The first volume of German infantry General Erich Ludendorff's memoir of World War I takes us from the 1914 outbreak of war, through trench warfare and several battles, to the end of 1916.
The author speaks from his experiences commanding several divisions of Germany's infantry during the notorious trench warfare of World War I. Despite adverse conditions on fronts which barely moved for months at a time, Ludendorff was able to achieve important breakthroughs and victories which encouraged the German army and impressed his fellow generals. With ample experience on both the Western and Eastern fronts of the war, Ludendorff oversaw offensives against Belgium, Russia and Romania, observing tactics and warfare conditions change over time.
Appended to this volume are fourteen maps, depicting the battlefields and lines of both Allied and German troops. Ludendorff's political ambitions - which at certain junctures clashed with his military career - meant his interest lay not merely in the battlefield: several assessments of the mood in Germany are included, how the population saw the conflict and the successive waves of recruitment and its effects upon life. Overall this book offers an intense narrative of the Great War from the perspective of strategizing commanders.