The Great War

Recently there has been an increase in articles in the national press relating to the Great War. With just under two years left until the centenary of the outbreak of war this is understandable. The build up is going to result in an renewed interest and hopefully a desire to understand the battles of the Great War past the tired and worn stereotype of lions led by donkeys.

There are already a number of authors who hold this revisionist view and their number is growing especially among academic circles. I believe this will lead to a far better understanding of the British “Tommie” of 1914-18, what motivated him, what he was equipped with, how he was trained and importantly how he was commanded and controlled once in battle.

Mons and the subsequent retreat will be the first battle to be commemorated by the British. This was an important milestone for the British as it marked the first time in nearly a century that they had placed an army in north west Europe. It was also the first time that the BEF created by Lord Haldane would see action.  

The battles of Mons and Le Cateau followed by the rearguard actions as the BEF retreated would see the BEF tested to its limits both at an individual and command level. It provides an interesting contrast to the image of mud and trenches and was one of the last times in the war that the artillery would be deployed in the traditional sense and firing over open sights at the enemy.

Some books I would recommend are:

Richard Holmes – Riding the Retreat. This book is as much a battlefield tour as it is a history of the opening actions and retreat. Filled with plenty of great accounts and told in the usual highly readable style of Richard Holmes.

John Terraine – Mons: The Retreat to Victory. Again another book by a respected author and one that I admittedly haven’t read in a few years but was a very good account of the actions.

This months Military History Monthly has an interesting article on Mons as well.

Photo source - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/6461635/Poppy-Appeal-pinning-down-poppy-etiquette.html