by Ralph Whitehead.
Warwick: Helion / Philadelphia: Casemate, 2018. Pp. xviii, 563.
Illus., maps, notes, biblio. $65.00 paper. ISBN:1804513806
A Notable Workd CompletedBy profession a very senior fraud investigator for a major America insurance carrier, Ralph J. Whitehead began collecting materials on the German Army during the Great War. In 2010 he began publishing a four-volume history of the XIV Reserve Corps, which comprise the 26th and 28th Reserve Divisions, primarily composed of men from Württemberg. His first volume, The Other Side of the Wire, Vol.1, With the German XIV Reserve Corps on the Somme, September 1914 - June 1916 (2010) carried the story of the corps from its formation on the outbreak of the Great War through mid-1916. It was soon followed by The Other Side of the Wire, Vol 2, Battle of the Somme with the German XIV Reserve Corps (2013), covering the corps’ desperate ordeal during the Battle of the Somme, in which it was heavily engaged.
The final two volumes are now available.
In The Other Side of the Wire Vol. 3, With the XIV Reserve Corps: The Period of Transition 2 July 1916 - August 1917, we see the story of the corps through the stalemated trench warfare that followed the Somme, giving us a lot of insights into the changes in German military practice and organization in the period.
These books offer a unique perspective. Most English language accounts of the war rely heavily on English sources, whereas Whitehead’s treatment is based almost entirely on German sources, not only official documents, reports, and histories, but also letters, diaries, memoirs, and even interviews with some veterans.
The detail is often extraordinary, with insights into soldiers’ experiences at the front, in reserve, on nocturnal patrols, in heavy combat, in most cases using extensive first-hand accounts. There’s also a great deal of information on changes in organization, weapons, tactics, and the living conditions of the troops, as defeat crew closer and closer.
Although the lack of an index is a serious drawback, these volumes are absolutely essential for anyone seriously interested in the Great War in the West.
---///---
Note: The Other Side of the Wire, Volume 3, is also available in hardcover
StrategyPage reviews are published in cooperation with The New York Military Affairs Symposium
www.nymas.org