The Australian Victories in France in 1918

Monash, John, Sir, 1865-1931Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.0
Word count
734K words
Chapters
74

Tags

English Originals World HistoryMilitary Historical ReappraisalMilitary StrategyStrategyMilitary CommandersHeroismPatriotismBattlefield RecordDocumentary NarrativeAllied ForcesSocial Observation

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Australian Victories in France in 1918 by Sir John MonashAuthor: Monash, John, Sir, 1865-1931,Language: English, Class: D501: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: World War I (1914-1918), Release Date: Feb 10, 2016

Editor's review

This book is a primary source in First World War military history, written by Lieutenant General Sir John Monash, commander of the Australian Corps, and focuses on the operations of Australian forces on the French battlefield in 1918. Its value lies not in literary quality but in the commander's perspective on battle organization, tactical employment, and coordination between units; readers can see the judgment logic and narrative tone of a frontline commander of the period. The prose is in the style of British military reportage, emphasizing facts and dispositions, with direct accounts of battlefield details and unit actions. It is suitable as supplementary material for the history of the Western Front in WWI and for military history writers and researchers to compare against other campaign histories. Reading with a map and a timeline and sorting out the campaign progress as one goes will make the gains more evident.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. First read an overview of the 1918 Western Front situation, then move on to the specific campaign chapters of this book.
  2. Prepare a map of northern France and mark the places and advance routes mentioned in the book as you read.
  3. Read in comparison with other campaign histories or memoirs of the same period, noting differences in stance and narrative.
  4. Take timeline notes chapter by chapter according to campaigns, to facilitate review of unit dispositions and operational tempo.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59
  60. 60
  61. 61
  62. 62
  63. 63
  64. 64
  65. 65
  66. 66
  67. 67
  68. 68
  69. 69
  70. 70
  71. 71
  72. 72
  73. 73
  74. 74

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a campaign history documentary? It is a campaign history documentary. The author, as a commander, recounts the operations of Australian forces in France in 1918; the content emphasizes battle organization, unit actions, and tactical judgment, and is a military history document rather than fictional narrative.
Can I understand it without a military background? It is readable, but preparation is needed. The book involves organization, tactics, and place names, and will be difficult without WWI background. It is advisable to first learn about the 1918 Western Front situation and basic military terminology, then read with a map; understanding will be much smoother.
Why is reading with a map recommended? The narrative unfolds around specific locations and unit advances, and without a map it is easy to confuse directions and spatial relationships. Marking positions and routes on a map while reading allows a clearer grasp of the campaign progress and command intentions.

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About the author

Monash, John, Sir, 1865-1931 Author · Australian · 1865–1931

Sir John Monash (1865–1931) was an Australian engineer and military officer. During the First World War he commanded the Australian Corps and was one of the most important military commanders of the Australian and New Zealand forces; after the war he actively promoted engineering education. One work by him is held in this collection, The Australian Victories in France in 1918. The book focuses on the operations of Australian forces on the French battlefield in 1918 and belongs to military history writing. It offers a participant's perspective, describing specific battles and troop movements, and has both historical and commemorative value. Public information on his early life, education and specific postwar posts is limited, so no inferences are made here. His writing is chiefly campaign history, practical in style and concerned with presenting facts and the course of military operations, making it a useful reference for understanding Australia's role in the First World War.