If Germany Attacks: The Battle in Depth in the West (West Point Military Library) [Facsimile] [Hardcover]

Graeme Chamley Wynne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 1971 | ISBN-10: 0837150299 | ISBN-13: 978-0837150291

Initially published on the eve of the German blitzkrieg against France in 1940, this analysis of the German doctrine of defense as it evolved in 1915-1918 is often overlooked because of its misleading title. No understanding of the failure of the Allied offensives on the Western Front in World War I is adequate without reference to this work which explores the problem from the German point of view.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 343 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press Reprint (March 9, 1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0837150299
• ISBN-13: 978-0837150291
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #545,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1917-vintage German tactics, December 31, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: If Germany Attacks: The Battle in Depth in the West (West Point Military Library) (Hardcover)

This is one of the few books covering German tactics in
the mid-late WW1 period. It discusses the development of the
defense of the reverse slope of a hill, intended to isolate
attacking troops from communication with artillery support,
because of the primitive communication systems of the day.
It is primarily about platoon-level or higher tactics, and
does not focus much on those of the individual soldier. It
discusses several battles, chosen for their significance in
the development of tactical principles, rather than their
operational significance. It is essentially the story of one
colonel, who ultimately led the German defense of
Paschendaal. It was written shortly before WW2, and the
title is a reference to a chapter speculating on how WW2
would be fought; the Maginot line is taken seriously!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic With a Misleading Title, January 17, 2006

By 

Stephen M. St Onge "Stephen M. St. Onge" (Mpls, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: If Germany Attacks: The Battle in Depth in the West (West Point Military Library) (Hardcover)

During the First World War, there was a constant effort by Germany to develop new tactics, offensive and defensive. This is the story of the development of new defensive tactics, by Colonel Fritz von Lossberg and others on the German General Staff. They invented the concept of dispersed, elastic defense, based on the reverse slope, yielding to overwhelming force, then getting it back through counter-attack.

Here we have one of history's greatest tragedies. The German defensive innovations killed hundreds of thousands of Allied troops, and they are the basis of all modern infantry defense. But they developed too slowly for Germany to have a chance of winning. All they did was prolong the agony.

An extraordinarily good book for the military history buff. For the story of the development of offensive tactics, see _Stormtroop Tactics_ by Bruce I. Gudmundsson, or _Doctrine and Dogma_ by Martin Samuels.