The History Book Club discussion

This is the thread to discuss the Offensive of Verdun.

John Keegan's book - The First World War discussed this Offensive on pages 278 - 286.

by John Keegan

It would be hard to beat Alistair Horne's book on Verdun; "The Price of Glory".


by Alistair Horne
Publishers blurb:
The battle of Verdun lasted ten months. It was a battle in which at least 700,000 men fell, along a front of fifteen miles. Its aim was less to defeat the enemy than bleed him to death and a battleground whose once fertile terrain is even now a haunted wilderness. Alistair Horne's classic work, continuously in print for over fifty years, is a profoundly moving, sympathetic study of the battle and the men who fought there. It shows that Verdun is a key to understanding the First World War to the minds of those who waged it, the traditions that bound them and the world that gave them the opportunity.

Another recent book covering this battle is:

by Malcolm Brown
Publishers blurb:
1916 was a year of killing. The British remember the Somme, but earlier in the year the heart of the French army was ripped out by the Germans at Verdun. The garrison city in north-eastern France was the focus of a massive German attack; the French fought back ferociously, leading to a battle that would claim hundreds of thousands of lives and permanently scar the French psyche. To this day one can visit the site of ghost villages uninhabited since, but still cherished like shrines. Memories of Verdun would greatly influence military and political thinking for decades to come as both sides came away with memories of bravery, futility and horror. Malcolm Brown has produced a vivid new history of this epic clash; drawing on original illustrations and eyewitness accounts he has captured the spirit of a battle that defines the hell of warfare on the Western Front.

An early publication by Georges Blond also offers a decent overview of this terrible battle:

Verdun by Georges Blond

Keegan started discussing Verdun on page 278 of his book. What struck you about the futility of Verdun and the sacrifices made by the soldiers who were assigned to that location?

This section struck me powerfully; I thought it was gripping and could not put it down. It epitomizes the whole war for me: the pointlessness of so much of the effort; the "great plan" that went wrong. And all for not very much.

Patrirck (apologies for spelling) asked, what went wrong with the German plan? I think Keegan notes that, though they certainly were "bleeding" the French army, they had not planned on the heavy losses that they themselves sustained. I believe Keegan references the better accuracy of the French artillery over time. And, maybe to a lesser extent, the Germans had underestimated the French will to fight and how much it would take for them to break it. Of course, they counted on the French irrationally defending a strategically useless spot: that was the whole point of their plan. But they didn't count on the French acceptance of the huge losses accrued in Verdun's defense.

Mary Ellen, excellent points. Most underestimate the homeland army's ability to sustain losses; they are of course fighting for their home, their families and for their very existence.

Having visited Verdun, the musuems, etc....the futility of the situation is haunting.

Bentley, reading this book has made me wish I could visit some of these battlefields. Such tragedy. And pigheadedness, IMHO.

Yes, Mary Ellen so true. But visiting the battlefields will not make you feel any better though...but it will really move you unbelievably and the tragedy and the utter loss of life will haunt you.

So the visits are a mixed blessing.

True that a visit makes the events one has read about more "real." (A visit to Gettysburg had this effect on me.) My impulse to visit stems from a desire to honor those who fought there, those who were willing to sacrifice everything for (what they believed to be) the good of their country -- in this case, my country, too.

Very true Mary Ellen and I hope your visit is as powerful as my own visit was for me.

Hi Mary Ellen, I think it would be great if you could get across to France and Belgium and walk the battlefields and visit the Commonwealth War Graves. The CWG are so peaceful and beautifully maintained but an overwhelming sadness can come over you when you see so many white headstones and then see some of the ages of the soldiers buried there. It's well worth the trip and as Bentley mentioned its a powerful experience.

Verdun: The Lost History of the Most Important Battle of World War I, 1914-1918

by John Mosier (no photo)

Synopsis:

Alongside Waterloo and Gettysburg, the Battle of Verdun during the First World War stands as one of history’s greatest clashes. Yet it is also one of the most complex and misunderstood, in a war only imperfectly grasped.

Conventional wisdom holds that the battle began in February 1916 and lasted until December, when the victorious French wrested all the territory they had lost back from the Germans. In fact, says historian John Mosier, from the very beginning of the war until the armistice in 1918, no fewer than eight distinct battles were waged for the possession of Verdun. These conflicts are largely unknown, even in France, owing to the obsessive secrecy of the French high command and its energetic propaganda campaign to fool the world into thinking that the war on the Western Front was a steady series of German checks and defeats.

