The Making of a Modern Army and its Operations in the Field A study based on the experience of three years on the French front (1914-1917) — Context and Discussion

A Sequence Designed for Comprehension

Radiguet states plainly that his chapter order is meant to “facilitate the comprehension of the last chapter,” in which he describes how an attack is prepared and assured. This is not a random collection of topics but a pedagogical architecture. He begins with broad concepts—strategy, tactics, interior lines—then narrows to the division as a fighting unit, command and staff duties, and finally the specialized arms. The reader is led step by step from theory to concrete battlefield mechanics. The foreword makes clear that the book is a product of practical experience, not academic theory: Radiguet was a division commander on the Marne. The sequence reflects his belief that understanding the whole requires understanding the parts in order.

Artillery as the Orchestrator of Battle

Radiguet devotes considerable attention to artillery, describing it as having a “twofold part to play”: destruction and counterfiring, plus neutralization. He details how heavy artillery is guided by scouting airplanes and captive balloons. A striking passage describes how, during the attack near Craonne on May 5, 1917, French asphyxiating shells silenced all but four or five of 180 German batteries within hours. He also recounts the capture of a German tunnel in Champagne after a large gas shell penetrated a concrete shelter, suffocating two companies. These examples illustrate Radiguet’s emphasis on coordination: artillery does not act alone but in concert with reconnaissance, infantry, and logistics.

The Human Cost of Neutralization Fire

Radiguet explains neutralization fire in blunt terms: after destructive fire has pounded enemy batteries, the quickest way to put them out of action is to exhaust the gunners with asphyxiating shells. Even with gas masks, men “very soon become exhausted on account of the difficulty they have in breathing through them.” He notes that a bombardment with asphyxiating shells can last several hours. The description is clinical, focused on tactical effect rather than moral judgment. Yet the detail—men struggling to breathe through masks while under shellfire—conveys the physical reality of the Western Front. Radiguet’s tone remains that of a technical advisor, but the human element surfaces in such observations.

Coordination in the Capture of Hill 304

The occupation of Hill 304 in August 1917 serves as Radiguet’s example of thorough coordination. He lists the steps: systematic destruction of defenses by days of continuous bombardment, careful location of enemy batteries using wireless telegraphy, photography, sound and light ranging, interception of code signals, and prisoner interrogation. Counter-batteries then apportioned these objectives. The passage shows how Radiguet integrates multiple methods of intelligence gathering into a single operation. He does not claim the hill was taken easily, but presents it as a model of methodical preparation. The example reinforces his central argument: success depends on the precise alignment of all arms, from the highest command to the individual gun crew.

Radiguet’s study is best read as a manual for practitioners, not a history. The reader should pay attention to the recurring emphasis on sequence and coordination—how each chapter builds on the previous one, and how each arm of the army supports the others. The book’s value lies in its specificity: the range of shell calibers, the duration of bombardments, the methods of locating batteries. These details, drawn from three years of command, offer a window into the technical thinking of a French general at a pivotal moment in the war.

I keep thinking about that French general’s manual, how calmly it dissects the chaos of the front—gas, artillery, the weight of a division. It stayed with me because it’s not romantic, just precise. That same quiet clarity lives in Submarines, Mines and Torpedoes in the War — Key Ideas to Explore, as if war’s machinery were simply weather to be understood. I found it oddly tender.