War of Attrition
Fighting the First World War
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Narrated by:
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Derek Perkins
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By:
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William Philpott
About this listen
The Great War of 1914-1918 was the first mass conflict to fully mobilize the resources of industrial powers against one another, resulting in a brutal, bloody, protracted war of attrition between the world's great economies. Now, 100 years after the first guns of August rang out on the Western front, historian William Philpott reexamines the causes and lingering effects of the first truly modern war.
Drawing on the experience of front-line soldiers, munitions workers, politicians, and diplomats, War of Attrition explains for the first time why and how this new type of conflict was fought as it was fought, as well as how the attitudes and actions of political and military leaders, and the willing responses of their peoples, stamped the 20th century with unprecedented carnage on - and behind - the battlefield.
©2014 William Philpott (P)2014 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Three Armies on the Somme
- The First Battle of the Twentieth Century
- By: William Philpott
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 26 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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On July 1, 1916, British and French forces launched the first attack on the German armies lined up along the Somme in what was to become the defining battle of World War I. To this day, July 1 is often remembered for being the bloodiest day in British military history. Indeed, the British suffered some 62,000 casualties in that one day of fighting alone. As gruesome as that statistic is, it's just one of the many dark legacies left by the Somme Offensive.
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An insightful and exhaustive analysis of the Somme
- By Anthony on 06-07-12
By: William Philpott
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Nomonhan, 1939
- The Red Army's Victory that Shaped World War II
- By: Stuart D. Goldman
- Narrated by: John FitzGibbon
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Stuart Goldman convincingly argues that a little-known, but intense, Soviet-Japanese conflict along the Manchurian- Mongolian frontier at Nomonhan influenced the outbreak of World War II and shaped the course of the war. The author draws on Japanese, Soviet, and western sources to put the seemingly obscure conflict - actually a small undeclared war - into its proper global geo-strategic perspective.The book describes how the Soviets, in response to a border conflict provoked by Japan, launched an offensive in August 1939 that wiped out the Japanese forces at Nomonhan.
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Nomonhan: Why Japan Demurred
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 08-03-14
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Kiev 1941
- Hitler's Battle for Supremacy in the East
- By: David Stahel
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In just four weeks in the summer of 1941 the German Wehrmacht wrought unprecedented destruction on four Soviet armies, conquering central Ukraine and killing or capturing three quarters of a million men. This was the Battle of Kiev - one of the largest and most decisive battles of World War II and, for Hitler and Stalin, a battle of crucial importance. For the first time, David Stahel charts the battle's dramatic course and aftermath.
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The book you must read on Hitler's War with Russia
- By Kindle Customer on 05-28-19
By: David Stahel
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Deathride
- Hitler vs. Stalin: The Eastern Front, 1941-1945
- By: John Mosier
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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John Mosier presents a revisionist retelling of the war on the Eastern Front. The conventional wisdom is that Hitler was mad to think he could defeat the USSR, because of its vast size and population, and that the Battle of Stalingrad marked the turning point of the war. Neither statement is accurate, says Mosier; Hitler came very close to winning outright.
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Speaking the un-speakable
- By Jonathan Gardner on 09-27-10
By: John Mosier
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Supreme Command
- Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime
- By: Eliot A. Cohen
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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The relationship between military leaders and political leaders has always been a complicated one, especially in times of war. When the chips are down, who should run the show, the politicians or the generals? In Supreme Command, Eliot Cohen examines four great democratic war statesmen - Abraham Lincoln, Georges Clemenceau, Winston Churchill, and David Ben-Gurion - to reveal the surprising answer - the politicians. The generals may think they know how to win, but the statesmen are the ones who see the big picture.
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Dated material
- By Charlotte R. Shover on 11-21-20
By: Eliot A. Cohen
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The Cambridge History of Warfare
- By: Geoffrey Parker
- Narrated by: Andrew Cullum
- Length: 21 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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The new edition of The Cambridge History of Warfare, written and updated by a team of eight distinguished military historians, examines how war was waged by Western powers across a sweeping timeframe beginning with classical Greece and Rome, moving through the Middle Ages and the early modern period, down to the wars of the 21st century in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.
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Too anglocentric
- By A. Siegel on 10-27-22
By: Geoffrey Parker
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Instrument of War
- The German Army 1914-18
- By: Dennis E. Showalter
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on more than a half-century of research and teaching, Dennis Showalter presents a fresh perspective on the German Army during World War I. Showalter surveys an army at the heart of a national identity, driven by - yet also defeated by - warfare in the modern age, that struggled to capitalize on its victories, and ultimately forgot the lessons of its defeat.