Although British historians have always seen Verdun as a one-year battle designed by the German chief of staff to bleed France white, Mosier’s careful analysis of the German plans reveals a much more abstract and theoretical approach.

Our understanding of Verdun has long been mired in myths, false assumptions, propaganda, and distortions. Now, using numerous accounts of military analysts, serving officers, and eyewitnesses, including French sources that have never been translated, Mosier offers a compelling reassessment of the Great War’s most important battle.

The Road to Verdun: World War I's Most Momentous Battle and the Folly of Nationalism

by Ian Ousby (no photo)

Synopsis:

On February 21, 1916, the Germans launched a surprise offensive at Verdun, an important fortress in northeastern France, sparking a brutal and protracted conflict that would claim more than 700,000 victims. The carnage had little impact on the course of the war, and Verdun ultimately came to symbolize the absurdity and horror of trench warfare.

Ian Ousby offers a radical reevaluation of this cataclysmic battle, arguing that the French bear tremendous responsibility for the senseless slaughter. He shows how the battle’s roots lay in the Franco-Prussian war and how its legacy helped lay the groundwork for World War II. Merging intellectual substance with superb battle writing, The Road to Verdun is a moving and incisive account of one of the most important battles of the twentieth century.

An upcoming book:
Release date: February 3, 2014

Verdun: The Longest Battle of the Great War

by Paul Jankowski (no photo)

Synopsis:

At seven o'clock in the morning on February 21, 1916, the ground in northern France began to shake. For the next ten hours, twelve hundred German guns showered shells on a salient in French lines. The massive weight of explosives collapsed dugouts, obliterated trenches, severed communication wires, and drove men mad. As the barrage lifted, German troops moved forward, darting from shell crater to shell crater. The battle of Verdun had begun.

In Verdun, historian Paul Jankowski provides the definitive account of the iconic battle of World War I. A leading expert on the French past, Jankowski combines the best of traditional military history-its emphasis on leaders, plans, technology, and the contingency of combat-with the newer social and cultural approach, stressing the soldier's experience, the institutional structures of the military, and the impact of war on national memory. Unusually, this book draws on deep research in French and German archives; this mastery of sources in both languages gives Verdun unprecedented authority and scope. In many ways, Jankowski writes, the battle represents a conundrum. It has an almost unique status among the battles of the Great War; and yet, he argues, it was not decisive, sparked no political changes, and was not even the bloodiest episode of the conflict. It is said that Verdun made France, he writes; but the question should be, What did France make of Verdun? Over time, it proved to be the last great victory of French arms, standing on their own. And, for France and Germany, the battle would symbolize the terror of industrialized warfare, "a technocratic Moloch devouring its children," where no advance or retreat was possible, yet national resources poured in ceaselessly, perpetuating slaughter indefinitely

The cream of the French forces died at Verdun.....300,000 men. It is hard to visualize this as a victory but in WWI, this type of slaughter was commonplace. Horrific.

Verdun 1916: They Shall Not Pass

by William Martin

Synopsis:

Verdun --- a name which will forever be symbolic of the futile bloodletting of World War One --- was the costliest battle between the French and Germans in the War On 21 February 1916 German General Erich von Falkenhayn unleashed his hammer-blow offensive against the French fortress city of Verdun. His aim was nothing short of the destruction of the French army. Falkenhayn was sure that the symbolic value of Verdun was such that the French would be 'compelled to throw in every man they have.' He was equally sure that 'if they do so the forces of France will bleed to death'. The massed batteries of German guns would smash the French troops in their trenches and bunkers. But the French hung on with immense courage and determination and the battle became a bloody war of attrition. This title describes the destructive events of this pivotal First World War battle. Verdun --- a name which will forever be symbolic of the futile bloodletting of World War One --- was the costliest battle between the French and Germans in the War. On 21 February 1916 German General Erich von Falkenhayn unleashed his hammer-blow offensive against the French fortress city of Verdun. His aim was nothing short of the destruction of the French army by bleeding it dry. Falkenhayn was sure that the symbolic value of Verdun was such that the French would be 'compelled to throw in every man they have.' The massed batteries of German guns would smash the French troops in their trenches and bunkers. But the French hung on with immense courage and determination and the battle became a bloody war of attrition. This title describes the destructive events of this pivotal First World War battle. Some 300,000 Frenchman died at Verdun, but they stopped the German invasion.

