Reference Material for Building Trenches

[Darkoath]

I was wondering if anyone here can recommend good reference books that would have photographs of trenches, pillboxes, listening posts, gun positions, etc for building my own trenches?  Also any must have books for a WW1 library?

Darkoath

[Aaron]

A bit pricey, but the Battery Press offerings are nice: http://www.batterypress.com/Book/index.cfm?method=searchBookresults&bcategory=0&statusID=all&CFID=20015816&CFTOKEN=99806383. They are reprints of manuals published for the troops at the time. I have the one on the French and it is a terrain maker's dream. No photos, but lots of line drawings of how things were supposed to be done.

I have a farily good collection of original manuals and memoirs. It is surprising how cheaply these can be had at second-hand book stores. Three of my favorites can be downloaded for free. "How to Live At the Front" by Brit Captain Hector Macquarrie was written as a how-to manual for Yank newbies. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924027844228

"Kitchener's Mob: The Adventures of an American in the British Army" by James Norman Hall is a fantastic account of the author's experiences in the British infantry. http://www.archive.org/details/kitchenersmobad00hallgoog Hall later joined the Lafayette Escadrille and wrote another book about those adventures. http://www.archive.org/details/highadventurean02hallgoog. He also wrote one of the best fictionalized accounts of the events on the Bounty.

Lastly, "The First Hundred Thousand" by Ian Hay is a gripping memoir of a Brit who volunteered in the initial enthusiastic rush of 1914. http://www.archive.org/details/firsthundredtho00unkngoog

[Svennn]

The only one I have is the Osprey Fortifications of the Western Front. Not bad, some nice illustrations and photos.

[Darkoath]

I have decided to start a Great War project thread so I am moving my previous post to that thread...

Darkoath

[archangel1]

The only book I have specifically on WWI trench warfare, other than Osprey's, is this one.



The usual photos, a couple of sketches, just a general overview...

For an excellent source of late war photography, try to find this one.  Superb, clear, large photos of the British, Canadian (yay!), French and German forces involved.  Unfortunately, it no longer seems to be available direct from H&C.



Some of the, shall we say, more mature members of the LAF may remember this (very) little series of booklets from Bellona.





Volume 1 was concerned with Military Field Works of the 18th & 19th Centuries.  Some nice little sketches, well suited to modelling in 3D.  If anybody's interested, I could scan some more pages.  They cover such things as obstacles, fieldworks, trenches, emplacements, dugouts, mining, bridging, etc.

I've also got a copy of the official 1942 Bilheft Neuzeitlicher Stellungsbau, printed as German Field Works of World War II which illustrates many of the fortifications prescribed for various situations, complete with dimensions.

[aircav]

Check Landships out too:

http://www.landships.freeservers.com/ww1figures.htm

http://www.landships.freeservers.com/new_pages/trench_schematics.htm

http://www.landships.freeservers.com/new_pages/ww1_trenches.htm

Keith 

[Sidney Roundwood]

I don't know if this is of any use to anyone (and I'm not sure if this is the right place to post it, so many apologies in advance if it's not  ), but I've set up a blog giving a step-by-step guide to making some Great War trench terrain boards. 

You can find it at http://sidneyroundwood.blogspot.com

None of it is rocket science, and in retrospect I should have done a WIP thread here (which I'll do for the next set of terrain boards in the series).  Anyway, I hope it helps anyone in the future who's tempted by a terain board project.  I'm hoping to put the last few posts up on the blog by the end of the month.

Cheers

Sidney