Often times, Osprey will combine a number of out of print books that are on a similar subject into a single hardbound edition and that is what we have with War on the Western Front. This edition combines materials from Elite 78 and 84 along with Warrior 12, 16 and 79 into a concise volume covering the ground war during WWI.

The book is divided into two major sections. The first has a look at the major combatants of WWI: the Germans, French, British and American soldiers. These sections cover what it was like to be in those armies during this time. Their training, outfitting,  tactics and weapons are dealt with in some detail. There are also sections on the organization of the armies and how that changed over the course of the war.

The other section is on Trench Warfare and this section is divided into the early years of the war and then the Somme and beyond. For all practical purposes, the Somme is where there was a major shift in the way the war was fought. Prior to that, it was more like warfare of the 1800s, while afterwards, it was more like what was seen in 1939; a more technical war, if you would.

Throughout the book are superb photographs and illustrations to give the reader a real sense of not only what went on during these times, but how things changed over the course of the conflict. Much of what went on during WWI had repercussions later and some of it led directly to the rise of fascism and the next resulting war.

Overall it is an outstanding compilation and at a price that makes it a real bargain to the reader, especially this edition that is softbound. I found it a fascinating read and can highly recommend this one to you.

October 2008

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