The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918 Holger Hervig for Arnold. Not the Holger H. Hervig who used to be at Vanderbilt and wrote in Millet & Murray, I hear you cry! Yes, it is the same alliterative fellow (a chum perhaps for Peter P. Perla) but now at U of Calgary. A history of the First World War from the Teutonic point-of-view is an eye-opener. Hervig likes his numbers and the losses are spectacular. He is particularly scathing about German High Command. Falkenhayn had identified in late 1914 that the jig was up (in the sense that Germany only had one Plan and it had failed) but a mixture of gutlessness and bravado allowed matters to continue. Hervig's view of Ludendorff is dismissive and his Michael offensive criticised as a series of aimless blows that damage the opponent (and the Germans) without any expectation of victory. The behaviour towards Russia (far too many men in the east, far too long in negotiation, far too harsh as terms) in 1917 is criticised as usual, but the facts Hervig gives about the state of Germany and Austria under blockade make one see that Germany was so sapped by hunger that it fell upon the Ukraine as a ravening beast, not a skilled negotiator. However you slice it Hervig's figures demonstrate the power of naval blockade. Conrad von Hotzendorf throughout the war underestimates problems and overestimates his troops, but the human reaction in large bureaucracies (ostriches do it too) results in the bumbler being left in position to ruin an army that looked ready to collapse in 1914 but staggered through to 1918 (presumably because of its population base). Hervig disregards the search for the tactical answer to trenches but instead deals with the organisational defects of the German High Command (blind obedience of stupid people) and the pure problem of equipping and manning armies. A very good book. More Book Corner: The Origins of War in Early Modern Europe The Battle of Hastings Infantry Warfare in the Early 14th Century The Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th Century Black Sea The Bayonets of the Republic European Warfare 1660-1815 The Austro-Prussian War Warfare Under Anglo-Norman Kings Empress Matilda -and- The Reign of Stephen Prince Eugene of Savoy The Medieval Archer The First World War: Germany and Austro-Hungary 1914-1918 Pallas Armata titles Back to Perfidious Albion #94 Table of Contents Back to Perfidious Albion List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by Charles and Teresa Vasey. 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