Related Papers
1995
The development of infantry tactics in the British 12th (Eastern) Division, 1915-1918
Andrew Whitmarsh
This is a study of the development of the tactical and operational methods of the 12th Division of the British Expeditionary Force in France in the First World War. It seeks to explore the development of the tactical and operational practices of the 12th Division, and by extrapolation the BEF, during the course of the war. ‘Tactics’ and ‘operations’ (the latter is admittedly an anachronism) are ill-defined words, particularly in the case of the First World War. Exactly where the dividing line between tactics and operations lies is not of great importance: this study simply examines the way in which the 12th Division sought to achieve the objectives laid down for it by higher commands. This obviously removes from consideration matters in which the Division had no say, such as the debate over whether attacks should aim for a ‘breakthrough’, or ‘bite and hold’. Tactics and operations range from the use of individual weapons, such as hand grenades and rifles, by small groups of men, to the detailed plans of artillery bombardments and infantry formations drawn up for major offensives. This study does not attempt to give a narrative account of the service of the 12th Division during the First World War. Nor, for reasons of space, can it consider every offensive and defensive action made by the 12th Division. Analysis therefore focuses on the major battles of the Division. The focus is on offensive rather than defensive action, since the BEF was on the strategic and operational offensive for the majority of the war. In addition, the soldiers of the BEF trained primarily for offensive action. Space restrictions also mean that this study concentrates on the infantry and artillery of the 12th Division. It must, however, be observed that many other branches of the Division also played important parts in the preparation for, and the conduct of, the Division’s war service: for example, the pioneers, Royal Engineers, Royal Army Service Corps and Royal Army Medical Corps.
Kruszyński (2018), Organizations and Combat Operations the German 10th Infantry Division on the Western Front of World War I (1916-1917), „Військово-науковий вісник” Національної академії сухопутних військ імені гетьмана Петра Сагайдачного 29/2018, pp. 142-153.
Organizations and Combat Operations the German 10th Infantry Division on the Western Front of World War I (1916-1917)
2018 •
Bartosz Kruszyński
An inter-disciplinary study of learning in the 32nd division on the Western Front, 1916-1918
2014 •
Stuart Mitchell
First World War Studies
The empire on the Western Front: the British 62nd and Canadian 4th divisions in battle
2020 •
Geoffrey Jackson
WFA Stand To! No. 104
A Difficult Year Offensive Operations on the Western Front in 1915
2015 •
Nigel Atter BA (Hons) MSc
The battles of 1915 at Neuve Chapelle, Aubers Ridge, Festubert and Loos were, with the exception of Festubert, all fought following Sir Douglas Haig’s doctrine, of the ‘decisive’battle. But the BEF faced considerable difficulties in conducting offensive operations in 1915 – a lack of trained officers and men, munitions and materiel – and research into the operational development of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front in 1915 is still a much understudied area of the Great War. Nigel Atter investigates whether the BEF was too poorly prepared, staffed and equipped to conduct effective offensive operations in 1915 and whether it really was the worst year of the war for the BEF.
The British Army and the First World War
2017 •
Ian Beckett
Greenwood
Doctrine and Dogma: German and British Infantry Tactics in the First World War
1992 •
Martin Samuels
The first in-depth comparison of German and British infantry tactics, training, and leadership techniques during World War I. Samuels undercuts some traditional views about the reasons for German successes and British failures during the Great War and points to how different value systems in the two countries affected military outcomes. This is the first in-depth comparison of German and British infantry tactics, training, and leadership techniques during World War I. Samuels' study undercuts some traditional views about the reasons for German successes and British failures during the Great War and points to how different value systems in the two countries affected their military prowess. This historical study of the doctrines underlying the British and German strategies and their implementation is intended for students of military history and contemporary military strategy. This history first analyzes the development of German infantry tactics and the role of the Storm Battalions and then examines the British attempt to adopt the German defensive systems and points to reasons for flaws in the British doing so. In comparing and contrasting the British and German armies, Samuels outlines the key concepts on which the German defensive system was based and analyzes how forces were trained and leadership was decentralized to produce a dynamic and flexible system. British efforts to adopt the key concepts failed because leadership was centralized and poor training contributed also to combat ineffectiveness.
Frank Cass & Co
Command or Control? Command, Training and Tactics in the British and German Armies, 1888-1918
1995 •
Martin Samuels
This is a comparative study of the fighting systems of the British and German armies in The Great War. Taking issue with revisionist historians, Samuels argues that German success in battle can be explained by their superior tactical philosophy. The book provides a fascinating insight into the development of infantry tactics at a seminal point in the history of warfare.
Kruszyński (2018), Combat Operations of the German 10th Infantry Division on the Western Front of World War I in 1918, „Військово-науковий вісник” Національної академії сухопутних військ імені гетьмана Петра Сагайдачного 30/2018, pp. 149-164.
Combat Operations of the German 10th Infantry Division on the Western Front of World War I in 1918
Bartosz Kruszyński
Peter Dennis & Jeffrey Grey, eds., Tactics, Training and Technology: 1917
"The Other Side of the Wire: The German Army in 1917"
2007 •
Robert Foley
