Download or read book French Tanks of the Great War written by Tim Gale and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-08-31 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A detailed history of France’s development of tanks and the combat the tanks served in during World War I, by an armored warfare expert. The French tank corps was an essential part of the French army from 1917 onwards, yet its history has been strangely neglected in English accounts of the Western Front. Using information derived from the French military archives at Vincennes—much of which has never been published in English before—author Tim Gale describes the design and development of the tanks, the political and organizational issues that arose between the French military and civilian bureaucracy, and the record of these pioneering fighting vehicles in combat. All the major engagements in which French tanks participated are depicted in graphic detail, often quoting directly from recollections left by individual tank commanders of their experience in battle, and each operation is assessed in terms of its impact on French tactics in general and on tank tactics in particular. The Nivelle offensive and the battles of Malmaison, the Matz, Soissons, and Champagne are featured in the narrative, and the actions of the French tanks serving with the U.S. army are covered, too. Much of the material in Tim Gale’s study will be entirely new to non-French speakers. The story will be fascinating reading for anyone who is interested in the Great War, the French army, military innovation and the history of armored warfare. Praise for French Tanks of the Great War “Gale’s book . . . is very easy to dip into.” —Military Modelling “It is a wealth of information and I would definitely recommend it.” —Forgotten Weapons

Download or read book The French Army s Tank Force and Armoured Warfare in the Great War written by Tim Gale and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-16 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent scholarship has challenged the assumption that military commanders during the First World War were inflexible, backward-looking and unwilling to exploit new technologies. Instead a very different picture is now emerging of armies desperately looking to a wide range of often untested and immature scientific and technological innovations to help break the deadlock of the Western Front. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the development of tank warfare, which both the British and the French hoped would give them a decisive edge in their offensives of 1917 and 1918. Whilst the British efforts to develop armoured warfare have been well chronicled, there has been no academic study in English on the French tank force - the Artillerie Spéciale - during the Great War. As such, this book provides a welcome new perspective on an important but much misunderstood area of the war. Such was the scale of the French tanks’ failure in their first engagement in 1917, it was rumoured that the Artillerie Spéciale was in danger of being disbanded, yet, by the end of the war it was the world’s largest and most technologically advanced tank force. This work examines this important facet of the French army’s performance in the First World War, arguing that the AS fought the war in as intelligent and sensible a manner as was possible, given the immature state of the technology available. No amount of sound tank doctrine could compensate for the fragility of the material, for the paucity of battlefield communication equipment and for the lack of tank-infantry training opportunities. Only by 1918 was the French army equipped with enough reliable tanks, as well as aircraft and heavy-artillery, to begin to exercise a mastery of the new form of combined-arms warfare. The successful French armoured effort outlined in this study (including a listing of all the combat engagements of the French tank service in the Great War) highlights a level of military effectiveness within

Download or read book The French Army s Tank Force and Armoured Warfare in the Great War written by Tim Gale and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-16 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent scholarship has challenged the assumption that military commanders during the First World War were inflexible, backward-looking and unwilling to exploit new technologies. Instead a very different picture is now emerging of armies desperately looking to a wide range of often untested and immature scientific and technological innovations to help break the deadlock of the Western Front. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the development of tank warfare, which both the British and the French hoped would give them a decisive edge in their offensives of 1917 and 1918. Whilst the British efforts to develop armoured warfare have been well chronicled, there has been no academic study in English on the French tank force - the Artillerie Spéciale - during the Great War. As such, this book provides a welcome new perspective on an important but much misunderstood area of the war. Such was the scale of the French tanks’ failure in their first engagement in 1917, it was rumoured that the Artillerie Spéciale was in danger of being disbanded, yet, by the end of the war it was the world’s largest and most technologically advanced tank force. This work examines this important facet of the French army’s performance in the First World War, arguing that the AS fought the war in as intelligent and sensible a manner as was possible, given the immature state of the technology available. No amount of sound tank doctrine could compensate for the fragility of the material, for the paucity of battlefield communication equipment and for the lack of tank-infantry training opportunities. Only by 1918 was the French army equipped with enough reliable tanks, as well as aircraft and heavy-artillery, to begin to exercise a mastery of the new form of combined-arms warfare. The successful French armoured effort outlined in this study (including a listing of all the combat engagements of the French tank service in the Great War) highlights a level of military effectiveness within

Download or read book Armoured Warfare written by Alaric Searle and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-02-09 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book charts the history of armoured warfare from the first use of the tank in 1916 right through to the 21st century, adopting military, political and global perspectives. Alaric Searle explores the origins of the tank, the part it played in the First World War and its contribution to the outcome of the war. He considers its role as a tool of propaganda, the military controversies of the interwar period and the employment of armoured forces in all the major theatres in the Second World War. Since the First World War, major and medium-sized powers have invested heavily in armoured forces. Searle looks at the conduct of mechanised warfare in Korea, Indo-China and Vietnam, and during conflicts such as the Arab-Israeli Wars and the Gulf Wars. Armoured Warfare adopts a global perspective, providing the most comprehensive survey of the history of the subject currently available. With a detailed bibliography of both primary and secondary sources, it is an ideal companion for those studying armoured warfare, modern military history and war studies.

