William Philpott . Three Armies on the Somme: The First Battle of the Twentieth Century . New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 2010. Pp. xiii, 631. $35.00.
2012; Oxford University Press; Volume: 117; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1086/ahr.117.3.921
ISSN1937-5239
Autores Tópico(s)European history and politics
ResumoBritish and Australian historians of World War I have long perpetuated a tradition begun by British wartime commanders like Douglas Haig and Hugh Trenchard: concentrating on the British experience to the exclusion or denigration of that of other powers, in particular their French allies. William Philpott has studied the experience and evolution of the British, French, and German armies on the Somme, which he terms the first industrial battle of attrition and materiel of many to follow in two world wars. He concludes that the Somme, rather than the sacrificial and wasteful bloodbath that historical accounts often portray, in fact constituted an Allied victory. The French Army waged the Somme battle successfully, and under the tutelage of French General Ferdinand Foch, the British Army, bloodied but unbowed, developed into a capable fighting force. The mobilization of their empires assured them of the ability to continue this war of attrition. The...
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