The Western Front

A History of the Great War, 1914-1918

By: Nick Lloyd

Narrated by: Mark Elstob

The Western Front evokes images of mud-spattered men in waterlogged trenches, shielded from artillery blasts and machine-gun fire by a few feet of dirt. This iconic setting was the most critical arena of the Great War, a 400-mile combat zone stretching from Belgium to Switzerland where more than three million Allied and German soldiers struggled during four years of almost continuous combat. It has persisted in our collective memory as a tragic waste of human life and a symbol of the horrors of industrialized warfare.

In this epic narrative history, the first volume in a groundbreaking trilogy on the Great War, Nick Lloyd captures the horrific fighting on the Western Front beginning with the surprise German invasion of Belgium in August 1914 and taking us to the Armistice of November 1918. Drawing on French, British, German, and American sources, Lloyd weaves a kaleidoscopic chronicle of the Marne, Passchendaele, the Meuse-Argonne, and other critical battles. From the trenches where men as young as seventeen suffered and died, to the headquarters behind the lines where Generals Haig, Joffre, Hindenburg, and Pershing developed their plans for battle, Lloyd gives us a view of the war both intimate and strategic, putting us amid the mud and smoke while at the same time depicting the larger stakes of every encounter.

©2021 Nick Lloyd (P)2021 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Outstanding Book on the Western Front in WW1

I am an avid student of history and in particular World War 1. This was probably one of the best books that I have listened to about the Western Front in a long time. Professor Lloyd did an excellent job of covering not just the origins of the war but also the military campaigns that were part of this front. I thought that he did an outstanding job of varying the perspective- by providing detail viewpoint about the leaders, military commanders and the regular foot soldier who had to live through this carnage. Mark Elstob did a good job with the narration although I thought that he could have been a better name pronouncing the names of the French cities. The only drawback to the book was that Audible did not enclose a pdf file containing the maps of the different battles- which would have greatly added to the narration. Professor Lloyd has just published a book about the Eastern Front in WW1, which is due to be released on August 27th. I am very much looking forward to the release. I hope that Audible will make that book available and include a pdf of the maps.

Great look of wold war 1 history

The book gives the reader a great behind the scenes account if the key events of the First World War.

Breathtaking

Written with depth and verve, clarity and pace. The narration is superb, more like a dramatic play than a stale history. Five stars.

Great

Concise and entertaining, historically accurate and nuanced. My kind of book, I recommend it to anyone

Incisive Overview

Nick Lloyd has written a most concise and exceptional overview of the Western Front. He stays focused on his objective and doesn’t deviate. He also doesn’t spend too much time bogged down in continual detail. Too often these all encompassing books spend more focused on the Somme or Verdun, as these battles were some of the most memorable and horrific of the war. These are just two examples.

Nor does Lloyd strike a negative tone. World War I was a savage conflict, but so often authors strike a constant negative and fatalistic tone. Though it’s warranted at times, it doesn’t help further the narrative. History is mired in misery and death, and this is not avoidable. Great scholarship, narration, and focus. What a listening. pleasure

An excellent narrative of the western front

Great summary of the western front. Engaging and keeps a good pace. Focused on military history but references political aspects. Good introduction to newcomers but fresh insight to those well versed in wwi. Great performance.