Product Description

The struggle between Germany and the Allies along the Western Front is for many the most familiar element of World War I. However, many less well-known theatres of conflict, key to the overall progress and conduct of the war, hold as much relevance to both the traveller and the armchair enthusiast. In this work, the author sheds light on the fighting methods of the protagonists in less familiar settings, whether in the Italian Alps or in the cloying heat of the Greek coast. In the first weeks of fighting, stubborn Belgian resistance resulted in a desperate battle to stabilize the front and compelled the German advance to be diverted against the British at Ypres. French determination to win back Alsace-Lorraine plunged the Vosges region into fluid conflict for over a year from August 1914 before both sides realized the impossibility of a decisive success in this area. The three-year struggle between Italy and Austria across the alpine passes was to draw German, British and French forces into the region. Anglo-French assistance to the Serbs through Salonika produced a standoff between the Allies and the Central Powers which was only to be resolved in the last months of the war.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #807204 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 136 pages

About the Author
Martin Marix Evans graduated in law from the University of Cambridge moving from a career in publishing to found his own book packaging company. He lives in Northamptonshire. Martin has written more than twenty books on aspects of military history, including Ypres in War and Peace and the Fall of France: Act With Daring.

Customer Reviews

A good summary of lesser known battlefields of WW1
These battlefronts are `Forgotten' only in terms of their relative unpopularity compared with the mainstream areas of the British front line on the Western Front. There is ample existing copy available for each of them, as the bibliography makes clear, but this book brings together the basic story in a readily readable and condensed format. That said, Evans takes us to nine lesser known battlefields and gives an outline of the topography, archaeology and a narrative battle history of the areas. The use of photographs showing the modern day context is excellent and adds to the isolation of the battlefronts, both in time as well as consciousness.
As well as examining three Belgian actions that generally do not get much exposure he concentrates on Italy, Salonika and the Voges. In each case he identifies archaeological evidence of the war, some obvious some less so, and invites us to reflect on how the sometimes maligned participants from Austria, Italy and Bulgaria did a fine job in defending or attacking positions. It is also sobering that some of the pistes on today's ski resorts were once battlefields. Compare the pictures of the Italian Alpini, skis slung over shoulders, with your holiday snaps.
As an introduction to these lesser exposed battlefields this book is good. It provokes further reading because it stimulates interest. One wonders if the forgotten battlefront of Mesopotamia will be able to be added to similar examination sometime soon?


Mike McCarthy
Editor, "The Battle Guide"
Guild of Battlefield Guides.