by William Martin, illlustrations Howard Gerrard, Osprey Publishing 2001 This is the latest book in the campaign series and covers a pivotal but neglected (in English) battle during the Great War. The book is in the new design and contains three double-page artists impression of the fighting, two 3-D maps of actions plus some maps and an interesting selection of pictures many of which are new to me. The 96-page volume has a chapter on the background to the battle and another on the various commanders. The author discusses the plans of both sides with regard to the Verdun area and poses some ? what-if's concerning the various engagements. The meat of the book comes in the descriptions of the main battles. Firstly the Fall of Douaumont and the fighting in which the commander of the 56th and 59th BCP (Battailon de Chasseurs a Pied), Colonel Emile Driant died along with most of his men. This has a painting showing the Colonel fighting alongside his Chasseurs, a map of the engagement and a diagram and cross-section of Fort Douaumont. Secondly the battles between late February and late April when Petain, later Marshal of France and even later hated collaborator, took control. This section includes a painting of the Sacred Way, La Voie Sacree, the departmental road used to ferry in supplies and men to the Verdun battlefield. The final section covers the French counterattacks, the fighting over Forts Vaux and Douaumont and the Village of Fleury. The usual 3-d maps cover the last two actions and there is a painting of the fighting in Fort Vaux together with a diagram and cross-section of the fort. Of great interest to the wargamer are detailed OOBs of both sides at various times during the battle plus a listing of French troops down to brigade level between May and October 1916. The volume closes with a bibliography with many of the books listed only in French. Unlike other books in the Campaign series there is no specific section aimed at wargamers but in view of the content of the book this isn't a loss. Particularly as many of these sections are often of very little use anyway. My recommendation is to buy this if you have an interest in the Great War as it covers an area not otherwise well represented in English that is one of the important actions of the Great War. Back to Frontline Vol. 2 Iss. 2 Table of Contents Back to Frontline List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Rolfe Hedges This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com