Jerome wrote: "An upcoming book:
Release date: February 3, 2014

Verdun: The Longest Battle of the Great War

by Paul Jankowski (no..."

Just finished this one - I was a little disappointed with it. It was not what I expected. It is not the story of how the battle was fought nor does the author even attempt to follow the battles "flow". It is more of an attempt to explain why - Why the Germans attacked there, why the French defended it so tenaciously, why the troops continued to fight so fiercely.

At lot of it esp on the why the soldiers fought so hard could be said of any soldiers in any battle.

Thanks happy - your comments give a balanced view of the book which is always good.

Marshall Petain was the hero of Verdun in WWI and then destroyed himself by his actions in France (Vichy) during WWII.

Verdun

by Marshal Petain (no photo)

Synopsis:

Marshal Petain's account of the World War I battle, illustrated with photographs and maps.

The hero of Verdun who was adored by the French. Then came the Nazis and Petain's collaboration which destroyed him. A good companion book to the one mentioned in message #18.

Petain: Verdun to Vichy

by Robert Bowman Bruce (no photo)

Synopsis:

Few figures in modern French history have aroused more controversy than Marshal Philippe Pétain, who rose from obscurity to great fame in the First World War only to fall into infamy during the dark days of Nazi occupation in World War II. Pétain’s brilliant theories of firepower and flexible defense, as well as his deep empathy for the soldiers of France and the horrific trials they endured on a daily basis, mark him as one of the greatest Allied generals of World War I. Yet today he is best remembered as the nearly senile marshal who was handed the reins of power in France in the midst of the disastrous 1940 campaign and tasked with seeking terms from Nazi Germany. His leadership of Vichy France from 1940 to 1944 and his postwar conviction of treason and lifetime exile to the Ile d'Yeu made him a scapegoat for the nation.

This later perception forever tainted Pétain’s military reputation as a soldier who served France his entire life and led the French Army through the crucible of Verdun, the morale crisis of 1917, and on to final victory in the Great War. He was despised for his actions as an octogenarian in June 1940. With the bulk of the French Army already destroyed and Paris itself wide-open to attack, Pétain, then eighty-four, immediately sought an armistice with Germany to halt further bloodshed. While others fled, Pétain took what he considered the braver course by staying and doing what he could to safeguard the remnants of his army and his nation. So began his descent into collaboration, treason, and the destruction of all that he had accomplished and stood for throughout his life.

Good Jill thank you

The horror of Verdun revisited.

Battle Story: Verdun 1916

by Chris McNab (no photo)

Synopsis:

The Battle of Verdun resulted in 698,000 deaths, 70,000 for each of the 10 months of battle. The French Army in the area were decimated and it is often most tragically remembered as the battle in which the French were "bled white." The fortress town of Verdun had stood against many attacks throughout history, but had been worn down by relentless German bombing during 1915 and 1916. However, it was a potent symbol of French resistance that the French Army was loathe to relinquish easily, and it was partly for this reason that the German Commander von Falkenhayn choose to launch a major offensive here. His attack commenced on February 21, with the Germans using shock troops and flamethrowers to clear the French trenches. Initially the fighting focused on Fort Douamont, which the Germans captured and the French tried to reclaim, however by June 1916 the Germans were pressing on the city itself and the Germans were exhausting their reserves. The French continued to fight valiantly, despite heavy losses and eventually rolled back German forces from the city. In the end it was a battle that saw much loss of life for little gain on either side.

The loss of Fort Douaumont at Verdun by the French came as a total shock as it was reputed to be the strongest point of the Maginot Line

Fort Douaumont: Battleground Verdun

by Christina Holstein (no photo)

Synopsis:

This fully revised second edition of Christina Holstein's acclaimed Battleground guide to Fort Douaumont will be essential reading for students of the Battle of Verdun, for visitors to the battlefield, and for anyone who is interested in the history of twentieth-century fortifications.The battle, which lasted from 21 February to 15 December 1916, was a turning point in the First World War, and Fort Douaumont was at the heart of it. In 1914 the fort was the strongest and most modern of the fortifications around Verdun and it formed the keystone of the French defense in the area.Using both French and German sources, Christina Holstein introduces the reader to the fortress system around Verdun, explains the construction, reinforcement and armament of Fort Douaumont and describes its surprise capture by the Germans in February 1916. Its loss was a terrible blow to French morale and their repeated attempts to retake the fort are portrayed in graphic detail. As the months ground on and the Battle of Verdun turned into stalemate, the desire to keep or to recapture Fort Douaumont, whatever the cost, became the reason for both sides to go on fighting.This invaluable, and now fully up-to-date, Battleground guide gives a compelling insight into the brutal nature of the struggle - and into the soldiers, French and German, who took part in it.

