The Retreat from Mons 1914: South is the second volume in Pen & Sword's Battle Lines series to cover the opening campaign of the Great War. It is the essential companion for every visitor who is keen to retrace the path taken by the British Expeditionary Force immediately after the outbreak of the conflict _ all the important battle sites of the second stage of the retreat are featured here. ?Expert guides Jon Cooksey and Jerry Murland take visitors over a series of routes that can be walked, biked or driven, explaining the fighting that occurred at each place in vivid detail. They describe what happened, where it happened and why and who was involved, and point out the sights that remain for the visitor to see.?Their highly illustrated guidebook is essential reading for visitors who wish to enhance their understanding of the fast-moving campaign that preceded the war in the trenches. It gives a fascinating insight into the experience of the troops, the terrain over which they fought and the character of the fighting itself.
Twice in the 20th century, a British Expeditionary Force has taken the field in Northern France to fight beside the French Army. Twice, the Expeditionary Force has survived threat of complete destruction. But the differences between the Retreat to Dunkirk in 1940 and the first encounter with the enemy at Mons in 1914 are significant.
The Retreat from Mons 1914: South is the second volume in Pen & Sword's Battle Lines series to cover the opening campaign of the Great War. It is the essential companion for every visitor who is keen to retrace the path taken by the British Expeditionary Force immediately after the outbreak of the conflict - all the important battle sites of the second stage of the retreat are featured here. Expert guides Jon Cooksey and Jerry Murland take visitors over a series of routes that can be walked, biked or driven, explaining the fighting that occurred at each place in vivid detail. They describe wha.
On 23 August 1914 it was only the two divisions of General Smith-Dorrien's II Corps that were directly engaged with the German First Army along the line of the Mons-Conde Canal. As the British Expeditionary Force withdrew from Mons and bivouacked around Bavay on 25 August, Sir John French and his GHQ advisors _ unsure of the condition of the routes through the Fort de Mormal - ordered the British Expeditionary Force to continue their retirement the next day and to avoid the 35 square miles of forest roads. Consequently II Corps used the roads to the west of the Fort de Mormal and Sir Douglas Haig's I Corps those to the east _ with the intention that the four divisions should meet again at Le Cateau. It was an intention that was ambushed by circumstance as I Corps encountered units of the German 7th Division at Landrecies on 25/26 August. Unsure of the weight of the German attack at Landrecies, Douglas Haig hurriedly left for Grand Fayt and ordered his two divisions to immediately begin their retirement along a route that would take them west of Le Cateau. It was this decision that kept the by now five divisions of the BEF apart until 1 September and is the subject of this book. I Corps was now coming under attack from the German Second Army and the resulting rearguard actions that Haig's men were involved in are covered in this volume:
A guide to the history of each of the British Army’s regular formations, from their origins to their development over time. Using easy-to-follow, family-tree type tables, Bloodline shows the origins and development of every regular formation in the British Army including the latest amalgamations and changes brought about within the “Future Army Structure.” The charts illustrate clearly how, in some cases, up to twenty-five original regiments of the line have, over the centuries, by successive disbandments and amalgamations, been reduced to a single regiment in today’s superb but shamefully overstretched army. The Battle Honours of each post-Cardwell constituent are recorded separately so the progress of each of the original regiments, and the theatres in which it was involved, may be examined individually. The pedigrees and Honours of disbanded units are also recorded so their contribution will not be lost to posterity. A chronological summary of Battle honours provides an overview of the British Army’s campaigns over the past 300 years and notes on the origins of each formation place its original purpose within the political and historical perspective of the time. A robust editorial platform throughout applauds the Army as “the Nation’s most dependable and trustworthy institution” and castigates government neglect and public indifference for the unnecessary “blood and sacrifices” which successive generations of soldiers have had to make as a result of inadequate investment and preparation. Bloodline is a splendid record of achievement and will provide an invaluable work of reference for anyone who has dealings with, or simply an interest in or affection for, the British Army. Praise for Bloodlines “I know of no other resource that contains such a wealth of information about the History of the Regiments of the British Army. This will be a very useful addition to my shelf of military reference books.” —Daly History Blog “If you conduct research into the main elements of the British Army then this is an invaluable guide as to their lineage, hereditary and modern counterparts. The author has produced an outstanding reference text in one easy to follow volume. He has done great service to aiding researchers with this publication. In one excellent volume he has listed the principal elements of the Army and their histories. This concise volume deserves space on any serious researcher’s shelf.” —Military Archive Research
“[A] compelling read . . . Highly recommended for its extraordinarily powerful insight into the fragged edges of the first months of the European War.” —The Western Front Association Why did the Germans brutally and illegally execute a group of British soldiers who had been trapped behind the lines during the retreat to the Marne in 1914? Hedley Malloch, in this gripping and meticulously researched account, vividly describes the fate the soldiers on the run, and of the French civilians who sheltered them. He tells a dramatic and tragic story of escape, betrayals and punishment that also gives a fascinating insight into the life stories of the soldiers and civilians involved and the mind-set of the German army on the Western Front. The book names the German officers responsible for this atrocity and explores their motivations. “This is an episode of WW1 with which I am not familiar, and one that I found particularly fascinating and, at the same time, harrowing. The author attempts to set the record straight by naming the perpetrators of this enormous outrage.” —Books Monthly “Hedley Malloch, who is chair of the Iron Memorial fund and Honorary Life Member of the RMFA, has done a wonderful job with his book, a true memorial in its own right to those that were executed; innocent soldiers who just happened to find themselves on the wrong side of the lines.” —Redcoat and Khaki “If you have a Top Ten ‘books on the First World War’—then make room for The Killing of the Iron Twelve by Hedley Malloch.” —The Western Front Association
