Flesh and Steel During the Great War: The Transformation of the French Army and the Invention of Modern Warfare
The noted military historian presents an illuminating study of trench warfare during WWI—and how it influenced the French Army's evolution.
Michel Goya's Flesh and Steel during the Great War is a major contribution to our understanding of the French Army's experience on the Western Front, and how that experience impacted the future of its military theory and practice. Goya explores the way in which the senior commanders and ordinary soldiers responded to the extraordinary challenges posed by the mass industrial warfare of the early twentieth century.
In 1914 the French army went to war with a flawed doctrine, brightly-colored uniforms and a dire shortage of modern, heavy artillery. How then, over four years of relentless, attritional warfare, did it become the great, industrialized army that emerged victorious in 1918?
To show how this change occurred, the author examines the pre-war ethos and organization of the army. He describes in telling detail how, through a process of analysis and innovation, the French army underwent the deepest and fastest transformation in its history.
1129348203
Flesh and Steel During the Great War: The Transformation of the French Army and the Invention of Modern Warfare
The noted military historian presents an illuminating study of trench warfare during WWI—and how it influenced the French Army's evolution.
Michel Goya's Flesh and Steel during the Great War is a major contribution to our understanding of the French Army's experience on the Western Front, and how that experience impacted the future of its military theory and practice. Goya explores the way in which the senior commanders and ordinary soldiers responded to the extraordinary challenges posed by the mass industrial warfare of the early twentieth century.
In 1914 the French army went to war with a flawed doctrine, brightly-colored uniforms and a dire shortage of modern, heavy artillery. How then, over four years of relentless, attritional warfare, did it become the great, industrialized army that emerged victorious in 1918?
To show how this change occurred, the author examines the pre-war ethos and organization of the army. He describes in telling detail how, through a process of analysis and innovation, the French army underwent the deepest and fastest transformation in its history.
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Flesh and Steel During the Great War: The Transformation of the French Army and the Invention of Modern Warfare

Flesh and Steel During the Great War: The Transformation of the French Army and the Invention of Modern Warfare

Flesh and Steel During the Great War: The Transformation of the French Army and the Invention of Modern Warfare

Flesh and Steel During the Great War: The Transformation of the French Army and the Invention of Modern Warfare

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Overview

The noted military historian presents an illuminating study of trench warfare during WWI—and how it influenced the French Army's evolution.
Michel Goya's Flesh and Steel during the Great War is a major contribution to our understanding of the French Army's experience on the Western Front, and how that experience impacted the future of its military theory and practice. Goya explores the way in which the senior commanders and ordinary soldiers responded to the extraordinary challenges posed by the mass industrial warfare of the early twentieth century.
In 1914 the French army went to war with a flawed doctrine, brightly-colored uniforms and a dire shortage of modern, heavy artillery. How then, over four years of relentless, attritional warfare, did it become the great, industrialized army that emerged victorious in 1918?
To show how this change occurred, the author examines the pre-war ethos and organization of the army. He describes in telling detail how, through a process of analysis and innovation, the French army underwent the deepest and fastest transformation in its history.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781473886988
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Publication date: 01/24/2020
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 344
File size: 8 MB

About the Author

Michel Goya, a former colonel in the French army, teaches military history at the world-renowned Sciences Po university in Paris and is the author of a series of ground-breaking studies of modern warfare including Res militaris: de l'emploi des forces armes au XXIe sicle, Irak: Les armes du chaos and La chair et l'acier: l'invention de la guerre moderne.

Table of Contents

List of Tables vii

List of Maps and Diagrams vii

Acknowledgements viii

Publishing History ix

Foreword x

Preface xiv

Chapter 1 The Masterminds of La Revanche 1

Five Heads for One Thought 2

Creating an Intellectual Aristocracy 11

Modes of Thought 17

The 'Offensive-Minded' Men 24

Chapter 2 In Search of a Doctrine 32

War Under the Microscope 32

The 'Napoleonic Men' 39

Offensive Combat at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century 45

Modern Style and New School 53

Chapter 3 The Flaws in the Learning Process 61

Officer-Training 61

Training Insufficiencies 65

On the Eve of the War 75

Chapter 4 The Choice of Arms 79

The 'Bayonet Men' 79

The Virtuosos 82

The Strange Case of the Heavy Artillery 87

Twilight of the Cavalry 92

Assaulting the Sky 95

Chapter 5 The Test of Fire 99

The Cost of Confusion 99

Origins of the Shortcomings 103

The Turnaround 104

Chapter 6 The Pressure of the Front 117

Micro-Transformations 117

The Model of Scrabble 123

Dynamic of the Tactical Innovations 127

The Restraints on Change 130

Unsettled Time 134

Chapter 7 GHQ and Tactical Change 137

The Reshaping of Roles 137

The Assimilation Through Training 143

The Lost Paradigms 149

Chapter 8 Confronting the Trenches 164

The Industrialization of the Infantry 165

Prisoners of Glory 172

The Transformations of the Artillery 175

Cavalry of the Skies 180

Chapter 9 In the Death Zone 185

Surviving in a Nightmare 185

Courage 192

Holding on 201

Chapter 10 The Steel Fist 204

Why did Estienne's Project Succeed? 204

Painful Apprenticeship 208

The Assault Artillery Reaches Maturity 216

Chapter 11 The Grand Army of 1918 230

Preparing for a New Form of Warfare 230

France's Shock Troops 236

Mastery of the Deep Battle 241

The Combined-Arms Battlefield 244

The Model Battle 252

Conclusion 259

Appendix 1 Timeline of Operations 262

Appendix 2 Analysis of the 13th Infantry Division's Actions 267

Appendix 3 Statistical Data 274

References 276

Sources 306

Printed Sources 308

Bibliography 311

Index 320

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