Der Weltkrieg 1914 bis 1918

[bob lembke]

I know! I know! These books are not unit histories. There is a category for Unit Histories (here), and a sub-forum for War Diaries, but none for Official Histories.

I have the volumes 1 thru 12, sometimes in duplicate or triplicate (if you buy a number at a time sometimes you get a good price, at the cost of duplicates), and a couple of the supplimental volumes (the economic and railreoad volumes), but I gather that the last two volumes were completed during WW II, and not published right away. But I have heard rumors of them coming out in some form.

Anyone have a clue here?

Bob Lembke

[Glenn J]

Bob,

I don't know about available.

I have copies of volumes 13 and 14 plus the supplemental map and annex volume to volume 14. The originals were published mid to late World War 2 on a limited basis and bizarrely "Nür für den Dienstgebrauch". The Bundesarchiv published reprints of both volumes in 1956, although presumably on not too grand a scale as they appear to be rather rare! I picked up the two plus the map volume at a flea market in Paderborn a few years ago for the princely sum of €40. Here is the title page of volume 13.

Regards

Glenn

[bob lembke]

Glenn;

Many thanks for that info. Are your copies the original edition or the reprints?

You are one of the two or three absolute experts that I had hoped would see my post and respond.

By the way, I was able to get a copy of the Feuerwerker Ehrenbuch, with my grand-father's article, that you kindly provided me with years ago. By the markings on it it sat in my local post office for 2-3 months before someone bothered to deliver it to me. I suspect that someone was wondering how to get such a large package out of the post office without being noticed, and then they finally gave up. (The customs declaration states the price of the book.) Perhaps I am a cynic.

Bob

[Glenn J]

Bob,

mine are the 1956 reprints. The only downside, being the fact that the maps were not reproduced in colour.

Yes, the old old Feuerwerker book is quite a hefty tome!

Regards

Glenn

[SWorrall]

'Germany's Western Front': M.O. Humphries and J. Maker (2011, Wilfred Laurier University Press) has a Foreword by Prof. Hew Strachan.

In there he claims that the 1956 publication ran to only 500 copies of each volume, and took until 1975 to sell out.

You will both be familiar with the volume I refer to, which is a very good translation of parts of the 1915 volumes of 'Der Weltkrieg'.

The 1914 volume translation is due out this year. I, for one, am looking forward to it. Along with Ralph Whitehead's 'The other side of the WIre: vol. 2'.

One can hope that as the WLU series continues, then these rare volumes will also be made available to English-speakers.

Some good work now being done on placing information about the German part in the Great War into the English language.

Our Pal Jack Sheldon can be mentioned in the same context, of course.

Simon.