Ian SumnerThe French Army 1914–18 (Men-at-Arms, 286)

Tells you a lot about their tactics, strategies, weapons and equipment from 1914 to 1918.

I generally like Osprey Publishing's military books. They are short 20-50 page briefs on various historical subjects packed with a lot of info and not a lot of filler. They are great for starting a knowledge base about the basic facts of a battle, weapon, army or other historical subject. However this brief was terrible. It was short, disjointed and didn't explain the evolution of the uniforms and equipment relative to the development of events in the war. The whole book just explains (poorly) how the various levels of the Army was organized and equipped when the war broke out, then how different branches of service and various colonial troops were uniformed. The book doesn't get into events like the mutiny of 1917 or any other event that shaped the French army during the war. The WW2 Japanese two volume series does a better job of explaining various uniforms and equipment sets and how they changed as the IJA won and lost campaigns how the equipment, uniforms and strategy also changed. This book would be worth it on a sale for the good visual references. But the content was lacking.

Good good about WW1 French uniforms.

The entire Men at Arms series are fascinating books with incredible detail. If you are a newbee to military history or an expert, you will love reading these.

Good mix of data and photos

great book

Interesting book I use as a painting guide.

This of course, is far from a comprehensive work on the period. Its major emphasis is on the soldier's life and clothing and equipment while serving in combat, mainly on the Western Front but does cover the Balkans operations. The colonial forces except as they were used in France are ignored.That said, this should satisfy the general reader mainly curious about the Great War.Before the Great War of 1914, the French Army had yet to reform itself after the defeat of the Franco Prussian War. Though they had some excellent weaponry including the splendid French 75mm field gun, and the Hotchkiss heavy machine gun M1914, they lacked heavy guns and most of all, a modern appreciation that the outmoded doctrine of "l'audace" and always attack would win through. They seem to have completely ignored the lessons of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 which proved that the only way for infantry to survive cannon fire and machine guns was to go to ground especially when attacking dug in and barbed wire protected opponents. To compound all this, for political reasons, the Army had been unable to develop a new less visible field uniform and began the war wearing great coats of blue with red trousers; this of course, highly pleased the German machine gunners. By the end of 1915, they had adopted a horizon blue uniform and a steel helmet of rather complex construction with poor ballistic properties. Based on a French fire brigade helmet it at least was dashing. :-) (For some reason, the Paris Fire Brigade was then actually part of the Army.)This work is a splendid example of the new emphasis of the publisher on producing comprehensive works in a handy cheap format compared with the earlier broad brush treatments which covered too much in too little detail.The new emphasis is on sets and volumes covering various national armed forces in as much detail as is available, consistent with the current purpose of the works in the series, which have evolved from an original emphasis on serving the military miniature maker market into works intended to enlighten the general reader in enough detail to satisfy the merely curious and to point the way to further reading.Most of us, including myself, have little need for, or the patience to read, voluminous studies, often in foreign languages, covering many eras and nations. My main interest is in the US forces, their allies and their enemies in the twentieth century.This should be read along with the volumes on the Foreign Legion 1914-1945. (see my review.) If you want an introduction to the fascinating variety of clothing and equipment of the forces covered, this is for you.

This is a great book on a very neglected aspect of the Great War. Ian Sumner has made an outstanding contribution to the Anglophone history of the French Army 1914 - 1918, and this venerable member of the Osprey series has impeccable scholarly credentials.However, the strengths of the book are in its representation of the minutiae of uniform and organisation. These are connected to a fine selection of plates. However, for a more detailed account of the French Army's operations, and evocative first hand accounts, the author's excellent book They Shall Not Pass is recommended.

A bit disappointed with this book have the other ww1 books in this series and they are all better than this .

I was trying to visualise what the French army looked like during WW I. This book helped me with detailed information, right down to the structure of the Fr. army, the evolution of the 'horizon blue' uniform, the insignia on different helmets and sleeves. Helped with my research.

Very complete historic information and excellent colour plates.As always, Osprey is a good chance to enjoy History.My favourite collection.