[.ca] Surviving Trench Warfare: Technology and the Canadian ... (ISBN 0802060021)

The Evolution of Infantry Tactics:
Dr. Bill Rawling's highly original "Surviving Trench Warfare" is groundbreaking; it is a thorough and original analysis of how the Canadian Corps reacted to the challenges of the war of attrition on the Western Front from 1915 to 1918. It is a welcome rebuttal to the view that infantry tactics in the Great War was no more than a series of advances of lines of mindless but brave infantry marching into the enemy's machine guns. In fact the leaders of the Canadian Corps took useful lessons not only from their own experiences, but also from their allies. They were thus able to develop tactics involving all-arms cooperation along with fire and movement to break the deadlock of the trenches. In the process, the Corps became, in Jack English's phrase, "the shock troops of the Empire". This book is highly recommended for any student of military history. It is also useful for serving Army officers, who can learn much from Rawling about how tactics can evolve in the face of huge combat challenges.