The German Army 1914-18 (Men-at-Arms) [ペーパーバック]

Ok, the book is, as usual in Osprey's Men at Arms, a litlle to short, but this one is quite good for modelers, of course, and also for the beginner. It is a good start and quite comprehensive for this series.

If you are a modeler, this book is a great source on all details about german soldiers in WWI. (You could also add Osprey's "GERMAN STORMTROOPERS 1914-1918" for extra information).

The book has plenty of (black and white) photos as well as the usual Osprey center color plates, with complete explanations at the end. For historians, it is a bit too thin, but I believe the book is targeted for modelers.

This is another good overview by MAA. The contents of this volume is broken into specific parts; firstly an introductory history, dealing with the unification of Germany and their involvement in World War One, which is well written. Next comes a numerical listing of German Army regiments, by type and nationality (Prussian, Saxon, etc.) but unfortunately not a detailed breakdown into higher level formations (which would have been hard to fit into a volume this small). Next are some notes on organization of the army and some facts and figures on manpower, types of units, etc. A piece on Conscription and Mobilization follows, with details of the German conscription system and training system, a sketch of the organization of German military districts, and finally a thumbnail glance at the various components of the German military - infantry, artillery (all the major types are described, with numbers of batteries given), assault detachments, cavalry, machine gun units, pioneers, air service, signals service, transport and communications service, medical and finally veterinary service. These thumbnails give an approximate idea of their duties, roles and numerical strength and give a good picture of First World War logistics. The photos in the text complement the information given, and are of a generally high standard.

Finally are the captions to the colour plates. Embleton is one of the best artists in the Osprey stable; clear and interesting figures are rendered. The final plate - featured on the cover - manages to convey without words the absolute horror and misery of life in the trenches through the effective placing of the dead men, the look of fatigue on the man who has just killed an Allied soldier with a now-blood-covered shovel, the look of urgency on the face of the NCO, and the tremendous explosion in the background. Perhaps the finest depiction of First World War combat ever rendered - quite a lot to say about a simple colour plate in a history primer.

Sidebars include tables of piping colours for uniforms, though these are incomplete in some cases - reference is made to Guards uniforms wearing piping in the full dress colour but don't say what these colours are, and which regiments wore them.

A detailed list of regiments would have been a nice addition had there been room to include it. There is a nice listing of ranks but no idea given of the corresponding responsibilities of men holding those ranks in the various types of unit - infantry company, artillery battery, cavalry squadron, etc. Very little is said of German tanks and the air service information is properly the subject of a seperate book and a bit of a waste of space.

Also no guide to uniform rank insignia, which would have complemented the rank information, which has text descriptions of the insignia but no corresponding picture, and only for enlisted men and not officers.

Overall a good intro but would have benefitted from being about twice as long and containing more complete info on all the topics raised. Another shortcoming is no detailed description of regiment, battalion, company, and platoon organization of the various arms.