All the Kaiser's Men

The Imperial Army on the Western Front 1914–1918

Filling a gap in the historiography of World War I, this book provides unique insight into the daily life of the German troops facing the British and French between 1914 and 1918 Convinced that both God and the Kaiser were on their side, the officers and men of the German Army went to war in 1914 confident that they were destined for a swift and crushing victory in the West. The vaunted Schlieffen Plan, on which the anticipated German victory was based, expected triumph in the West to be followed by an equally decisive success on the Eastern Front—but it was not to be. From the winter of 1914 until the early months of 1918, the struggle on the Western Front was characterized by trench warfare, but most account of the conflict provides little or no thought to the realities of life in the German trenches. This book redresses that imbalance, as drawing from diaries and letters, Ian Passingham charts the hopes and despair of the German soldiers, filling an important gap in the history of the Western Front.