The Generals' War

Operational Level Command on the Western Front in 1918

David T Zabecki author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Indiana University Press

Published:1st Sep '18

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Generals' War cover

Known as the War to End all Wars and the Great War, World War I introduced new forms of mass destruction and modern technological warfare. When the Bolsheviks pulled Russia out of the war in late 1917, the Germans turned their offensive efforts to the Western Front in an attempt to win the war in 1918. But as fresh American troops entered Europe, the strategic scales tipped against Germany.


Much of how World War I played out turned on the plans and decisions of the senior-most German and Allied commanders. The Generals' War explores the military strategies of those generals during the last year of the Great War. These six very different men included Germany's Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and General Erich Ludendorff; France's Marshals Ferdinand Foch and Philippe Pétain; Great Britain's Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig; and the United States' General John Pershing. Although history remembers none of them as great captains, these six officers determined for better or worse how World War I was fought on the battlefields of the Western Front between November 1917 and November 1918.


The Generals' War is a landmark exploration of the generalship that shaped the very framework of modern warfare as we know it today and provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis on the senior commanders of the Great War.

[Zabecki's] work is an excellent synthesis of . . . often complex and diverse arguments, and his analysis is also aided by his background as a major general. This experience with high command often shines through in his astute and insightful criticism of the operational decision-making and biases of his subjects. Consequently, Zabecki's work offers useful insights for both scholars of the First World War and more casual military history enthusiasts alike.

* H-War *

"This meticulously-researched study provides new knowledge and new perspectives about — and gives new insights into — what is known as the war to end all wars. If you ever thought you knew everything or enough about World War I, The Generals' War will prove you wrong."

* The Washington BookRevi

ISBN: 9780253037015

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

440 pages