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Remembered Today:

"The Last Battle" by Peter Hart


scott_dog

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I received an Advance Reader's Copy in return for an honest review:

 

The Great War has fascinated for decades, we are assailed by images of mass slaughter and the pointlessness of the war.  Names like Passchendaele and the Somme are well known to all readers of Great War history.  The fact that the Allies, and Britain in particular, won the war is often almost overlooked, yet the years of pain were not in vain.  In the last three months of the war, the allies advanced miles into German held territory driving all before them, not without cost of course, but reaping the benefit of lessons learned, of the combined arms of an experienced continental army.

 

The “100 days” that led to the end of the war and the capitulation of Germany is graphically described in Peter Hart’s “The Last Battle”.  Drawing extensively on the letters and memoirs of those who were there we are shown how the French army, tired and disillusioned, finds the will under Foch and Petain for a final push, the British under Haig, having become a formidable force, push relentlessly driving the Germans back, and the Americans, under Pershing, callow and naive, newly arrived, immense in numbers, but heavily dependent on the other allies for materiel, ammunitions, guns and aircraft, choose to learn the hard way and largely ignore the lessons of the previous four years.  And of course we hear from the enemy, the Germans who also fight and die, the men in the front line discovering defeat and learning of the collapse of society at home.

 

An extremely readable and engaging book, all scholars of the Great War will find Peter Hart’s style easy to read and the words of the men who were there, moving.

 

Endgame.jpg

 

Edited by scott_dog
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Advance review copy perhaps?

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  • Admin

I have had to hide some posts which could have caused trouble for GWF (along with some which were fine but related to the missing posts) If you have nothing nice to say about the book, at least say it in a nice way and without accusations.

 

Glen

GWF Admin Team

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  • spof locked this topic
  • AlanCurragh unlocked this topic

I know Peter Hart through his Gallipoli 1915 Face Book Page. I have nothing but admiration for him and have read his books "Somme" and "Gallipoli" and look forward to this one.

Regarding disrespectful posters, and I didn’t read their removed comments on this thread, there exists on GWF some people who consider themselves the font of all knowledge on various subject and show nothing but contempt for other people’s contributions if they don’t agree with their own views. I have been the "victim" of such knowalls but prefer to ignore their disparaging and rude remarks. 

Rant over.

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Hi,

 

Delighted to see so many of the glitterati taking an interest in my new book, although surprised to see so many attacks on the reviewing style of a relatively new member to the Great War Forum.

 

I look forward to seeing your similar analysis of all the other reviews of books on here - do all of them meet your high standards?

 

I have no idea as to what what you are hinting at, or indeed why it is so important to you as you have not read the book, but perhaps you would like to clearly state what you thing Scott Galloway is guilty of?  Also what are my publishers guilty of in sending out advance reading copies? Are you like your lamented predecessor saying that a financial inducement was offered?

 

No hints, no flannel - just say what you mean! Then perhaps we can take it from there?

 

Cheers,

 

Pete

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15 minutes ago, PMHart said:

No hints, no flannel - just say what you mean! Then perhaps we can take it from there?

 

     Quite enjoyed it-am I allowed to say that?  Written for literate general market. Hits the mark spot on.  Not a boring staff history, nor an idiotic "Great War for Dummies" type of book. 

PS- Thank you for speaking to us at WFA East London

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Wow. I regard myself as a friend of Pete's, although we do fall out frequently over matters political, where as friends, broadly on the same side of politics, we actually manage very considerable differences in our approach.

 

OK, I had the benefit of a review copy too, and willingly prepared a review that I plan to post on Amazon once the book is officially published. In writing it I didn't feel under any obligation to avoid criticism, regardless of whether he buys me a pint when I meet him next. it did move me however to produce a review. No other reward is unfortunately on offer.