A look at the two most important battles of the Great War.

The 1916 Experience; Verdun and the Somme

by Julian Thompson

Synopsis:

Verdun and the Somme were two of the most important battles in the First World War. Written by a leading military historian, and accompanied by many first-hand accounts on an audio CD, this work includes 30 facsimile items of First World War memorabilia that allow the reader to re-live this period of history.

An upcoming book:
Release date: February 1, 2016

The Battle of Verdun

by Alan Axelrod (no photo)

Synopsis:

Called "the worst battle in history" by military historian Sir Alistair Horne, the Battle of Verdun took place from February 21 through December 18, 1916, making 2016 the 100th anniversary of this major battle in the war to end all wars. Approximately 700,000 men fell in this one battle. The book offers an exciting popular narrative, with emphasis on key personalities involved and on its strategic and political significance. The battle is set in the context of the history of modern warfare, technologically, culturally, and politically. Although the battle took place in Europe, the American perspective is featured prominently.

Part of the "Battleground" series, this is the book to take along if you are visiting the WWI battlefield and burial grounds.

Walking Verdun: A guide to the Battlefield

by Christina Holstein (no photo)

Synopsis:

On 21 February 1916 the German Fifth Army launched a devastating offensive against French forces at Verdun and set in motion one of the most harrowing and prolonged battles of the Great War. By the time the struggle finished ten months later, over 650,000 men had been killed or wounded or were missing, and the terrible memory of the battle had been etched into the histories of France and Germany. ... Full description

Jill wrote: "Part of the "Battleground" series, this is the book to take along if you are visiting the WWI battlefield and burial grounds.

Walking Verdun: A guide to the Battlefield

[bookcover:Walking Verdun:..."

I wish I had had this book when we visited Verdun, but then all of the Western Front battlefields are memorable. Verdun always strikes me with its intensity when I think of the Ossuary--all those men. Then, too, is the effect it had on the Somme, and on France itself 20 years later.

Betsy I agree with you - having visited Verdun - I was struck by the sadness of the place after so many had lost their lives there.

It is almost beyond belief that there were over 700,000 casualties in the Battle of Verdun alone.

An upcoming book:
Release date: January 15, 2016

Verdun 1916: The Deadliest Battle of the First World War

by William F. Buckingham (no photo)

Synopsis:

Fought on the heights above the town of the same name on the River Meuse east of Paris, the Battle of Verdun lasted for the ten months between February and December 1916, double the length of the Battle of the Somme. Conceived by the Germans as a means of destroying the French Army through attrition rather than by breakthrough and encirclement, the battle cost 300,000 dead. Massed artillery was employed on a hitherto unprecedented scale - the initial bombardment lasted for nine hours and pumped 80,000 shells onto the French trench line while on the ground the initial attack saw the combat debut of storm troop tactics and the man-pack flamethrower. In the ten months the battle raged the combatants endured heat and thirst akin to desert conditions along with bottomless mud the dreadful equal of Passchendaele. For an additional twist, the fixed defences of Forts Douaumont and Vaux sparked hellish underground fighting in subterranean pitch darkness that occurred nowhere else on the Western Front. The result was almost 200 square kilometres of ground that had been blasted and poisoned into a virtual desert by explosives and gas. Post-war the French authorities simply planted thousands of coniferous trees and left it to the elements. Illustrated with over fifty colour photographs of the battlefield today and contemporary images of the battle.

Just listened to Dan Carlin's podcast, Blueprint for Armageddon. It is a fascinating look at the First World War in general, and the Battle of Verdun in particular. The combination of good writing and use of primary sources makes it feel like you've been to the battle for yourself. In short, it's a must listen!

WWI was such a horrific event......hundreds of thousands of lives lost for 50 yards of ground which was lost the next day. And for what?

BTW, don't forget your citations. Thanks.

by Dan Carlin

Thank you Sam and thank you Jill for helping him.

