The Verdun Regiment: Into the Furnace: The 151st Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Verdun 1916
Although the French fielded the largest number of Allied troops on the Western Front in the First World War, the story of their soldiers is little known to English readers. The immense size of the French armies, the number of battles they fought, and the enormous losses they incurred, make it difficult for us to comprehend their experience. But we can gain a genuine insight by focusing on one of the defining battles of that war, at Verdun in 1916, and by looking at it through the eyes of a small group of soldiers who served there. That is what Johnathan Bracken does in this meticulously researched, detailed and vivid account.

The French 151st Infantry Regiment spent fifty days under fire at Verdun in 1916 and another thirty-five in 1917, and lost 3,200 soldiers killed or wounded. Yet their ordeal was no different from that of hundreds of other infantry units that fought and endured in this meat-grinder of a battle. Their diaries and memoirs tell their story in the most compelling way, and through their words the larger human story of the French soldier during the war comes to life.
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The Verdun Regiment: Into the Furnace: The 151st Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Verdun 1916
Although the French fielded the largest number of Allied troops on the Western Front in the First World War, the story of their soldiers is little known to English readers. The immense size of the French armies, the number of battles they fought, and the enormous losses they incurred, make it difficult for us to comprehend their experience. But we can gain a genuine insight by focusing on one of the defining battles of that war, at Verdun in 1916, and by looking at it through the eyes of a small group of soldiers who served there. That is what Johnathan Bracken does in this meticulously researched, detailed and vivid account.

The French 151st Infantry Regiment spent fifty days under fire at Verdun in 1916 and another thirty-five in 1917, and lost 3,200 soldiers killed or wounded. Yet their ordeal was no different from that of hundreds of other infantry units that fought and endured in this meat-grinder of a battle. Their diaries and memoirs tell their story in the most compelling way, and through their words the larger human story of the French soldier during the war comes to life.
44.95 In Stock
The Verdun Regiment: Into the Furnace: The 151st Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Verdun 1916

The Verdun Regiment: Into the Furnace: The 151st Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Verdun 1916

by Johnathan Bracken
The Verdun Regiment: Into the Furnace: The 151st Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Verdun 1916

The Verdun Regiment: Into the Furnace: The 151st Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Verdun 1916

by Johnathan Bracken

Hardcover

$44.95 
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Overview

Although the French fielded the largest number of Allied troops on the Western Front in the First World War, the story of their soldiers is little known to English readers. The immense size of the French armies, the number of battles they fought, and the enormous losses they incurred, make it difficult for us to comprehend their experience. But we can gain a genuine insight by focusing on one of the defining battles of that war, at Verdun in 1916, and by looking at it through the eyes of a small group of soldiers who served there. That is what Johnathan Bracken does in this meticulously researched, detailed and vivid account.

The French 151st Infantry Regiment spent fifty days under fire at Verdun in 1916 and another thirty-five in 1917, and lost 3,200 soldiers killed or wounded. Yet their ordeal was no different from that of hundreds of other infantry units that fought and endured in this meat-grinder of a battle. Their diaries and memoirs tell their story in the most compelling way, and through their words the larger human story of the French soldier during the war comes to life.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781526710291
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Publication date: 10/11/2018
Pages: 256
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Johnathan Bracken has had a lifelong interest in history, and military history in particular, and has made a special study of the French army in the First World War. He is the president of the living-history organization, le 151e Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne, and he works as an Information Governance Analyst in New York City.

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations vii

Maps viii

Preface xvii

Timeline of Engagements of the 151st Infantry Regiment xxi

Introduction xxii

Chapter 1 To Arms 1

Chapter 2 1914: To the Hilt 8

Chapter 3 The 'D' System: French Trench Networks 27

Chapter 4 1915: The Killing Year 34

Chapter 5 Opening Operations at Verdun 76

Chapter 6 Into the Furnace 81

Chapter 7 Shellography 116

Chapter 8 A Life of Battle 122

Chapter 9 The Infernal Machine 164

Chapter 10 Closing Operations at Verdun (May-December 1916) 196

Chapter 11 From the Somme to the Armistice: 1916-18 201

Conclusion What Men Call Victory 232

Appendix I Orders of Battle 241

Appendix II Organization of the 151st Infantry Regiment 242

Notes 243

Select Bibliography 260

Index 263

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