 

I quite enjoyed the book; I think it is aimed at the same market as most of his books, not the expert, but for the seriously interested reader who wants to learn, but not from a fully academic presentation. I drafted a review with Amazon in mind,  and seeing this storm in the minor teacup that we are in the GWF, I wondered whether to redraft it given that I wrote it with potentially a less informed general reader in mind. Well the rugby is on the box soon, so here it is as prepared earlier.  BTW the words are entirely my own, as will be evident to those who know me and my racy style of drafting. I expect no commission or fee.

 

Here you are:

 

In choosing his title Peter Hart rightly avoided the easy and misleading option of the 100 days. That was always just a simplistic shorthand for the final stages of the war on the Western Front. The post war “Battle Nomenclature Committee” takes three pages to name the battles from 20 July to November 11th under the title “The Advance to Victory”, but as these followed each other with startling rapidity it is entirely reasonable to describe them collectively as “The Last Battle”. 

After setting the scene, his narrative really commences with the attack of the French and American armies on the Marne on 18th July 1918. Mr Hart then tracks the succession of engagements and massive battles that ended with the German army still fighting, but totally defeated and the signing of the Armistice on 11 November.

The book is limited to the fighting on the Western Front; understandably, not just because of space, but also because with all respect to the role played by the allied navies and the side shows, it was on the Western Front where the war had to be won. As with Mr. Hart’s earlier military histories the book flows smoothly and is easy to read. The human effect of war is demonstrated by some personal narratives culled from the archives of the Imperial War Museum, and it is likely that some of these were recorded by the author in his day job as the oral historian of that institution.

Unlike some volumes the part played by American and French troops in the fighting of this period is given proper weight. Each stage of the fighting is introduced with a description of the geography and the tactical background and its planned objective, before the narrative relates how the action developed. The time devoted to the high command on both sides is necessarily limited, but is covered in sufficient detail to show how Foch as overall commander, and Haig commanding all the British and Empire forces  surprised and confounded their critics, not least Lloyd George and Winston Churchill, by winning the war in 1918 while the politicians were planning to win it in the following year.

This is not an academic book, but it takes modern scholarship into account, and there are quite sufficient references in the notes to provide the more enthusiastic reader with much follow up reading. Mr Hart is a military historian, and focusses on the battles that brought the war to an end. For the social and industrial changes that enabled Britain to field, equip, and sustain, such a formidable force of British and Imperial troops the reader must look elsewhere, but for a narrative that draws together the final and inevitably costly phases of the Great War, while continuing to show the impact not just in numbers, but in the words of veterans who survived this is an excellent overview, ideal for the newcomer to the last few months of the fighting, but it also has much for those more deeply involved in the military aspects of the war.

I had the benefit of a review copy.

 

Keith

 

Strictly posting in a personal capacity, and not as a MOD.

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Keith,

 

Thank you ... a nicely balanced and analytical review that informs me what I can expect 'between the covers' .  From my limited experience, informative book reviews tell me the structure, if it is 'readable', does it have recognizable or distracting flaws (with examples, if relevant), and finish with a 'thumbs up' or down, as the case may be. In the end, it is the reviewer's opinion, of course. Every review provides useful information in one degree or another, with a well-written review such as yours leaving the reader in little doubt as to whether the book is worth the cost of adding it to their particular library. 

 

Peter - congratulations on another publication that adds yet more to our understanding of the Great War. It's b****y hard work bringing a manuscript to publication, and I thank you for it. 

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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When I developed an interest in the Great War back in 2011 I found the writings of John Terraine, Lyn MacDonald and Peter Hart an ideal introduction to the events that occurred on the Western Front. When my interest expanded to Gallipoli Pete's book was a brilliant introduction. Since then I have toured Gallipoli with Pete and now count him (and Keith) as friends.  Chatting with Pete about his forthcoming book,  The Last Battle , I found myself offering to do some proof reading.  So I have read a couple of versions of the book and also have an advance copy. This copy and a mention in the acknowledgements are all I get for my contribution - and the knowledge that a sentence of mine has made it into print in a proper book!

