The Western Front

byNick Lloyd, Mark Elstob (Read by)

A History of the First World War

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In the annals of military history, the Western Front stands as an enduring symbol of the folly of war. However, here bestselling historian Nick Lloyd reveals that the story is not, as so many assume, one of pointlessness and stupidity.

Drawing upon the latest scholarship, wrongly overlooked accounts and archival material, Lloyd explains the achievements that have been obscured by legends of mud, blood and futility. He recreates the decision-making and experiences of the war as it was and redefines our understanding of this monumental tragedy.

This is a bold book. Nick Lloyd has written a tour de force of scholarship, analysis and narration . . . Lloyd is well on the way to writing a definitive history of the First World War

Lawrence James, The Times

This well-researched, well-written and cogently argued new analysis overturns all our assumptions and received wisdom about the fighting on the most important front of the Great War. Nick Lloyd deserves congratulation for having written what will undoubtedly now take its rightful place as the standard account of this vital theatre of the conflict

Andrew Roberts, author of ‘Churchill: Walking with Destiny’

An enthralling read. Lloyd deftly guides us through a labyrinth of military detail while never allowing the pace of his narrative to slacken. His account of France's role on the Western Front, often less well documented in Anglo-Saxon accounts, is particularly revealing. Most of us are familiar with the names of the generals involved, but Lloyd brings them sharply to life with his sensitive portrayal of their personalities, idiosyncrasies and relationships with one another. This is an endlessly complex subject to which Lloyd has brought welcome lucidity while never for one moment allowing us to forget the enormity of its tragedy

Julia Boyd, author of Travellers in the Third Reich

There were many fronts in World War I, but the Western Front, where the industrialized great powers massed their men and resources, was the crucial one. Nick Lloyd has given us the most up-to-date account of the fighting there. He brings the key statesmen and generals to life, as well as the brutal combat from the first battles to the last. Lloyd crisply details the tactical and technological innovation that brought victory, as well as the coalition strategy, economic warfare, and home front management that boosted the Allies and disintegrated the Central Powers

Geoffrey Wawro, author of The Franco-Prussian War, A Mad Catastrophe, and Sons of Freedom, and director of the University of North Texas Military History Center

Although a non-specialist in the history of World War I, I have sought to learn as much as possible about that epochal calamity that cast a dark shadow over the subsequent century. At the core of a generation's agony was the Western Front, which I never fully understood until I read Nick Lloyd's comprehensive, lucid, and evocative narrative that made starkly clear what had previously been a confusing jumble

James M. McPherson, author of BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM; THE CIVIL WAR ERA

About Nick Lloyd

Nick Lloyd is Professor of Modern Warfare at King's College London, based at the Defence Academy UK in Shrivenham, Wiltshire. He is the author of four previous books, including Passchendaele: A New History, which was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller. He lives with his family in Cheltenham.

Details

Imprint: Penguin
Published: 04/03/2021
ISBN: 9780241992609
Length: 1241 minutes
Price: £16.00

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Paperback 2021
Ebook 2021
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The Western Front

A History of the First World War

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About Nick Lloyd

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