Verdun: The Lost History of the Most Important Battle of World War I
Alongside Waterloo and Gettysburg, the Battle of Verdun during the First World War stands as one of history’s greatest clashes. Perfect for military history buffs, this compelling account of one of World War I’s most important battles explains why it is also the most complex and misunderstood.

Although British historians have always seen Verdun as a one-year battle designed by the German chief of staff to bleed France white, historian John Mosier’s careful analysis of the German plans reveals a much more abstract and theoretical approach. From the very beginning of the war until the armistice in 1918, no fewer than eight distinct battles were waged there. These conflicts are largely unknown, even in France, owing to the obsessive secrecy of the French high command.

Our understanding of Verdun has long been mired in myths, false assumptions, propaganda, and distortions. Now, using numerous accounts of military analysts, serving officers, and eyewitnesses, including French sources that have never been translated, Mosier offers a compelling reassessment of the Great War’s most important battle.
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Verdun: The Lost History of the Most Important Battle of World War I
Alongside Waterloo and Gettysburg, the Battle of Verdun during the First World War stands as one of history’s greatest clashes. Perfect for military history buffs, this compelling account of one of World War I’s most important battles explains why it is also the most complex and misunderstood.

Although British historians have always seen Verdun as a one-year battle designed by the German chief of staff to bleed France white, historian John Mosier’s careful analysis of the German plans reveals a much more abstract and theoretical approach. From the very beginning of the war until the armistice in 1918, no fewer than eight distinct battles were waged there. These conflicts are largely unknown, even in France, owing to the obsessive secrecy of the French high command.

Our understanding of Verdun has long been mired in myths, false assumptions, propaganda, and distortions. Now, using numerous accounts of military analysts, serving officers, and eyewitnesses, including French sources that have never been translated, Mosier offers a compelling reassessment of the Great War’s most important battle.
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Verdun: The Lost History of the Most Important Battle of World War I

Verdun: The Lost History of the Most Important Battle of World War I

by John Mosier
Verdun: The Lost History of the Most Important Battle of World War I

Verdun: The Lost History of the Most Important Battle of World War I

by John Mosier

Paperback(Reprint)

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Overview

Alongside Waterloo and Gettysburg, the Battle of Verdun during the First World War stands as one of history’s greatest clashes. Perfect for military history buffs, this compelling account of one of World War I’s most important battles explains why it is also the most complex and misunderstood.

Although British historians have always seen Verdun as a one-year battle designed by the German chief of staff to bleed France white, historian John Mosier’s careful analysis of the German plans reveals a much more abstract and theoretical approach. From the very beginning of the war until the armistice in 1918, no fewer than eight distinct battles were waged there. These conflicts are largely unknown, even in France, owing to the obsessive secrecy of the French high command.

Our understanding of Verdun has long been mired in myths, false assumptions, propaganda, and distortions. Now, using numerous accounts of military analysts, serving officers, and eyewitnesses, including French sources that have never been translated, Mosier offers a compelling reassessment of the Great War’s most important battle.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780451414632
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date: 10/07/2014
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 416
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

John Mosier, who earned his Ph.D. at Tulane University, is a professor at Loyola University in New Orleans, where he teaches courses in film, modern European literature, and the 18th-century novel. His books on the World Wars, including Verdun, The Myth of the Great War, and Hitler vs. Stalin, have given him a reputation as a leading revisionist historian.

Table of Contents

1 Battles Known and Unknown 1

2 How Political Geography Dictated Strategy 33

3 The War of the Engineers 63

4 The September Wars for Verdun 93

5 The French Riposte: October 1914-July 1915 117

6 France's Winter of Dreams and Discontent 151

7 The German Gamble 197

8 The Most Famous Battle: February-March 1916 241

9 Panic, Politicians, and Pétain: April-July 1916 263

10 Revanche and Revision: October 1916-August 1917 293

11 The Last Battles: September-October 1918 313

12 A Conclusion of Sorts: The Temptations of Myth 323

Endnotes 335

Index 375

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From the Publisher

“Mr. Mosier [is] one of the more entertainingly contrarian military historians writing today.”—The Washington Times

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