 

I like Pete's style, it's far more accessible and readable than all but a very few academic tomes. As history his books are clearly aimed at those with an interest in, but not necessarily a great knowledge of, the events described. If you've read one of his books before nothing about the style will be a surprise. If you are already an expert on the final days of the war I doubt there will be a lot new here,  One aspect that is, perhaps, different from past books is the first hand accounts from the German side - largely courtesy Jack Sheldon. 

 

I certainly enjoyed reading of a period that I knew little about and it was nice to be able to correct grammatical errors rather than moan about them! It was also an interesting experience to review grammar in the light of someone else's style - grammar is a fairly flexible beast at times and the book would not be a Peter Hart book if it didn't read like a Peter Hart book.  It's certainly not written as I would have written it - and it's all the better for it. 

 

And yes,  I am well aware that he will blame me and my fellow proof reader for all grammatical errors spotted!  I will, of course, blame John!

 

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Is this a book written by a committee then with PH as the Chairman?

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I did not see these negative comments before they were deleted or modded as such.

 

However I have always found Peters books informative, well written and enjoyable to read. Maybe I would like more detail on some of the subjects Peter covers, however this book I do not believe is aimed at experts but for those with a general interest wanting to increase their knowledge of the subject.

 

Andy

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I have several of Peter Hart's books and this one will end up on my shelf in due course. I quite enjoy his usual deployment of first-hand accounts and have recently enjoyed a work on Gallipoli by Richard van Emden which follows the same pattern.

 

Bernard

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There is a rather lively and compelling podcast by an American military history enthusiast.  His name is Dan Carlin and his history podcast goes under the title Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History.  He devoted several episodes - each one of some four hours duration, to the Great War, and pitches those under the title Blueprint for Armageddon .

 

I mention this because Dan Carlin regularly cites Peter’s books : he clearly finds him the most readable and convincing of the many authors that he deploys for reference, and states that he considers him to be a very fair and authoratitive writer.   

 

So....there you are, then !

 

Phil

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Many of the books on my shelves have come from charity shops and car boot sales, I have none of Peter's amongst them. (something I plan to remedy, based on a review or two!).

 

19 minutes ago, phil andrade said:

So....there you are, then !

 

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No doubt this work will be on sale at an enticing price, signed or unsigned, at the GWF conference in April. I will reserve judgment until then.

 

Cheers Martin B

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57 minutes ago, Martin Bennitt said:

No doubt this work will be on sale at an enticing price, signed or unsigned, at the GWF conference in April. I will reserve judgment until then.

 

Cheers Martin B

 He claims not!

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2 hours ago, squirrel said:

Is this a book written by a committee then with PH as the Chairman?

 

There are books that aren't proof read and it usually shows!

 

 

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2 hours ago, Muerrisch said:

The same applies to reviews

:lol: Can't argue with that!

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Here is my two penn'orth about PH's latest book. I think that it does what it sets out to do and does it well.  Herewith my review:

 

There is much to like and admire about this book, the latest in a long line of Great War titles by Peter Hart. As an acknowledged master of the genre, he once more displays great skill in choosing and placing in  context witness statements that illustrate and expand on the points he is highlighting. There is always a risk with this type of book that the author, in trying to expand the appeal of the book to a broad audience, neglects the analysis necessary to lift the work out of the purely popular category. Peter Hart, however, is too knowledgeable and too experienced an historian to fall into that particular trap.

 

Beginning with short, but comprehensive, summary of events and developments which led up to the final autumn of the war which is his main focus, it is pleasing to see that Hart has not confined himself to a narrow Anglocentric view of the time and written in terms a final One Hundred Days, with its echoes of the Waterloo campaign of 1815 because, as he correctly points out, the failed German attacks east and west of Reims on 15 July 1918, followed immediately by a massive offensive by the French Tenth Army that smashed into the Soissons - Chateau Thierry - Reims salient, were what definitively marked the final turning of the tide on the Western Front. Before Second Marne, the German high command had the initiative that year and could strike more or less as and when it saw fit. After that battle the boot was on the other foot as Marshal Foch coordinated a series of decisive actions by the French, British and American armies that led rapidly to the total defeat of their enemy. In their totality, these linked offensives reduced an increasingly ineffective German army into a purely reactive mode, forcing it from one position (described in some cases by Crown Prince Rupprecht as geographical descriptions rather than defensive lines) to another until it was left with no choice but to sue for an end to hostilities.

