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Product Description
Product Description
First Battle of the Marne; The Aisne 1914; Verdun; The Somme 1916; Chemin des Dames 1917-1918; Cambrai; The Kaiser's Offensive; Second Battle of the Marne (The Ourcq, Chateau Thierry, Belleau Wood); St Mihiel: Champagne 1918; The Meuse-Argonne and Breaking the Hindenberg Line. Major and Mrs. Holt's Concise Illustrated Battlefield Guide to the Western Front - South contains many fascinating but little-visited areas by travelers and is hoped that they will be tempted further afield than the 'showcase' and sophisticatedly presented battlefields like the Somme to discover some marvelous sites. Many of them have lain virtually 'dormant' for many years (such as areas of the Meuse-Argonne and Champagne) but have recently been renovated and opened up by dedicated local enthusiasts. There are many 'gems' in store in this book. Each battlefield starts with some pertinent quotations by participants, has a succinct Summary of the Battle, Opening Moves and What Happened sections then a Battlefield Tour which follows the same tried and tested formula as the rest of the series of a timed and measured itinerary with historic and anecdotal information at each stop. A detailed Sketch Map showing battle lines and each stop on the route accompanies every battle using the same color code (of yellow for memorials, purple for cemeteries, blue for museums) as the larger Holts' Battle Maps. Together the two books Major and Mrs. Holt's Concise, Illustrated Concise Illustrated Battlefield Guide to the Western Front - South and North will form the most comprehensive and detailed English-language guides to the World War I Western Front ever produced.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have just completed a two week visit to the battlefield sites of northern France and southern Belgium. This particular Holts' guide is one of a pair covering the region that we used (and I understand there is a separate tome on the Somme itself), and has a tremendous amount of detail. The maps and illustrations are excellent, and the guide is very comprehensive, with a personal touch provided by the comments of Major and Mrs. Holt.
While very comprehensive, I must admit to finding this guide difficult at times to extract the appropriate information from. This is probably because I simply didn't have the time to spend reading it before setting off on our trip, but the problem comes from the difficulty in combining chronological and geographical history. The static nature of the conflict on the western front meant that events in time happened on the same sites, while the expanse over which the conflict took place saw offensives on a single date occur over a great distance. The reality is probably very difficult to reconcile, no matter how you divide a guide book, and the Holts' guide probably does it better than others, but I still found it difficult to draw the two competing factors into one clear, comprehensive understanding of the events of this most tragic episode. This limits the ease with which the guide may be "dipped into" for details on some sites and events.
Overall, these comments reflect the difficulties of the situation, and the Holts' guide is probably as good as could be imagined. However, I would strongly recommend some prior research and reading from the guides before embarking on a tour of sites, as I am sure familiarity would help in relating the guide's information to the events and locales described.
While very comprehensive, I must admit to finding this guide difficult at times to extract the appropriate information from. This is probably because I simply didn't have the time to spend reading it before setting off on our trip, but the problem comes from the difficulty in combining chronological and geographical history. The static nature of the conflict on the western front meant that events in time happened on the same sites, while the expanse over which the conflict took place saw offensives on a single date occur over a great distance. The reality is probably very difficult to reconcile, no matter how you divide a guide book, and the Holts' guide probably does it better than others, but I still found it difficult to draw the two competing factors into one clear, comprehensive understanding of the events of this most tragic episode. This limits the ease with which the guide may be "dipped into" for details on some sites and events.
Overall, these comments reflect the difficulties of the situation, and the Holts' guide is probably as good as could be imagined. However, I would strongly recommend some prior research and reading from the guides before embarking on a tour of sites, as I am sure familiarity would help in relating the guide's information to the events and locales described.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Bought together with western fron north.Excellent, used as research guide for battlefield tour I was 'guiding' on and is essential reading. Written in an easy style that will suit 'armchair' tourists, casual visitors and historians alike.
highly recommend reading before seeing the ground and again afterwards!
highly recommend reading before seeing the ground and again afterwards!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Bought 2 copies, one was for a friend's birthday. We are both going to Verdun shortly so looking forward to using another of the Holts books. As it looks so far, it is up to their usual high standard.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Book review
Excellent document from the gurus of the French battlefields. Concise and informative and useful for anyone thinking of visiting the battlefields.
Published on 24 Jan 2010 by Dr John
Major and Mrs. Holt's Concise Guide to the Western Front
Great book with lots of helpful maps and pictures. Lots of intresting facts and well written comentry.
Published on 29 July 2009 by Mr. M. Smith
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