Author : Archibald Montgomery
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 610 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2015-07-09
Category : History
ISBN : 1331057752
The Story of the Fourth Army by Archibald Montgomery Pdf
Excerpt from The Story of the Fourth Army: In the Battles of the Hundred Days, August 8th to November 11th, 1918 There is no period in the history of the Great War which is of such transcendent interest to the soldier as that covered by this book. It is not too much to say that the events which took place in France during August, September, and October, 1918, constitute the greatest military triumph the world has ever seen. This book, which is written by a soldier for soldiers, gives the first detailed account of any of the battles of the hundred days, and, for this reason, will be most valuable to all students of military history. The moment the armistice was signed steps were taken to lay the foundation of this work whilst events were still fresh in the memories of all who were directly concerned in the operations. As is well known, no written record of a fight can produce the mechanical accuracy of a cinematograph, but every possible endeavour has been made to avoid error and ascertain the truth. The numerous maps, photographs, and sketches have been the subject of especial labour and attention. They will not only enable readers who are unacquainted with the actual terrain to form some idea of the tactical features of the ground and to realize the truly formidable nature of the obstacles which confronted the troops, but will also serve as a permanent record of the general aspect of the country as it appeared in 1918. That such a record is needed will have been apparent to all who have visited the battlefields since the armistice. The growth of vegetation has already obliterated to a great extent the scars of war, and before long the reconstruction of villages and resumption of cultivation will have so far transformed the landscape as to completely change the war aspect of the terrain. At the end of July, 1918, the opposing forces on the western front, after four years of unprecedented battling, still confronted one another without any decisive advantage having accrued to either side. The great German offensive of 1918 had no doubt failed, but the effect on the moral of the German Army, consequent on its failure, and combined with the result of the "wearing down" battles of 1916 and 1917, was still concealed from the world. We learn from the Ludendorff Memoirs that he himself dreaded, and had indeed suspected, a weakening in the German moral before this date, but to the world at large, as well as to the leaders of the Allied Armies, no reliable indication had so far been forthcoming. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