 

Succeeding chapters describe the intense fighting in the Meuse-Argonne where determined, but barely trained American troops fought naively, but with gallantry so extraordinary that it was repeatedly commented on by the German defenders, then continue with the battles for the successive canal and river lines and the final fighting up in Flanders. In his inimitable way Hart brings these largely forgotten actions into the light of day, coupling vivid eyewitness accounts with a commentary that is always well informed and to the point. This, however, is not a one-sided account. Interwoven are all the trials, tribulations and vicissitudes experienced by the Germans from the rarefied heights of Supreme Army Headquarters to those confronting enormous battlefield odds, who went on trying to continue the fight in the face of one crisis after another. Half starved, engaged in  a hopeless cause, as drastic shortages of men and horse bit, the hapless Feldgrauen paid a huge price as the war drew to a close and this is well reflected by Hart.

 

That said, he quite rightly also lays great stress on the dreadful cost to the advancing armies, confronted as they were by a succession of apparently endless, exhausting, attacks across open ground to villages, towns and ridge lines which may have been weakly held, but were frequently defended with bitter obstinacy by tough, hard bitten soldiers who benefitted from ever increasing automation of the battle field. In one four week period of August 1918, for example, although rifle production in Germany had halved compared with the situation a year earlier, no fewer than 11,354 machine guns were added to the inventory and deployed where they dominated the battlefields, but were hard to detect or supress. By this stage virtually all front line infantrymen were being trained on these weapons and they used them to devastating effect. This goes a long way to explain how it was that with surrenders occurring on a vast scale all along the Western Front, those Germans who fought on nevertheless continued to inflict huge numbers of casualties right up until 11 November, a day when there were no fewer than 11,000 Allied casualties, almost 3,000 of them killed in action.

 

The book concludes with a brief consideration of the aftermath, which includes some very interesting material relating to the early occupation of the Rhineland. There is surely a place for a modern detailed account of that period, but it falls outside the scope of this book. Once again Hart's research has been meticulous and it shows. The result is a thoroughly readable, yet authoritative account of one of the most dramatic periods of 20th Century history, one which deserves to be better known. It merits a place on the bookshelf of every serious student of the Great War and I cannot recommend it too strongly.

 

Jack

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Hello all. 

 Just to ask, when the does the book come on sale? Looking forward to it. Thanks to those who took the time to post reviews.

 

Cheers all.

Gary.

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On 01/02/2018 at 08:47, scott_dog said:

 

Quote

 

I received an Advance Reader's Copy in return for an honest review:

 

The “100 days” that led to the end of the war and the capitulation of Germany is graphically described in Peter Hart’s “The Last Battle”.  Drawing extensively on the letters and memoirs of those who were there we are shown how the French army, tired and disillusioned, finds the will under Foch and Petain for a final push, the British under Haig, having become a formidable force, push relentlessly driving the Germans back, and the Americans, under Pershing, callow and naive, newly arrived, immense in numbers, but heavily dependent on the other allies for materiel, ammunitions, guns and aircraft, choose to learn the hard way and largely ignore the lessons of the previous four years.

 

 

 

 

The French weren't the only ones who were "tired and disillusioned", to put it politely, though of course "bled white" of their best men would be a more accurate description.

 

 The Americans could perhaps be forgiven for ignoring lessons they had not witnessed.  What defence can be offered for those who ignored lessons that happened less than a day's journey from their Chateaux?

Edited by 2ndCMR
Attempting to get outside the quote box!
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