Review of Military Technology of the First World War
Development, Use & Consequences
Author: Wolfgang Fleischer
Translated by: Geoffrey Brooks
Pen & Sword Books LTD.
ISBN: 978-1-4738-5419-2
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: $39.95
ISBN: 978-1-4738-5419-2
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: $39.95
THE BOOK
This new book is hardback of 328 pages (including 6 blank pages). Casemates site lists it as having 256 pages, which is wrong. They also say that the pages are 10" x 9 1/2". They really measure 8 1/2" x 11".
Pen & Sword Books, LTD is based in the U.K.
Like any war before or since, the First World War formed the catalyst for a wealth of technical inventions with the only goal in mind to inflict as much damage on the opponent as possible.
No one would have dreamed that as a result of these new technologies, the death tolls on all sides would be so high, nor would the physical destruction of the opposition have seemed possible.
In this new work, Wolfgang Fleischer has meticulously documented all the weaponry that was used by the Central Powers and their opponents, including machine guns, artillery guns, gas, the first armored combat vehicles and aircraft. Only submarines are missing.
Chapters in the book are:
Chapter 1: The Administration of Scarcity
The first large photo shows a field of AP ammunition. There are 2 photos of machine gun crews, a German propoganda poster, a British Mk. IV tank, three photos of artillery pieces, a photo of a R.A.F. F.E aircraft, 2 photos of German signal troops with their radios, 2 photos of No Man's Land and a shot inside a artillery factory and 7 photos inside of munition factories, showing mostly women at work in them.
Chapter 2: Machine Guns in the First World War
Shown are 27 photos of different machine guns and some technical manual illustrations of them.
Chapter 3: Trench Warfare & Geology
A photo looking down on No Man's Land, 4 maps of it, 22 photos of troops in the trenches, 2 photos of concrete emplacements with 2 photos of troops inside them, a 2 propaganda posters, line drawing of make out of a trench, German document,
Chapter 4: The Rise of Artillery
Aerial photo of No Man's Land, tech manual illustrations, photos of 31 different artillery pieces (including one mounted on a railroad car), a map and some German documents and some data lists.
Chapter 5: Tanks
A photo of a French Char Schneider, 4 tech illustrations, 24 British Mk IV and V's, a French Renault FT-17, a German A7V, a data list, a map, a German howitzer, German documents.
Next is 4 pages of color illustrations off of posters and postcards from World War I. There are 43 of these illustrations showing all sorts of things from that era.
Chapter 6: Chemical Warfare
A large photo of British soldiers who have been blinded by gas, a photo of Prof. Dr. Huber who invented German gas, shots of the German gas factory exterior and interior, illustrations of gas shells, a gas firing howitizer, illustrations of German troops under gas attack. Tech illustrations of a trench, 3 maps, 4 photos and one line drawing of soldiers wearing gas masks, German documents,
Chapter 7: From the Catapult to the Mortar
An illustration of an ancient Greek and Roman catapult, a data list, tech illustrations, 35 different mortars, 3 photos of mortar damage, 2 maps.
Chapter 8: Flamethrowers in Place of Fire Extinguishers
Photos of 4 flamethrowers in action, a photo of a horse drawn steam powered fire extinguisher, a photo of a flamethrower's fuel tank, 4 photos of soldiers carrying flamethrowers, a data list, 2 maps.
Chapter 9: Motor Vehicles in Field Grey
A tech drawing, a German truck, a British truck with a cutaway line drawing of it, a British car and ambulance, a data chart, photos of 4 different trucks on the road (country of origin ???), 2 photos of different tractors, a German truck with a howitzer mounted on it, a destroyed German truck, a line up outside a factory of trucks, French soldiers around their trucks, French trucks moving down a road, a map.
Chapter 10: From the Eye in the Sky to the Fist of the Military Leadership
A large photo of a German C-aircraft, a photo of an aerial reconnaissance camera and a shot taken with one, illustration of a aerial battle, a French Voisin 5, a Fokker D-1, a illustration of a Zepellin, a Albatros D-5, a wrecked British aircraft, photo of German bombs, a Gotha G-5, photo of bomb load beneath a German bomber, a wrecked German bomber (type unknown), 2 photos of a Zepplin-Staaken R. VI, a British Handly-Page 0/100 being bombed up by her ground crew, a Fokker D-7,
There are 241 black and white photos in the book. This is vs the 233 that it says on the description of the book on the Casemate web site.
Ten of these photos are on the paper jacket.
Total data lists in the book are 16. Technical illustrations number 52 (5 of these are on the back of the paper jacket on the book). Other illustrations number 9..
There are 15 maps in the book, 2 propoganda posters, 7 German documents and the 4 pages of 43 color illustrations mentioned already above.
This book thoroughly covers stuff used in WWI.
Highly recommended.
