Osprey Men-at-Arms 80 : The German Army 1914-1918

When a young Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke entered military service as a cadet of the Danish Army in 1811 he could hardly have dreamed that 47 years later he would be appointed Chief of the General Staff to the Prussian Army. An avid student of Clausewitz and Gneisenau, von Moltke applied his brilliant military mind to the formation, instruction and evolution of the Staff and of the Army it would grow to direct with superb professionalism. An army that was later to test its might in the First World War, and its tactics in attempting the Schlieffen Plan, which was originally conceived by von Moltke. D.S.V. Fosten and R.J. Marrion explores in great detail the organisation, tactics, weapons, uniforms, equipment and origins of the German Army which fought the Great War from 1914-18. Numerous contemporary photographs serve to illustrate this engaging and informative text which covers such wide-ranging topics as conscription, artillery and the army veterinary service. Eight full page colour plates by Gerry Embleton, together with extensive commentaries provide a wealth of information concerning the uniforms and equipment of troops from a variety of services.

Contents

• The Unification of Germany
• The Ausmarsch 1914
• Organization
• Conscription and Mobilization
• The Plates