The Generals' War

Foreword by General Anthony Zinni, USMC (Ret)

Table and Maps

Glossary

I. Generalship in the Great War

II. Battlefield Realities

• The Calculus of War

• The Technological Revolution in Military Affairs

• The Three Paradigm Shifts

• The Vast New Scope of Warfare

• Fire, Maneuver, and Combined Arms

• Tanks

• Artillery

• The Defensive

• The Offensive

III. The Strategic Situation

• Germany

• France

• Britain

IV. The Commanders-in-Chief

• Reputations One Hundred Years On

• Powers and Responsibilities

• Military Concepts

• Adaptability and Risk

• Personal Backgrounds

• Political Supporters and Critics

• The Political and the Strategic

• Military Allies and Rivals

V. The Yanks are Coming

VI. Two Conferences in November 1917

• The Allied Supreme War Council, Rapallo, 7 November

• The German Planning Conference, Mons, 11 November

VII. The Gathering Storm

• Vital Arteries and Jugulars

• Bracing for the Deluge as Pétain and Foch Spar

• Haig's Enemies, Front and Rear

• Pershing Digs in His Heels

• The Elusive General Reserve

• Haig Spread Thin

• Steel Wind Rising

VIII. MICHAEL and GEORGETTE

• MICHAEL: 21 March to 5 April 1918

• GEORGETTE: 9 to 29 April 1918

IX. GNEISENAU and BLÜCHER

• Ludendorff Gropes for Plan B

• The Allies Brace for Round Three

• BLÜCHER: 27 May - 5 June 1918

• GNEISENAU: 9 - 15 June 1918

X. MARNESCHUTZ-REIMS and the Second Battle of the Marne

• Ludendorff Attacks Again: MARNESCHUTZ-REIMS (15-18 July 1918)

• Foch Hits Back Hard: The Second Battle of the Marne (18 July - 5 August 1918)

• Ludendorff vs. Foch

• Foch vs Ludendorff

XI. Le Hamel to Mount St. Quentin

• The Battle of Hamel (4 July 1918)

• The Battle of Amiens (8-14 August)

• The Battle of Montdidier (18-30 August)

• The Second Battle of Bapaume (21 August-1 September)

• The Battle of the Scarpe (26 August-2 September 1918)

• The Battle of Péronne-Mont St. Quentin (31 August-4 September)

• The Withdraw to the Hindenburg Line (2-9 September)

XII. Closing to the Hindenburg Line

• The Saint-Mihiel Offensive (12-15 September)

• The Battle of Havrincourt (12 September 1918)

• The Battle of Épehy (18 September)

XIII. The Allied General Offensive

• The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Phase I (26 September-3 October)

• The Battle of Canal du Nord (27 September-1 October)

• The Fifth Battle of Ypres (28 September-2 October)

• The Battles of the St Quentin Canal and the Beaurevoir Line (29 September-6 October)

• The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Phase II (4-28 October)

• The Second Battle of Cambrai (8-10 October)

• The Battle of Courtrai and the Closure to the Dutch Border (14-27 October)

• The French First Army Attacks Across the Serre River (15-27 October)

• The Battle of the Selle (17-27 October)

• Foch Maps Out Future Allied Operations (19 October-14 November)

• Exit Ludendorff (26 October)

• The Battle of Valenciennes (1-3 November)

• The Second Battle of the Sambre and the Final British Drive (4-11 November)

• The Final French Drive on the Western Front (1-11 November)

• The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Phase III (28 October-11 November)

• Retrospective

XIV. The Armistice

XV. The Fluctuating Verdict of History

• Hindenburg

• Ludendorff

• Foch

• Pétain

• Pershing

• Haig

• If NotThen Who?

Appendix I: Biographical Chronologies

Appendix II: Note on General Officer Ranks