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Author: E. Smalley Publisher: Springer ISBN: 1137494204 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 272
Book Description
Between September 1939 and June 1940, the British Expeditionary Force confronted the German threat to France and Flanders with a confused mind-set, an uncertain skills-set and an uncompetitive capability. This book explores the formation's origins, the scale of defeat in France and the campaign's considerable legacy.
Author: E. Smalley Publisher: Springer ISBN: 1137494204 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 272
Book Description
Between September 1939 and June 1940, the British Expeditionary Force confronted the German threat to France and Flanders with a confused mind-set, an uncertain skills-set and an uncompetitive capability. This book explores the formation's origins, the scale of defeat in France and the campaign's considerable legacy.
Author: Peter Hart Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA ISBN: 0199989273 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 537
Book Description
"The dramatic opening weeks of the Great War passed into legend long before the conflict ended. The British Expeditionary Force fought a mesmerizing campaign, outnumbered and outflanked but courageous and skillful, holding the line against impossible odds, sacrificing themselves to stop the last great German offensive of 1914. A remarkable story of high hopes and crushing disappointment culminates in the climax of the First Battle of Ypres. And yet, as Peter Hart shows in this look at the war's first year, for too long the British part in the 1914 campaigns has been veiled in layers of self-congratulatory myth: a tale of unprepared Britain, reliant on the peerless class of her regular soldiers to bolster the rabble of the unreliable French Army and defeat the teeming hordes of German troops. But the reality of those early months is in fact far more complex-and ultimately, Hart argues, far more powerful than the standard triumphalist narrative. Fire and Movement places the British role in 1914 into a proper historical context, incorporating the personal experiences of the men who were present on the front lines. The British regulars were indeed skillful soldiers, Hart writes, courageous and adaptable in the near-impossible circumstances in which they found themselves. But they also lacked practice in many of the required disciplines of modern warfare. Hart also offers a more accurate portrait of the German Army they faced--not the caricature of hordes of automatons, but the reality of a well-trained and superlatively equipped force that outfought the BEF in the early battles--and allows readers to come to a full appreciation of the role of the French Army, which has often been marginalized"--Provided by publisher.
Author: Andrew Rawson Publisher: Pen & Sword Military ISBN: 9781526723406 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
This is the story of the British Expeditionary Force's part in the opening days of the Advance to Victory. It starts with the contribution to the Battle of Fère-en-Tardenois in July; the counter-offensive which pushed the Germans back to the River Marne. Fourth Army's attack on 8 August was called the Black Day of the German Army, but it was only the beginning of 100 days of campaigning. The narrative follows the advance as it expands across the Somme, the Artois and the Flanders regions. Time and again the British and Empire troops used well-developed combined arms tactics to break through successive lines of defence. By the end of September, all five of the BEF's armies had reached the Hindenburg Line and were poised for the final advance. Each stage of the two month battle is given the same treatment, covering the details of the most talked about side of the campaign; the BEF's side. Over fifty new maps chart the day by day progress of the five armies and together with the narrative, explain the British Army's experience during the opening stages of the Advance to Victory. The men who made a difference are mentioned; those who led the advances, those who stopped the counter-attacks and those who were awarded the Victoria Cross. Discover the beginning of the Advance to Victory and learn how the British Army had mastered the art of attack.
Author: Nikolas Gardner Publisher: Greenwood ISBN: Category : Command of troops Languages : en Pages : 288
Book Description
While existing accounts of this period have elevated the exploits of the British soldiers on the battlefield to almost legendary status, the operations of the British Expeditionary Force in the dramatic opening campaign of the First World War remain poorly understood. Based on official unit war diaries, as well as personal papers and memoirs of numerous officers, this study sheds significant new light on the retreat from Mons in August 1914, the advance to the River Aisne in September, and the climactic First Battle of Ypres in October and November. In addition, Gardner provides important insights into the ideas and values of British officers in the initial stages of the war. Beyond explaining the conduct of the 1914 campaign, Gardner analyzes the initial stages of the learning curve experienced by British officers as they grappled with an unaccustomed type of warfare, including the unprecedented scale and intensity of the conflict as well as the advent of trench warfare. He also demonstrates the impact of rivalries among senior officers on the operations of the army. As a whole, the study adds depth to our understanding of command in European armies during the First World War.
Author: Charles More Publisher: Frontline Books ISBN: 1848327331 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 282
Book Description
This is an important reassessment of a critical period in the British Expeditionary Force's fight against the German armies invading France in 1940. On 25 May Lord Gort, the British commander, took the decision to move 5th Division north in order to plug a growing gap in his Army's eastern defences. Over the next three days the division fought a little-known engagement, the Battle of the Ypres-Comines Canal, to hold the Germans at bay while the rest of the BEF retreated towards Dunkirk.??The book describes the British Army of 1940 and outlines the early stages of the campaign before explaining the context of Gort's decision and why it was made. Then, using British and German sources, it shows how the British doggedly defended their line against heavy German attacks, and demonstrates that the Expeditionary Force was far more than the badly equipped and undertrained army which many historians have represented it as. This fresh look at the campaign also casts new light on other aspects such as the impact of the Luftwaffe and the Dunkirk evacuation itself.??As seen in Britain At War Magazine.