Verdun Memorial to the Fallen Soldiers and Civilians

Thanks for the photo. It doesn't seem possible that in February it will be 100 years since the beginning of that tragic campaign.

I am currently reading a book about Verdun which is filling in some of the holes in my knowledge of that campaign and am finding out some rather surprising things. It is so difficult to think that when 20,000 men die in a charge, the commanders just throw in another 20,000. The lack of empathy for human life is beyond my understanding.

If you are interested, the book is:

by Paul Jankowski (no photo)

I suspect people have wondered about the brutality of war since the first cave man bopped another cave man. It's just that now the killing can be in the blink of an eye and from a distance.

Will look into the book.

Based on the famous author's personal experiences in World War I.

Outside Verdun
Note: Historical Fiction

by Arnold Zweig (no photo)

Synopsis

A new translation of a forgotten masterpiece of German World War I literature, based on the author's own first-hand experiences of combat

The war, an operation instigated by men, still felt to him like a storm decreed by fate, an unleashing of powerful elements, unaccountable and beyond criticism.

Arnold Zweig's novel was first published in 1933 and is based on his own experiences in the German army during World War I. Following the unlawful killing of his younger brother by his own superiors, Lieutenant Kroysing swears revenge, using his influence to arrange for his brother's unit, normally safely behind the lines, to be reassigned to the fortress at Douaument, in the very heart of the battle for France. Bertin, a lowly but educated Jewish sapper through whose eyes the story unfolds, is the innocent man caught in the cross-fire. The book not only explores the heart-breaking tragedy of one individual trapped in a nightmare of industrialized warfare but also reveals the iniquities of German society in microcosm, with all its injustice, brutality, anti-Semitism, and incompetence. A brilliant translation captures all the subtleties, cadences, and detachment of Zweig's masterful prose.

An American French volunteer's first hand account of the Battle of Verdun.

A Volunteer Poilu

by Henry Beston

Synopsis:

Henry Beston was an American writer and naturalist. After graduating from Harvard, Beston began teaching at the University of Lyon. Beston joined the French army in 1915 and served as an ambulance driver. Beston's first book A Volunteer Poilu describes his service in le Bois le Pretre and at the Battle of Verdun.

Verdun

by David Mason (no photo)

Synopsis:

Part of the Great Battles series, there is no information on GR about this book but the title appears to be self explanatory

Another take on the bloodies battle of the war, in which the French lost 400,000 soldiers. The numbers are almost unbelievable.

Verdun

by Jules Romains

Synopsis:

February 1916 saw the opening stages of one of the most fearful battles of the World War I, at Verdun, between France and Germany. The German High Command believed in a strategy of attrition and felt that Germany could, by choosing a point of attack which the French felt they would have to defend at all costs, bleed France to death. They chose Verdun, a small fortress that had been of strategic importance to France for hundreds of years. Six months late, after 400,000 French lay dead and wounded, and as many German, the assault was abandoned and in October the French recaptured the forts and territory they had lost earlier.

Jill wrote: "Verdun

by David Mason (no photo)

Synopsis:

Part of the Great Battles series, there is no information on GR about this book but the title appears to be self explanatory "

An adequate battle narrative that follows in the footsteps of Alistair Horne's popular classic The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916 but the language is much more straightforward and the facts are not framed within elegant tableaux. The lack of footnotes makes it unclear how much post-1962 research has been incorporated, alltough the "further reading" postscript does list a few solid titles such as Herwig's recently re-issued First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918and use has been made of (older) French books such as George Blond's. Since 2000 there have been a few valuable additions to the Verdun field; notably Ian Ousby's The Road to Verdun: World War I's Most Momentous Battle and the Folly of Nationalism and German Strategy and the Path to Verdun: Erich Von Falkenhayn and the Development of Attrition, 1870-1916.

One star of the rating goes to nostalgia: my copy's scarred with underlining and carries a note explaining what a salient is. The traces of a Great War noob.

* by Ian Ousby (no photo)

* by Robert T. Foley (no photo)

* by Holger H. Herwig (no photo)

I hope to (re)read and review Foley & Herwig between now and 2018....

Thanks so much, Dimitri. I was surprised there was no description with the book since it is part of The Great Battles series....but I would rather have your description anyway!!!!!

This documentary from the History Channel describes the Battle of Verdun with archival footage. It is worth the watch.