Download or read book Tanks in the Great War 1914 1918 written by John Frederick Charles Fuller and published by London : J. Murray. This book was released on 1920 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents the history of the British Tank Corps and the history of Great Britain's tanks. The author summarizes the campaigns of World War I emphasizing the role of the tanks during each of the battles.

Download or read book Tanks in the Great War 1914 18 written by J. F. C. Fuller and published by Leonaur Limited. This book was released on 2020-01-13 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From experimental tractor to victory--the story of tanks in the Great War This comprehensive and erudite perspective of the development and actions of allied battle tanks was written by a British Army officer who was the Chief General Staff Officer of Tank Corps during the First World War from the end of 1916 to August, 1918 and is therefore written from a position of undeniable authority on its subject. The tank force in action on the battlefield on the Western Front and in the Middle East is described in detail and all the engagements in which tanks took part are fully considered. Also covered are tank tactics, mechanical engineering, crew training, supply companies, signalling and other aspects of armoured warfare including cooperation with air forces. Allied tank forces, notably the French and American contributions are also described, as are the endeavours of the Germans both in terms of developing tanks and their measures to destroy allied tank attacks. Light tanks and Armoured cars are also covered by this excellent book which includes numerous excellent photographs, diagrams and maps. Essential reading for all students of armoured warfare in the modern age. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.

Download or read book Tank Warfare written by Jeremy Black and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2020-11-03 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the battlefield in the 20th century was dominated by a handful of developments. Foremost of these was the introduction and refinement of tanks. In Tank Warfare, prominent military historian Jeremy Black offers a comprehensive global account of the history of tanks and armored warfare in the 20th and 21st centuries. First introduced onto the battlefield during the World War I, tanks represented the reconciliation of firepower and mobility and immediately seized the imagination of commanders and commentators concerned about the constraints of ordinary infantry. The developments of technology and tactics in the interwar years were realized in the German blitzkrieg in World War II and beyond. Yet the account of armor on the battlefield is a tale of limitations and defeats as well as of potential and achievements. Tank Warfare examines the traditional narrative of armored warfare while at the same time challenging it, and Black suggests that tanks were no "silver bullet" on the battlefield. Instead, their success was based on their inclusion in the general mix of weaponry available to commanders and the context in which they were used.

Download or read book French Tanks of World War II 1 written by Steven J. Zaloga and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-02-20 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first of two volumes covering the French armor of World War II, this title looks at the infantry and battle tanks that faced the onslaught of the German Blitzkrieg in 1940. Many of the French tanks were intended as replacements for the World War I-era Renault FT, and various modernization efforts throughout the inter-war years had given rise to a number of new infantry tanks, including the Renault R35 and R40, FCM 36, and the Hotchkiss H35 and H39. Alongside these developments was a separate family of battle tanks, starting with the Renault D1, D2, and, finally, the best-known French tank of the campaign – the Char B1 bis. French Tanks of World War II (1) offers a background to the design and development of these tank types, and an evaluation of their performance in the Battle of France.

Download or read book Armoured Warfare in the First World War written by Anthony Tucker-Jones and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-11-30 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A hundred years ago, on 15 September 1916, on the Western Front during the Battle of the Somme, the tank made its debut on the battlefield. The first tanks were crude, unreliable, vulnerable weapons, but they changed the character of land warfare forever, and Anthony Tucker-Jones's photographic history of these pioneering armored vehicles is the ideal introduction to them. In a selection of over 150 archive photographs he offers a fascinating insight into the difficult early days of this innovative new weapon, describing its technical history and its performance in combat. While the Battle of Cambrai in 1917 is often held up as the first large-scale tank battle, tanks had already served at Flers-Courcelette on the Somme, during the Nivelle offensive and the battles of Messines and Passchendaele. His book shows that the development of the tank was fraught with technical obstacles and battlefield setbacks. It was invented by the British and the French at almost the same time to help break the deadlock of trench warfare, and the British deployed it first in 1916. Belatedly the Germans followed the British and French example. The initial designs were continuously refined during two years of intense warfare. Finding the right balance between power and weight, getting the armament right, and working out the best tactics for tanks on the battlefield was a tricky, often deadly business.

