History is only as boring as your teacher

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	• 1918: The Unexpected Victory J. H. Johnson Arms & Armour, 1998 - 208 pages average customer review:based on 3 reviews view larger image
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The last year of World War I

Exactly one year before the Armistice, on November 11, 1917, Ludendorff presided over a meeting to decide what to do in the coming spring. Russia had been knocked out of the war, which released twenty or more divisions from the Eastern Front to fight on the Western Front. However, the Americans were building up their forces in France. It was obvious to the German Supreme Command that the only chance to win the war was in the spring. Several alternatives were considered, but it was decided to separate the British from the French and push the British against the coast. This attack, Operation Michel, would put three German armies attacking one British army. To ensure success, the best men were stripped from all of the Western Front units and assembled into "Strosstruppen" (storm troop) divisions. On March 20th, over 6,000 guns fired a hurricane barrage of mixed gas and high explosive for five hours. At 9:40 AM, the bombardment turned into a creeping barrage, behind which the specially trained Strosstruppen, equipped with light machine guns and flame throwers, advanced. They found the enemy front line virtually annihilated. The Germans blew a twelve mile wide hole in the Allied line and eliminated the British 5th Army as an effective unit.

For various reasons, Operation Michel failed. The cream of the German army was decimated. The Americans continued their buildup. Johnson explains how the Germans went from having victory almost in their grasp to defeat in eight months.

My only complaint about this book is that sometimes Johnson gets bogged down with detail. At one point, he describes what individual brigades in one corps were doing during a two day period. But usually Johnson writes clearly and explains what was going on. Plus the book is full of excellent maps.

I recommend this book as a readable history of the last year of World War I.

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History is only as boring as your teacher

The book is not boring on any account. It is not an easy subject, but the author does explain the different forces behind the failure of 1917 and the success of 1918. The book is not a typical historical resource. Johnson uses forshadowing and vivid description to give it a novel quality. If you want to know more about the politics behind the stalemate and the final victory in World War I, then I would highly recommend this book.

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