Paddy Griffith – författare

This collection points out the very real and substantial evolution of tactics that went on in response to new warfare and how this had a real effect on the positive performance of the British Army from 1916 onwards.

This collection points out the very real and substantial evolution of tactics that went on in response to new warfare and how this had a real effect on the positive performance of the British Army from 1916 onwards.

Packed with illustrations, a compact guide to the fortifications on the front lines and how they evolved over the course of the First World War.Following the early battles of 1914 along the Marne and in the Ypres salient, World War I rapidly changed from a war of movement into one of attrition, with the opposing sides entrenching themselves in a line of fortified positions from the Flanders coastline to the Swiss border.This volume details the different styles of fortification used on the Western Front throughout the course of the war, from the early ditches of 1914 to the complicated systems of 1918. It explains the development of the 'defence in depth' German system and the British reaction to it, as well as illustrating the importance of the pre-war forts, particularly around Verdun.

An illustrated history of the designs of Vauban, the foremost military engineer of France throughout the 18th century.Indeed, his expertise and experience in the construction, defence, and attack of fortresses is unrivalled by any of his contemporaries, of any nationality. In all three of those fields he was a significant innovator and prolific exponent, having planned approximately 160 major defensive projects and directed over 50 sieges.This book provides not only a modern listing of his varied interventions and their fates, but also a wide-ranging discussion of just how and why they pushed forward the international boundaries of the arts of fortification.

A fascinating insight into the dangers and difficulties of operating within the desert terrain From 1940 to 1943 North Africa saw the first major desert campaign by modern mechanised armies. The British, Italians, German Afrika Korps and US Army all addressed and learned from the special problems human, logistical, mechanical and tactical of the desert environment, most significantly fighting in a terrain empty of resources and offering little chance of concealment.In this compact yet detailed volume, Paddy Griffith traces the fast-learned development in armour, artillery and infantry tactics in this exceptional arena. Featuring illustrations throughout, the book explores major engagements in the North African theatre, which involved some of the greatest tacticians of World War II in one of the pivotal theatres.

In Battle Tactics of the Civil War, Paddy Griffith argues that, far from being the first 'modern' war, it was the last 'Napoleonic' war, and that none of the innovations of industrialized warfare had any signiticant effect on the outcome. 'Provocative, challenging and intelligent. Griffith's knowledge of military history in general from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries is so wide and deep that he is able to put the Civil War into a broader context more effectively and informatively than anyone else.' James M McPherson, author of Battle Cry for Freedom.