At the end of the Great War, the U.S. Army faced the challenge of 
integrating what it had learned in its war effort. During the interwar 
years the army sought to balance readiness and modernization in a 
period of limited resources and technological advances with profound 
implications for the conduct of warfare.

    In After the Trenches, William O. Odom traces the military's 
developments between the world wars through an examination of the 
army's primary doctrine manuals, the Field Service Regulations. 
Odom concludes that the Field Service Regulations of 1923 
successfully assimilated the experiences of the First World War and 
translated them into viable tactical practice.

    This impressively researched study serves as the standard 
reference on the subject for scholars and others interested in military 
history. It also broadens the perspectives of those who must deal 
with these important contemporary issues.

_________________________________________________________

Col. WILLIAM O. ODOM of Norfolk, Virginia, holds a Ph.D. in 
history from Ohio State University. He has taught military history at 
West Point and at Old Dominion University, where he remains an 
adjunct faculty member. Odom currently works at the U.S. Joint 
Forces Command.


Number Sixty-four: Texas A&M University Military History Series 


What people are saying about this book

"After the Trenches is a masterful analysis of its chosen topic. 
Soldiers and historians alike can profit from this insightful and 
readable work."—Military History