The French Army in the Great War

A history of the fighting and day-to-day lives of French soldiers on the Western Front in World War I, filled with rare archival photos.

 


Few books have been written in English about the French Army during the Great War, and those that exist feature very few illustrations. This book aims to provide a highly readable and succinct account of the work of the French Army on the Western Front, as well as provide the reader with a wealth of photographs that show the daily life of the French soldier both in and out of the trenches.


 


All of the images are contemporary, many coming from wartime and postwar magazines, interspersed with many previously unpublished images. The book aims to give a concise overview of the war seen through French eyes and includes the casualties incurred. Although the May 1917 mutinies were an important but brief part of the story, they are not dealt with at length because they can distract from the main story of the valor shown by the French troops in battles where the casualties were extremely high. Also included is a lengthy introduction that explains the structure of the army at the onset of the war and some of the problems it faced, as well as a section that looks at the uniforms worn and how they changed during the war.