1916 Total War: Verdun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hISto...

I think I saw this. Excellent look at Verdun.

The Road to Verdun: France, Nationalism and the First World War - Just noticed that this was free with Kindle Unlimited and there are hardcovers from $2.00 (used) - quite an outstanding book for that price - and I am not a Kindle salesperson (lol)

by Ian Ousby (no photo)

Synopsis:

This is an outstanding book, rich in its insights, and written with verve and style... In a piece of bold craftsmanship, the author launches his narrative of the battle, then spools back to explore the psychological and cultural journey that brought France from her nadir in 1815, following the defeat of Napoleon, to her life-and-death struggle in the killing fields of Lorraine 101 years later.’
--Malcolm Brown, Guardian

`This is a book as careful to touch its readers’ emotions as it is to deepen their understanding.’
--Times Literary Supplement

`It is a story that still has the power to shock and horrify... consistently intelligent and readable... an engaging and important book.’
New Statesman

‘The real richness of this book for military historians is his culling of French soldiers’ memoirs and diaries. His text is studded with quotable and memorable descriptions of the horrors of the battle.’
Sunday Times

`Brilliantly told... magnificent... Piercing insight, controversial political analysis... telling character portrayal, historical and military study and individual human tragedy is all skilfully knit together in one seamless whole...a masterpiece.’
BBC History

Verdun was the largest, the longest and the bloodiest battle between the French and Germans in the First World War, lasting from February 1916 until the end of the year and claiming more than 700,000 casualties. For the French in particular, it was always more than just a battle, being rather (in Paul Valéry’s words) ‘a complete war in itself, inserted in the Great War’.

Ian Ousby’s masterly book gives a dramatic and brilliantly illuminating account of the generals’ planning and the troops’ suffering. At the same time it challenges the narrow horizons of military history by locating the experience of Verdun in how the French had thought about themselves since the debacle of the Franco-Prussian War. Verdun emerges as the mid-point in the cycle of Franco-German hostility, carrying both the burden of history and — if only by the presence on the battlefield of men like Pétain and de Gaulle, France’s two leaders in the next war — the seeds of the future.

About the Author:

"Ian Ousby's life began - and ended - in tragedy.

The birth was tragic, or at least bleak, because his army officer father had been stabbed to death in the India of 1947, independence year, while his mother was pregnant with him.

The death was tragic, or at least deeply sad, because his industry, insight, versatility, critical and literary skills, which had created a considerable reputation for him as a writer in diverse fields, have been cut off by cancer at the relatively early age of 54.

Ousby never seemed a very contemporary figure and eschewed fashion and fashions of all kinds. Mannered and slightly languid - but not eccentric - in speech and dress, he was an essentially shy man who was able, through the clarity of his thought and the manner of his expression, to get trenchantly to the heart of the matter, somewhat like a 19th-century essayist but without a hint of the dilettante.

As writer, scholar and broadcaster, his contributions ranged through several genres: the study of detective fiction, travel, literature and modern French history among them. His readers were far flung: his book on the American novel was translated into Russian, on detectives in fiction into Japanese.

Born in Marlborough, Wiltshire, he had a reputation as a rebel at school, Bishop's Stortford College. A young and liberal headmaster was not quite liberal enough for Ousby, and he fulminated in the school magazine, of which he was editor, against the public schools as "the last institutions in which changes in national attitude, thought or social pattern are reflected".

An active member of CND from his early teens, he would go on the Easter marches, and proselytised in the provinces for the newly published Private Eye.

Yet all this was misleading. Pitchforked into American student unrest at the end of the 1960s when he went to Harvard for his doctorate, he found the radicalism unpleasant and the time-wasting unacceptable.

Writing from Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1972, he observed: "Mercifully, political consciousness seems to have diminished, so they [the students] won't be going on strike all the time."

The author of several books on early tourism and of Blue Guides to Literary Britain and Ireland (1985), England (1989) and Burgundy (1992), he had most recently been working on a major study, The Road to Verdun: France, Nationalism and the First World War, news of which has been greeted with excited anticipation in the world of books, and which will be published early next year.

As a young man Ousby had quoted Martin Luther King approvingly: "You can never get rid of a problem as long as you hide the problem." In private life, like many or most of us, he probably failed to live up to that; in his writing, he triumphantly exemplified its message".

Biography source: The Guardian