Paths of Glory: The French Army, 1914-1918

Anthony Clayton is an acknowledged expert on the French military and his book is a major contribution to the study and understanding of the First World War. He reveals why and how the French army fought as it did. He profiles its senior commanders - Joffre, Petain, Nivelle and Foch - and analyses its major campaigns both on the Western Front and in the Near East and Africa. PATHS OF GLORY also considers in detail the officers, how they kept their trenches and how men from very different areas of France fought and died together. He scrutinises the make-up and performance of France's large colonial armies and investigates the mutinies of 1917. Ultimately, he reveals how the traumatic French experience of the 1914-18 war indelibly shaped a nation.

About the Author :
Anthony Clayton was Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst for 29 years (1965-94). One of Britain's leading military historians, he was made a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques in 1988 in recognition of his expertise in French military history.

Review :
'[Anthony Clayton] provides a succinct narrative of operations, chronicles the main changes in weapons and organisation, and compresses a vast amount of information in a very tight compass. The result provides a very sensible summary for the monoglot Englishman, and probably a bettre single-volume account than is available in French.' Hew Strachan, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH (10/5/03) 'DrClayton is an acknowledged authority on the French Army, and his book is a valuable overview of the subject, bringing together a good deal of informationin a readable fashion. He has drawn upon important work carried out by Fenchscholars, together with some primary research of his own. His method is to provide a narrative of the princpal events, interleaved with analysis of topics such as command and control, trench warfare, airpower, tactics, and personnel and equipment. Although the main focus is on the Western Front, Clayton also provides useful sections on FreNch Army activities in the 'sideshows' suchas Gallipoli, Macedonia and Italy ... Clayton pays careful attention to the all-important subject of morale, and he pains a convincing picture of an armyplaced under such appalling strain that, in 1917, it suffered from a number of serious mutinies ... PATHS OF GLORY is an important book that provides a firm base from which scholars can explore aspects of the French Army of 1914 -1918 in more detail.' Gary Sheffield, RUSI JOURNAL (1/4/03) 'We learn how gallantly the French fought, against immense numerical odds, how they bore the brunt of the German onslaught for almost three years, and how the ordinary French soldier proved himself in terms of heroism and military expertise to be the equal of his British and American counterparts. An excellent account of thi