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The First World War was dominated by artillery, which was responsible for around two thirds of all casualties. This book looks at over 100 different types of artillery piece used by the German Army and the coastal guns operated by the Navy during that conflict. These range from 2cm antiaircraft guns up to the massive 'Paris' guns, which fired shells into the stratosphere, and could be seen as a precursor to the many wasteful German weapons programmes of the Second World War.
We start with a short introduction looking at the development and use of artillery during the First World War, including some interesting material on attempts to improve the effectiveness of the artillery. This is then followed by the gun articles, with most getting a single page. Each one gets a brief description, technical stats and a fairly sizable picture. I'd have preferred more text and smaller photos, but the good pictures will be popular with many.
Having just read a similar book on Second World War artillery, many of these pieces look remarkably primitive in comparison (especially some of the gun mounts), but that shouldn't detract from their effectiveness - these were the weapons that created the devastating artillery bombardments recorded in so many British memoirs of the First World War. This is a useful guide to those German guns.
Chapters
Guns of the Field Artillery
Guns of the Fussartillerie and Heavy Flat-Trajectory Guns
Anti-Aircraft Guns
Infantry, Anti-Tank and Mountain Guns
Fortess Guns
Coastal Guns
Author: Wolfgang Fleischer
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 128
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Year: 2014