I want to thank the folks at Pen & Sword and Casemate who sent me this sample.
All Pen & Sword titles can be seen on Casemate's web site at:
www.casematepublishing.com
or
This new book is hardback of 328 pages (including 6 blank pages). Casemates site lists it as having 256 pages, which is wrong. They also say that the pages are 10" x 9 1/2". They really measure 8 1/2" x 11".
Pen & Sword Books, LTD is based in the U.K.
Like any war before or since, the First World War formed the catalyst for a wealth of technical inventions with the only goal in mind to inflict as much damage on the opponent as possible.
No one would have dreamed that as a result of these new technologies, the death tolls on all sides would be so high, nor would the physical destruction of the opposition have seemed possible.
In this new work, Wolfgang Fleischer has meticulously documented all the weaponry that was used by the Central Powers and their opponents, including machine guns, artillery guns, gas, the first armored combat vehicles and aircraft. Only submarines are missing.
Chapters in the book are:
Chapter 1: The Administration of Scarcity
The first large photo shows a field of AP ammunition. There are 2 photos of machine gun crews, a German propoganda poster, a British Mk. IV tank, three photos of artillery pieces, a photo of a R.A.F. F.E aircraft, 2 photos of German signal troops with their radios, 2 photos of No Man's Land and a shot inside a artillery factory and 7 photos inside of munition factories, showing mostly women at work in them.
Chapter 2: Machine Guns in the First World War
Shown are 27 photos of different machine guns and some technical manual illustrations of them.
Chapter 3: Trench Warfare & Geology
A photo looking down on No Man's Land, 4 maps of it, 22 photos of troops in the trenches, 2 photos of concrete emplacements with 2 photos of troops inside them, a 2 propaganda posters, line drawing of make out of a trench, German document,
Chapter 4: The Rise of Artillery
Aerial photo of No Man's Land, tech manual illustrations, photos of 31 different artillery pieces (including one mounted on a railroad car), a map and some German documents and some data lists.
Chapter 5: Tanks
A photo of a French Char Schneider, 4 tech illustrations, 24 British Mk IV and V's, a French Renault FT-17, a German A7V, a data list, a map, a German howitzer, German documents.
Next is 4 pages of color illustrations off of posters and postcards from World War I. There are 43 of these illustrations showing all sorts of things from that era.
Chapter 6: Chemical Warfare
A large photo of British soldiers who have been blinded by gas, a photo of Prof. Dr. Huber who invented German gas, shots of the German gas factory exterior and interior, illustrations of gas shells, a gas firing howitizer, illustrations of German troops under gas attack. Tech illustrations of a trench, 3 maps, 4 photos and one line drawing of soldiers wearing gas masks, German documents,
Chapter 7: From the Catapult to the Mortar
An illustration of an ancient Greek and Roman catapult, a data list, tech illustrations, 35 different mortars, 3 photos of mortar damage, 2 maps.
Chapter 8: Flamethrowers in Place of Fire Extinguishers
Photos of 4 flamethrowers in action, a photo of a horse drawn steam powered fire extinguisher, a photo of a flamethrower's fuel tank, 4 photos of soldiers carrying flamethrowers, a data list, 2 maps.
Chapter 9: Motor Vehicles in Field Grey
A tech drawing, a German truck, a British truck with a cutaway line drawing of it, a British car and ambulance, a data chart, photos of 4 different trucks on the road (country of origin ???), 2 photos of different tractors, a German truck with a howitzer mounted on it, a destroyed German truck, a line up outside a factory of trucks, French soldiers around their trucks, French trucks moving down a road, a map.
Chapter 10: From the Eye in the Sky to the Fist of the Military Leadership
A large photo of a German C-aircraft, a photo of an aerial reconnaissance camera and a shot taken with one, illustration of a aerial battle, a French Voisin 5, a Fokker D-1, a illustration of a Zepellin, a Albatros D-5, a wrecked British aircraft, photo of German bombs, a Gotha G-5, photo of bomb load beneath a German bomber, a wrecked German bomber (type unknown), 2 photos of a Zepplin-Staaken R. VI, a British Handly-Page 0/100 being bombed up by her ground crew, a Fokker D-7,
There are 241 black and white photos in the book. This is vs the 233 that it says on the description of the book on the Casemate web site.
Ten of these photos are on the paper jacket.
Total data lists in the book are 16. Technical illustrations number 52 (5 of these are on the back of the paper jacket on the book). Other illustrations number 9..
There are 15 maps in the book, 2 propoganda posters, 7 German documents and the 4 pages of 43 color illustrations mentioned already above.
This book thoroughly covers stuff used in WWI.
Highly recommended.
I want to thank the folks at Pen & Sword and Casemate who sent me this sample.
All Pen & Sword titles can be seen on Casemate's web site at:
www.casematepublishing.com
or