"Race to the Sea 1914 - book recommendations?" Topic

Can anyone recommend any good books which cover the Race to the Sea in 1914. Most books on the Marne stop at the Battle of the Aisne or start with 1st Ypres but the bit in between is missing.

Regards

Well, I was going to recommend "The Marne" by Holger H. Herwig, but I don't know if it goes beyond the stabilization of the front at the Aisne. It is a very detailed study of the first part of WW1 though.

Thank you coopman. I have plenty of books on the Marne campaign and there are plenty more on First Ypres but it is the intervening race to the sea that I have difficulty finding books on.

Also, there was a recent issue of Yaay! magazine by Flying Pig Games that had this subject as the title of its included game. You can buy the download at wargamevault.com. Look for Flying Pig Games over on the left hand side of the home page under publishers.

I don't know of any book that covers the full Race to the Sea story. The British Official History concentrates on the British contribution, as you would expect. There are no books that deal with the French aspect in any detail at all. Likewise the German perspective.

Ralph Whitehead's volume 1 of The Other Side of the Wire gives very good insights on the German attacks on the Somme. Jack Sheldon's books on Vimy Ridge and First Ypres likewise.

There are numerous French primary sources online now – in French of course.

Is there any aspect that you are particularly interested in?

Robert

Hello Robert

Many thanks for responding. The only dedicated account I have is in Volume 1 no. 11 of Purnell's history. I have not seen any details anywhere else. There is a book on Amazon but it gets so many bad reviews that I have decided not to buy it.

I would love to read about from the stagnation of the Aisne front – another battle without a dedicated non-anglocentric account – up to 1st Ypres or even to the end of the year.

I do have an unread copy of Sheldon's book on First Ypres and I will have a look at that.

My French is not good enough to read a French language account.

Given the sheer volume of books on WWI it is surprising how many gaps there are still.

Regards

Robert

p.s. I have posted the same question on the Great War Forum.

My French is not good enough to read a French language account.

Install the Google Translate app, turn on camera mode, and aim it at the page. Very imperfect, and the translation will change if your phone is not perfectly steady, but remarkably useful for subjects you know something about.

When you reach a section where you need a precise translation, go to translate.google.com and type out the passage. You don't need to worry about accents or other marks most of the time, and Google will ask about corrections for missing marks. You can also click the little keyboard icon in the entry box to click specific characters to enter.

If a translation doesn't seem quite right, try mousing over the translated text to bring up alternate translations. I find that having another window open to check specific words and short phrases is useful because Google will often give many more alternate translations for snippets than for complete sentences.

That is very helpful advice emckinney.

Thank you very much.

The problem with translation tools is that the French war diaries are handwritten. It takes some effort to get them into a Word document, even when you are familiar with French.

Robert, let me know if you any other specific information needs because I can access the French and many of the German accounts for you.

Let's see what the Forum turns up.

Robert

Thanks Robert

I am mainly interested in the movements of the French and German armies and the battles fought along the way. Information on the BEF is more easily available.

I will watch the GW Forum

Robert

On the "Race to the Sea" of 1914, you can try the French official history of WW1 available on Gallica website. The series is published under the name of "Les Armées Francaises dans la Grande Guerre". Unfortunately is, of course, in french.

From the German POV you can give a look at the German official history named "Der Weltkrieg 1914 bis 1918", available here:

link

Thanks Sergio.

I will have a look at both sources although my French is limited and my German is non-existent!