Description
Book SynopsisIn King of Battle: Artillery in World War I, a distinguished array of authors examines the centrepiece of battle in the Great War: artillery. Going beyond the usual tables of calibres and ranges, the contributors consider the organization and technology of artillery, as well as present aspects of training, doctrine, and other national idiosyncrasies. Artillery dominated the battlefields of World War I, and forever changed the military doctrine of war. No nation that had participated in significant ground combat would blithely assume that morale could ever replace firepower. The essays included in this volume explain how twelve countries, including all the major combatants, handled artillery and how it affected the Great War. Contributors include Filippo Cappellano, Boyd Dastrup, Edward J. Erickson, Bruce Gudmundsson, James Lyon, Sanders Marble, Janice E. McKenney, Dmitre Minchev, Andrey Pavlov, Kaushik Roy, Cornel and Ioan Scafes, John Schindler, and David Zabecki.
Trade Review"The new book, King of Battle: Artillery in World War I, is an excellent international study of artillery during the war. Whether comparatively smaller cannons or mortars manned by infantrymen or huge railroad guns served by sailors, these pieces made themselves known on the battlefield, causing death and destruction and driving changes in fortifications and tactics. World War I artillery even “holds the dubious distinction of causing a new diagnosis, shellshock” (p. vii). While acknowledging that scholars have written about artillery since the war, editor Dr. Sanders Marble then states: “Overall, there are only a few books examining artillery in World War I on a comparative, international basis” (p. vii). Marble and his contributors seek to address the gap with this book." Major Peter L. Belmonte, Marine Corps History 3.1 (2017). "Bringing together some of the most renowned scholars from their respective national specializations, King of Battle provides a skillful and important study of World War I artillery. Alongside trenches and machine guns, artillery stands are at the core of the most evocative images of the conflict. As the most lethal category of weapons, artillery in many theaters literally dominated the war. In view of the importance of the topic, it perhaps seems surprising that more has not previously been done to encapsulate World War I artillery. The immensity of the topic helps explain the earlier absence. This work goes a long way toward filling a significant gap. [...] Each part of the book is excellent, and the work as a whole is even more impressive than the sum of its parts. [...] In sum, King of Battle packs a formidable punch—in keeping with its subject." Nicholas Sambaluk, Air University, in: H-War, H-Net Reviews, (2017).
Table of ContentsContents Preface vii List of Maps, Figures and Tables viii List of Contributors xii 1 Introduction 1 Bruce Gudmundsson 2 The British Artillery in World War I 35 Sanders Marble 3 The French Artillery in the First World War 62 Bruce Gudmundsson 4 German Artillery in the First World War 101 David T. Zabecki 5 Austria-Hungary in the First World War 126 John R. Schindler 6 Bulgarian Artillery in the First World War 157 Dimitre Minchev 7 Ottoman Army Artillery in the First World War 173 Edward J. Erickson 8 Italian Artillery during the First World War: Its Structural, Organic, Tactical and Material Evolution 196 Filippo Cappellano 9 Serbia’s Artillery during the First World War 221 James Lyon 10 Russian Artillery 255 Andrey Pavlov 11 United States Field Artillery in World War I 281 Janice McKenney 12 Artillery of the Army in India in World War I 299 Kaushik Roy 13 Romanian Artillery in the First World War 324 Cornel and Ioan Scafeş 14 Conclusion: Artillery as a Result of World War I 360 Boyd Dastrup Index 377