Author: Spencer Jones Publisher: Wolverhampton Military Studies ISBN: 9781912866113 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 424
Book Description
The British Expeditionary Force of 1914 was described by the official historian as "incomparably the best trained, best organised, and best equipped British Army that ever went forth to war." The BEF proved its fighting qualities in the fierce battles of 1914 and its reputation has endured. However, the same cannot be said for many of its commanders, who have frequently been portrayed as old fashioned, incompetent, and out of touch with events on the battlefield. Yet the officers who led the BEF to war were every bit as professional and hard-bitten as the soldiers they commanded. These officers had learned their craft in the unforgiving school of colonial warfare and honed their understanding of conflict in the period of reform that reshaped the army between 1902 and 1914. As this book reveals, when faced with the realities of modern combat, the officers of the BEF were prepared for the challenge. This collection offers a broad picture of command at all levels of the BEF through a series of biographical essays on key officers. Drawing upon much original research, each chapter explores the pre-war background and experience of the officer and assesses his performance in combat in the opening months of the First World War. The book features insightful reappraisals of famous figures including John French and Douglas Haig, fresh studies of staff officers such as William Robertson and Henry Wilson, and a thorough discussion of officers at the sharp end, with chapters covering divisional, brigade, battalion and company commanders. The essays reveal an officer class that, despite certain weaknesses, provided highly effective leadership during the chaotic fighting of August to November 1914. Without their influence it is unlikely that the BEF would have been able to survive the difficulties of the Great Retreat, much less halt the German invasions of France and Belgium. This book will be of great interest to anyone who studies the First World War, and of particular value to those who seek a greater understanding of the British Army of the era.
Author: Lord Edward Gleichen Publisher: Pen and Sword ISBN: 1783462493 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 156
Book Description
Edward Gleichen commanded the 15th Infantry Brigade during the tumultous opening battles of the Great War. The division was mobilised by 10 August 1914, and fought in the opening battles at Mons, Le Cateau and the Marne. The 15th Infantry Brigade was a regular formation tht comprised four battalions from Bedfordshire, Norfolk, Dorset and Cheshire.??Detailed accounts by battlefield commanders from 1914 are surprisingly rare. This long out of print account of the actions of the British Expeditionary Force, which was first published in 1917, was based on a diary of events written at the time by Brigadier General Edward Gleichen. It originally appeared under the title The Doings of the Fifteenth Infantry Brigade - August 1914 to March 1915.??This volume is much more than a brigade diary, providing the reader with a detailed and privileged insight into the problems of command during the confused actions in Flanders and France from the perspective of the men who?helped to forge the legend of the Old Comtemptables.
Author: Bruce Gudmundsson Publisher: Osprey Publishing ISBN: 9781841769028 Category : Antiques & Collectibles Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Over 200 divisions fought on the Western Front during the first year of World War I and those best suited to the challenges of trench warfare were the six infantry divisions of the original British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Their superiority was partially due to the high quality of the divisions' personnel and the first-class equipment provided to them. This book describes the organization and equipment of the BEF at the outbreak of the war in 1914, and relates how its structure changed both to accommodate the waves of Territorial and New Army units that were raised and to adapt to the rigours of conditions on the Western Front.
Author: Andrew Rawson Publisher: British Expeditionary Force ISBN: 9781473846159 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
The British Expeditionary Force - The 1915 Campaign is a thorough account of the BEF's actions during the battles of 1915 and early 1916, starting with the success at Neuve Chapelle in March and the nightmare gas attack at Ypres in April. It follows their back-to-back failures at Aubers and Festubert before the British used gas at Loos in September and the minor engagements of the early months of 1916. Each major battle and minor action is reconstructed in graphic detail and given equal treatment through the compiling of information from the Official History and printed histories, resulting in a balanced view of the most-talked-about side of the campaign - the British side. Detailed throughout are the reasonings behind each battle and the objectives, and there is discussion about how the infantry, the artillery, the cavalry and engineers worked together, often learning new techniques after bloody mistakes, with insights into the successes and failures of each attack. Together the narrative and over sixty new maps, that chart the day-by-day progress of each battle and action, provide an unique insight into the British Army's experience during those difficult days of 1915 and early 1916, as it came to terms the art of the offensive. Where possible the brave men who made a difference are commemorated; those who led the attacks, those who faced overwhelming counter attacks and those who were awarded the Victoria Cross. Through this wide-ranging, up-to-date and balanced account of this catastrophic conflict, the the real 1915 campaign experienced by the British Army and how its brave soldiers fought hard to achieve their objectives is explored.
Author: E. Smalley
Author: E. Smalley
Author: Peter Hart
Author: Andrew Rawson
Author: Nikolas Gardner
Author: Charles More
Author: Wilfrid Douglas Newton
Author: Spencer Jones
Author: Lord Edward Gleichen
Author: Bruce Gudmundsson
Author: Andrew Rawson