The Defeat of Imperial Germany, 1917-1918

Paschall's book focuses in part on the role of the American Expeditionary Force in the ultimate defeat of Germany along the Western Front in 1918. As such, it is a useful tool as an introduction to an easily neglected area of study. In addition, Paschall provides good descriptions of the battles of 1917 and 1918 along the Western Front (I thought Cambrai was his best). My only qualm with Pachall is that he seemed to have neglected scholarship available to him regarding certain aspects of his work (e.g. German tactical doctrine and industrial capacity). But overall, I would recommend it as an introduction to the last two years of the war.

Rod Paschall has written a very tidy piece of military history which goes a long way towards showing how many of the conventional beliefs concerning WW1 are totally innaccurate. He dosen't diminish the loss of life but he does show that the generals in charge were no less capable than their WW2 counterparts. Much of what was practiced in WW2 started in WW1. Pascall builds a compelling case that the generals on both sides invented ingenious new strategies that simply failed in the context of a war of attrition. An outstanding contribution to the body of knowledge of World War One.