Product Description

This crucial new study of one of the seminal events in military history dispells many of the myths surrounding Cambrai 1917. Common perception classifies it as the "world's first tank battle" but Alexander Turner shows us that the real importance of Cambrai was that it saw the first use of armor as an operational shock tactic. With the pre-eminence of armor, the conduct of war was irrevocably changed. The battle also heralded the combined use of aircraft, armor, and artillery, marking the birth of modern combined-arms techniques. Written by a military historian and serving soldier, this is a fascinating analysis of a battle which was a stalemate, yet spawned a host of war-winning tactics.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #637365 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-23
• Released on: 2007-10-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Review
"Alexander Turner's Cambrai 1917: The Birth of Armoured Warefare tells of the birth of armored warfare which saw the first use of armored vehicles in 1917. The battle of 1917 ended in a stalemate - but the tactical lessons learned from the conflict reach far into the future and hold meaning for military collections in particular." -California Bookwatch (January 2008)

"If you want insight into the first major assault or just a fascinating read, then this is the book for you. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and I'm sure you will as well." -Scott Van Aken, modellingmadness.com (November 2007)

"Altogether, especially for those who are students of mechanized combined-arms warfare, this title should be considered as mandatory reading. Those modelers with an interest in the Great War and those early tanks will also be well served. Dust off that old Emhar Mk.IV kit and have a go! Highly recommended." -Frank V. De Sisto, missing-lynx.com (November 20, 2007)

About the Author
Alexander Turner is a serving British Army officer in the Irish Guards. His operational experience includes Northern Ireland, Kosovo, the Iraq War of 2003 and service as a United Nations Military Observer. He has a BA in War Studies from King's College, London, and led a battalion battlefield tour to Vimy Ridge in 2002. The author lives in London, England.

Customer Reviews

A Solid Study of the Development of Combined Arms Warfare
British military historian Alexander Turner, a serving officer in the Irish Guards, provides a valuable and in-depth look at the landmark Battle of Cambrai in 1917. This battle was remarkable both for the first massed use of tanks by the British and by the first large-scale use of Stosstruppen tactics by the Germans on the Western Front. Although many accounts focus too heavily on the tank aspect of this battle - which was really only significant in the first 3 days of an 18-day fight - Turner does a great job filling in the combined arms picture on the contributions of infantry, artillery, cavalry and air units. Furthermore, Turner does not carried away with hand-wringing `might have beens' about the failure to use the initial success of the attack to lead to greater exploitation in depth. As Turner sees it, a big breakthrough was never in the cards and the real issue was whether or not improved artillery and infantry tactics, supported by tanks and close support fighters, could defeat fortified trench systems at a reasonable cost in lives. The answer found on 20 November 1917 was a qualified `yes.' Overall, this volume is a good addition to a First World War library.

In standard Osprey format, the opening sections discuss the origins of the campaign, the opposing leaders, opposing forces and opposing plans. The 9-page section on plans is very good and lays out how the British expected the battle to go (German counterattacks were expected after H+48) and how the Germans expected to use their new defense in depth tactics. The author provides a detailed 3-page order of battle for both sides and also has a table listing British artillery available. Only the section on opposing commanders is a bit weak, listing only 2 British and 2 German senior leaders, but no corps or division leaders.

The campaign narrative itself is 52 pages and covers the fighting in considerable detail. Readers should be able to follow most of the action on the maps provided. The author tends to discount the `tank shock' used in some other accounts and instead stresses the role of British combined arms tactics in quickly crushing most German objectives on the first day. Indeed, he notes that the Germans quickly adapted to tanks and began issuing armor-piercing ammunition to their front-line troops early in the battle. A great deal of the narrative focuses on the attritional battle for Bourlon Woods - another one of those tactical slugfests like Hougomont in 1815 or the Stalingrad Tractor Factory in 1942 that quickly causes the attacker to forget their original intent. The author faults the British intelligence effort for failing to detect the German counterattack preparations that ultimately robbed the British of much of their initial gains, as well as Field Marshal Haig for continuing the fight at Bourlon Woods for days, thereby draining British infantry reserves. In retrospect, the author also suggests that the British Army of 1917 was unready for mobile warfare when it had a brief window of opportunity on 20-21 November and was too focused on consolidating the initial objectives.

Cambrai 1917 has four 2-D Maps (3rd Army Objectives for the Cambrai Operation; British 3rd Army attacks against Bourlon Woods and Fontaine, 27 November; German counterattacks 30 November - 1 December 1917; Final Front-line positions, 7 December 1917) and three 3-D Maps (Flesquieres Ridge and a foothold in Fontaine, 20-21 November 1917; the Lunge for Canal Crossings, 20-21 November 1917; the Battle for Bourlon Wood, 23-25 November 1917). The volume could have used an extra 2-D map, showing initial attack boundaries for each British Division, as these are not depicted on the otherwise very good 3-D maps. However, the 3-D maps are focused enough to add visual impact for discrete parts of the battle. The author also includes a nice 2-D sketch map depicting tank tactics against trenches. The three battle scenes by Peter Dennis (A Tide of Iron - the advance of III Corps on 20 November 1917; the crippling of "Bandit II" in Fontaine, 23 November 1917; Stosstruppen on Canal du Nord, 1 December 1917) are superb, particularly the one showing German infantry close-assaulting the British tank `Bandit II' inside the village of Fontaine. The B/W photographs throughout the volume, mostly from the Imperial War Museum and the Tank Museum, are very good. The volume also has a short bibliography, an index and notes on the battlefield today.

CAMBRAI
R.A. Forczyk's review is very thorough and accurate. I would simply like to emphasize that the Osprey series of books are excellent and this volume on the momentous Battle of Cambrai is very well researched and supported with photos, excellent maps and awe-inspiring artwork. These books are concise, handy reference resources. You do not need to read longer, drawn out books on the Battle of Cambrai because the essential details are cleanly presented by Osprey's authors. This volume is essential to any World War One collection and is of great value to anyone studying the genesis of the tank's application in battle. Another good resource to check out would be Ironclads of Cambrai: The First Great Tank Battle a somewhat dated book but still of great value. For a "cockpit", aerial perspective of this battle, you may wish to check out Arthur Gould Lee's book NO PARACHUTE. He devotes a chapter to his experiences flying ground support missions during the Battle of Cambrai.NO PARACHUTE: A FIGHTER PILOT IN WORLD WAR I