Book recommendations wanted

[Private Butler]

I'm particularly interested in any books that forum users may know about in regard to both field and heavy artillery of the GW period. I'm interested in all aspects from the guns themselves, the advance in technology over the period, the tactics employed (particularly the onset of 'silent' registration or predicted fire) as well as the firing drill itself and the role of each member of the gun crew.

I have found that some of the best stuff (for what I am looking for) that I have read on the subject has been in books that have conveyed the role of the artillery within an all-arm context such as Battle Tactics of the Western Front by Paddy Griffith and Bryn Hammond's Cambrai: The Myth of the First Great Tank Battle and are therefore not books solely concerned with the artillery. I appreciate then that perhaps the best books on the subject may not be entirely concerned with just the artillery but either way, I'd like to dig a little deeper.

Any titles spring to mind?

[Sidearm]

I'm not an artillery expert but how about "Firepower: British Army Weapons & Theories of War 1904-45" by Shelford Bidwell and Dominick Graham? First published in 1982, but my copy is the paperback from 1985. ISBN 0-04-942190-5.

Gwyn

[Private Butler]

Spot on Sidearm, ordered and on its way - looks like just the ticket. Many thanks.

[John(txic)]

A most interesting read was "A lack of offensive spirit" dealing with Gommecourt on 1st July. In addition to some useful background on the artillery, medical services were also covered. I learnt a lot.

[Robert Dunlop]

There are two volumes from Farndale's history of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. One covers the Western Front. The other deals with all of the other fronts on which British artillery served. Farndale specifically addresses the developments and innovations throughout WW1.

Robert

[Dolphin]

On the technical side, there's I V Hogg & L F Thurston's 1972 book British Artillery Weapons and Ammunition 1914-1918, which is a comprehensive guide to the subject.

Gareth

[Private Butler]

Many thanks John, Robert and Dolphin - I'll bear those other titles in mind.

[Pete1052]

Click here for Sanders Marble's dissertation entitled, "The Infantry Cannot Do with a Gun Less": The Place of the Artillery in the BEF, 1914-1918.

[Private Butler]

Click here for Sanders Marble's dissertation entitled, "The Infantry Cannot Do with a Gun Less": The Place of the Artillery in the BEF, 1914-1918.

Looks superb, in fact I'll finish the book I'm reading and have a go at it. Many thanks Pete, just what I'm looking for.

[mmjjm@btopenworld.com]

A book which deals with just the artillery equipment is EARLY BRITISH QUICK FIRING ARTILLERY by LEN TRAWIN, loads of scale drawings of smaller end guns, equipments and limbers. Available from Amazon.

[pjjobson]

You might find the book at this link of interest in explaining technical terms etc.

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...showtopic=95733

Phil

[johndavidswarbrick]

Just finished reading "1918 A Very British Victory" by Peter Hart which has quite a bit on how important artillery was in securing victory in the final months of the war. It's an excellent read generally.

Dave Swarbrick

[31stdiv]

As well as those mentioned I found the following helpful when looking at artillery last year:

Bailey, J. ‘British Artillery in the Great War’, in P. Griffith, ed., British Fighting Methods in the Great War (London: Frank Cass Publishers, 1998)

S. Marble, ‘Command of Artillery: the case of Herbert Uniacke’, in G. Sheffield and D. Todman, eds., Command and Control on the Western Front: The British Army's Experience, 1914-19 (Staplehurst, UK: Spellmount, 2004)

The role of survey as an important aspect of the artillery:

Chasseaud, P. ‘British, French and German Mapping and Survey on the Western Front in the First World War’, in P. Doyle et al., eds., Fields of Battle: Terrain in Military History (London: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002).

Regards

Pen