Download or read book Tank Tactics written by Roman Jarymowycz and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2008-12-17 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the doctrinal, strategic, and tactical ideas behind World War II tank combat Contains detailed maps and diagrams Critiques the performances of commanders like George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and others Focusing on five Allied tank operations from July to September 1944--Operations Goodwood, Cobra, Totalize, and Tractable and Patton's tank battles around Arracourt--armor expert Roman Jarymowycz draws on after-action reports, extensive battlefield reconnaissance, recently discovered battle performance reviews, and war diaries to evaluate the successes and failures of the art of armored warfare as practiced by Allied tank commanders in France in 1944.

Download or read book French Tanks of World War I written by Steven J. Zaloga and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-12-20 with total page 99 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title examines the emergence of the first modern tank, the Renault FT. It is a little known fact that France fielded more tanks in World War I than any other army. However, France's early tanks suffered from poor mobility and armor compared to their contemporaries. Indeed, their initial use on the Chemin des Dames in 1917 was a bloody fiasco. In spite of initial set-backs, the French army redeemed its reputation with the Renault FT. The Renault FT pioneered the modern tank design, with armament in a revolutionary central turret and the engine in the rear. More importantly, the Renault was designed to be cheap and easy to manufacture. Discover the history of the early French armor developments and their triumphant new design, the Renault FT, that helped to turn the tide of war in the favor of the Allies.

Download or read book Tanks In The Great War 1914 1918 Illustrated Edition written by Major-General J.F.C. Fuller DSO and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes more than 30 maps, plans and diagrams The world-renowned military expert Major-General J.F.C. Fuller DSO, noted for his many works on military strategy, tactics and history, turns his attention to the famed Royal Tank Corps of World War I. He was in a particularly good position to write such a work as he served from 1916 as part of the Tanks Corps and planned the famous tank attack at Cambrai in 1917, he also took a leading role in the planning of the 1918 autumn offensives that broke the back of German resistance and ended the War. He covers in comprehensively the development of the tank, mechanical characteristics of early British tanks, particularly the Mark I, as well as the early battles at the Somme and Ancre. He also describes the growth of the Tank Corps itself, tank tactics, tank engineering plus the tank battles in 1917-1918. There are also appreciations of German, French and American tank activities.

Download or read book Tank Warfare written by Kenneth Macksey and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-11-20 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating and detailed insight into tank warfare, from introduction during World War I to the war in Vietnam. After its introduction during the First World War, the tank revolutionised warfare, and proved to be a terrifying and efficient machine of war. Kenneth Macksey provides a study of the policy-makers and tank strategists, the technical and tactical development, as well as presenting the story of the tank on the battlefield the split-second decisions, the battle-weary crews and the endless mud in this fascinating and detailed account of tank warfare.

Download or read book Tank Warfare the Story of the Tanks in the Great War written by F. Mitchell and published by . This book was released on 2006-06-01 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Tank Warfare written by F. Mitchell and published by . This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author describes the preliminaries to the first tank v tank battle in history, which took place on 24th April 1918 near Cachy, some 2 miles SW of Villers Bretonneux; for his part in the action he received the immediate award of the MC. This is just one of the many actions recounted in this book, including that which won the first VC for the new Corps, awarded to Capt C.Robertson in Oct 1917 during Third Ypres. He describes all the tank battles beginning with their first appearance on the Somme in September 1916. But we also see the home front, the training of crews, the technology and the characteristics of the new weapon. There is a brief note on the use of tanks in Egypt, on French and American experiences. The author wrote this book in 1933 so he concludes his book with an analysis of what the tank achieved during the war, descriptions of the post-war armoured vehicles, tanks and others, and his view of tanks in the future. There is a useful glossary of tank terms.

Download or read book La Salamandre written by Tim Gale and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 618 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: This thesis examines the French tank service, the Artillerie Speciale, and its evolution during the Great War in the context of the development of offensive warfare in the French Army. Consideration of the competition for resources, both of material and personnel, with other parts of the army is made. There is a discussion of the difficulties of manufacture and how this was organised within the French state. The development of ideas about armoured warfare in the French army is examined in the context of four major French tank engagements; the Nivelle Offensive, the Battle of Malmaison, the Battle of Soissons and the Battle of Somme-Py. The French tanks first saw action in the disastrous Nivelle Offensive and this required a rapid re-evaluation of ideas about tank employment. The Battle of Malmaison was used by Petain to experiment with new approaches to tactics, in particular tank-tactics. Soissons was the first large-scale surprise attack by the French army, used here to illustrate the use of tanks in a surprise offensive battle. The Battle of Somme-Py in Champagne shows how tanks could be used in an attack on a heavily-fortified position. The conclusion weighs up the contribution of the AS to the success of the French army during the war.

Download or read book Toward Combined Arms Warfare written by Jonathan Mallory House and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1985 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: