All quiet' and the Germans read 'Storm of Steel'. |
hornblaeser | 31 Aug 2017 5:14 a.m. PST |
If you read german, there is Dieter Storz book: kriegsbild und Rüstung vor 1914, which are in fact just what you want. Very interisting comparison af the major powers tactical ideas. |
NCC1717 | 31 Aug 2017 1:59 p.m. PST |
Paddy Griffith: link Bruce Gudmundsson: link |
coopman | 31 Aug 2017 5:08 p.m. PST |
In 1914 I don't think that they had any tactics except attack in the same old traditional way and get slaughtered. |
advocate | 31 Aug 2017 11:19 p.m. PST |
Coopman, read the thread and Robert's links. By coincidence, I happen to be reading one of the sources mentioned and it's quite clear that they were using small unit tactics and fire and movement. And the 'empty battlefield' could be present in 1914 as easily as 1940. |
jfishm1981 | 01 Sep 2017 9:26 a.m. PST |
This is all fantastic. I really appreciate it! |
Royal Marine | 15 Sep 2017 2:52 a.m. PST |
It also depends on the level of command you are looking to wargame at. I use Volley and Bayonet and also Bloody Big Battle variants for early WW1 with bases being the equivalent of battalions and batteries. Thus I don't need to worry to much about the low level company and platoon tactics. My biggest concern is whether I have enough troops in the right place with artillery support, which is usually not the case! |
monk2002uk | 15 Sep 2017 4:51 a.m. PST |
In one sense, you don't need to worry about low level company and platoon tactics when using battalions as the smallest unit on table. It is noteworthy, however, that these tactics have a major effect on troop frontages and other higher level characteristics of early WW1 battles compared with American Civil War, Franco-Prussian War, and Napoleonic battles. This composite map illustrates the differences: link Robert |
GuyG13 | 15 Sep 2017 9:44 a.m. PST |
You can by a reprint of the British 1914 Infantry Training manual on Amazon |
Blutarski | 16 Sep 2017 9:20 a.m. PST |
"Infantry Tactics" by Balck …. free d/l via archive.org. B |
jfishm1981 | 02 Oct 2017 8:09 p.m. PST |
Robert- is there any chance you could send me a quick email at jfishman@hackleyschool.org? I used a lot of the advice and sources you provided in this thread for my class, and one of my students was really interested in reading some of the sources you translated from German/French in their original form. If you see this line, I would love to chat with you about it. As I said, much of this information regarding 1914 tactics was very helpful. Thanks so much! J |
monk2002uk | 02 Oct 2017 9:17 p.m. PST |
No problem, J. I will send an email from my Hotmail account. Robert |
khanscom | 17 Dec 2017 6:01 p.m. PST |
Rommel's "Infantry Attacks" is illustrated with his experiences in WWI from 1914 to the end. |