The French Army 1914-18 (Men-at-Arms Series)

Rating:
Summary: Good reference for modelers
Review: From the point of view of a modeler, this book is a great source on all details about WWI french soldiers. It has plenty of (black and white) photos as well as the usual Osprey center color plates, with complete explanations at the end.

For even more complete information on the French Army, I'd recommend adding another Osprey book: THE FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION 1914-1945.

Rating:
Summary: Very Competent Overview
Review: 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.