The Battlefields of the First World War: the Unseen Panoramas of the Western Front (General Military) - Hardcover

Barton, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1845298845 ISBN 13: 9781845298845

Verlag: Constable, 2008

Inhaltsangabe

Here are the great battlefields of the First World War as you have never seen them before, from the first cavalry skirmishes, through the horrors of the Somme and Passchendaele, to the final weeks of conflict. A revelatory, unique collection of panoramic photographs covering the whole of the British sectors of the Western Front, end to end. The vast battlescapes are interspersed with poignant individual photographs and the recollections of the soldiers caught in the action. This new edition of the acclaimed volume features 30 recently discovered German panoramas, plus a new DVD that includes 60 extra panoramas making a total of 300 panoramas in interactive form; as well as updated mapping throughout.The last time most of the panoramas were viewed - in the trenches - they were marked Top-Secret and destined for the eyes of the commanding officer only. Taken at huge personal risk by specialist photographers during the war, the panoramas reveal what no other photographs can - the view beyond the trench parapet - and a great deal more.Each panorama offers a view of up to 160 degrees, so sharply focused that the individual figures of a waiting sniper or a soldier picking lice from his shirt can be made out. They document a lost world. What they reveal challenges almost all of our existing perceptions of the 'war to end all wars', and the nature of the landscape of battle. As well as vistas of tortured pastures and seas of mud, they show churches still standing, sandy beaches, and fields of flowers. In many, there is little evidence of war at all. There are indeed desolate scenes but, above all, these photographs now reveal that for much of the time the war was waged in a real and recognisable landscape.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Peter Barton is a historian, archaeologist and film-maker. He authored The Battlefields of the First World War after researching the forgotten Imperial War Museum panorama archive for eight years. His other books include The Somme, and Passchendaele.

He continues to lead an ongoing project to recover, interpret and publish all surviving battlefield panoramas - widely regarded as the 'missing link' for our full understanding of the First World War. He has since uncovered several equivalent unseen collections of panoramas in German archives, included here.

Barton has also led several major excavations on the Western Front, and produced the critically acclaimed documentary films The Underground War, The Soldiers' Pilgrimage and Conviction. He is co-secretary of the All Party Parliamentary War Graves and Battlefields Heritage Group.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Constable
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2008
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1845298845
• ISBN 13: 9781845298845
• Einband: Tapa dura
• Anzahl der Seiten: 394
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar