The Marne Battle-fields

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 458K words
Chapters: 46

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 Marne Battle-fields (1914) by Pneu MichelinAuthor: ,Language: English, Class: D501: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: World War I (1914-1918), Release Date: Dec 15, 2015

Editor's review

This is an electronic reprint of a 1914 Michelin guide to the Marne battlefield, an early First World War battlefield guide. Its distinctiveness lies in its timing: it was written shortly after the Battle of the Marne, and the text carries the immediacy and practical orientation of the moment, serving readers traveling to the battlefield for remembrance and inspection. The content emphasizes geographical routes, positions, and descriptions of the fighting rather than later historical synthesis, so it is better treated as a historical source and a reading experience than as the sole basis for studying the battle. For readers studying the memory of the First World War, the rise of battlefield tourism, and how commercial publishing intervened in war narratives, this booklet offers an interesting sample. Readers should note its standpoint and period limitations; the narrative carries a clear contemporary perspective. As a public-domain e-book, layout and map presentation may be less clear than the original; reading alongside reliable battle maps is recommended.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying the memory of the First World War and the history of battlefield tourism
Military enthusiasts interested in the geographical details of the Battle of the Marne
Publishing historians concerned with the relationship between commercial publishing and war narratives
Readers of historical sources wishing to understand how people in 1914 described the battlefield

Not a good fit for

Military researchers needing systematic battle analysis or strategic assessment
Beginners seeking a complete background narrative of the First World War
Casual readers impatient with place names, routes, and position descriptions

Reading tips

First consult a basic timeline and geographical overview of the Battle of the Marne, then turn to the route descriptions in the text.
Read alongside reliable battle maps or modern battlefield maps to compensate for the e-book's map presentation.
Distinguish contemporary accounts from later research conclusions as you read, noting passages with period standpoints.
Read together with postwar memoirs or commemorative literature to observe changes in war narrative.

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.

FAQ

Can this book serve as an authoritative history of the Battle of the Marne?

It should not be used that way. Published in 1914, it is a battlefield guide for contemporary readers, emphasizing routes and on-site description and lacking the archival comparison and strategic analysis common in later historiography. It is better read as a historical source and period text; battle research should use specialized military histories.

Is the content mainly text or mainly maps?

The original is a battlefield guide in which route and position descriptions occupy an important place, usually with sketch maps. But the map reproduction in this electronic reprint may be less clear than the original; keep reliable maps at hand for comparison to better understand the places and directions of movement mentioned.

Why is a commercial guide worth studying?

It reflects how the public understood the battlefield in the war's early phase, how commercial publishing quickly took up war subjects, and how battlefield remembrance and tourism appeared before the war had ended. Such texts have unique value for memory studies and publishing history, not merely as carriers of military information.

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