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German Side Of WW1
- By David A on 06-21-18
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Haig's Enemy
- Crown Prince Rupprecht and Germany's War on the Western Front
- By: Jonathan Boff
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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During the First World War, the British army's most consistent German opponent was Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria. Commanding more than a million men as a General, and then Field Marshal, in the Imperial German Army, he held off the attacks of the British Expeditionary Force under Sir John French and then Sir Douglas Haig for four long years. But Rupprecht was to lose not only the war, but his son and his throne. In Haig's Enemy, Jonathan Boff explores the tragic tale of Rupprecht's war - the story of a man caught under the wheels of modern industrial warfare.
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Insightful look inside dysfunctional WW1 Germany
- By J.Brock on 11-04-19
By: Jonathan Boff
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Collision of Empires
- The War on the Eastern Front in 1914
- By: Prit Buttar
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 21 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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The fighting that raged in the East during the First World War was every bit as fierce as that on the Western Front, but the titanic clashes between three towering empires - Russia, Austro-Hungary, and Germany - remains a comparatively unknown facet of the Great War. With the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the war in 2014, Collision of Empires is a timely expose of the bitter fighting on this forgotten front - a clash that would ultimately change the face of Europe forever.
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Best book non-fiction book ever on the Eastern Front in 1914
- By HistoricalReader on 01-31-18
By: Prit Buttar
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George Washington’s Military Genius
- By: Dave R. Palmer
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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George Washington’s military strategy has been called bumbling at worst and brilliant at best. So which is it? Was George Washington a strategic genius or just lucky? So asks Dave R. Palmer in George Washington’s Military Genius. An updated edition of Palmer’s earlier work, The Way of the Fox, George Washington’s Military Genius breaks down the American Revolution into four phases and analyzes Washington’s strategy during each.
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Genius
- By John on 08-08-22
By: Dave R. Palmer
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What listeners say about War of Attrition
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Dennis
- 09-15-14
A Factual account of misguided actions
What did you love best about War of Attrition?
I am a history buff and I had no idea of just how horrific this war was. The first modern war was fought with outdated generals and politicans who were truly clueless of the cost in human suffering
Who was your favorite character and why?
I kind of like the British Lord Kittchner and the Frech Gen who figured out how to win after millions were needlessly killed
Have you listened to any of Derek Perkins’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Mr Perkins is a great factual reader who brings a degree of logic to a senseless situation
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
After reading the book I couldn't go to a movie, it would be too painful to know that millions died due to complete stupity Sorry
Any additional comments?
I did enjoy the book with a cast of Millions who never made it back home this was an eye opener to the fact "You don't win this War fighting the same as the Last one"
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- Roo
- 07-14-15
Decent WW1 book
While not a gripping account of the war, it's an excellent explanation for the character of the war.
Attrition. Body count. Material production. Courage on the battlefield is not a factor, morale is. The war is a meat grinder, and the generals who realized how to fight and win an attritional war, are the heroes.
The leaders thinking in outmoded terms of valour and élan...are the ones responsible for the worst decisions.
Offensives only work with a vast expenditure of material, mostly artillery shells, for limited objectives. The losses of 1916 are presented as achieving a great deal; they led to German attrition on a large scale.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Adam S.
- 04-21-15
Military History
Gave it a shot after after Wall Street journal gave it a best non fiction award. It was. Little dull for me, the military history was just too vague. I wanted
more specifics.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Marc
- 05-24-23
Deep Analysis of the War
Deep analysis of the various ways attrition played a part in the great war. Gives good insight into the thinking and though process of the various leaders and generals of the war. Showing how the war evolved along with the new types of attrition it created. Narration was very good and the vocabulary of the author was very enjoyable.
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Performance
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- Jeffrey W. Hunt
- 05-08-23
Excellent
Very engaging, thoughtful, outstanding read and reading. Highly recommended to any student of World War 1.
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- G. Collins
- 08-21-16
One of the most boring books that I have ever read
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
Only a World War One specialized historian and even in that category I'm doubtful. This 17 chapter books outlook could be summarized in one chapter. This book was extremely tiring to listen to.
Would you ever listen to anything by William Philpott again?
I don't think so. It wasn't the narrator. No narrator could save this book. Because I waited so long to listen to it I didn't apply for a refund but I should have. I can't recommend this book to anyone. And, I AM interested in World War I.
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
Nothing could have saved it.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
Not much.
Any additional comments?
Avoid this book.
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1 person found this helpful
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- BMC
- 08-05-14
Confusing and disorganized
Any additional comments?
I recently listened to A World Undone and loved it. I was hoping to see WWI from a different perspective and thus broaden my understanding of its history. This book is not very well organized the characters are presented with little or no back ground. The author uses very few original quotes and makes statements without backing them with evidence or quotations.
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4 people found this helpful