Kitchener’s Army
Kitchener’s Army

Author: Peter Simkins

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2007-08-30

Total Pages: 373

ISBN-13: 1844155854

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Numbering over five million men, Britain's army in the First World War was the biggest in the country's history. Remarkably, nearly half those men who served in it were volunteers. 2,466,719 men enlisted between August 1914 and December 1915, many in response to the appeals of the Field-Marshal Lord Kitchener. How did Britain succeed in creating a mass army, almost from scratch, in the middle of a major war ? What compelled so many men to volunteer ' and what happened to them once they had taken the King's shilling ? Peter Simkins describes how Kitchener's New Armies were raised and reviews the main political, economic and social effects of the recruiting campaign. He examines the experiences and impressions of the officers and men who made up the New Armies. As well as analysing their motives for enlisting, he explores how they were fed, housed, equipped and trained before they set off for active service abroad. Drawing upon a wide variety of sources, ranging from government papers to the diaries and letters of individual soldiers, he questions long-held assumptions about the 'rush to the colours' and the nature of patriotism in 1914. The book will be of interest not only to those studying social, political and economic history, but also to general readers who wish to know more about the story of Britain's citizen soldiers in the Great War.

British Fighting Methods in the Great War
British Fighting Methods in the Great War

Author: Paddy Griffith

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-07-23

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1135196702

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This collection points out the very real and substantial evolution of tactics that went on in response to new warfare and how this had a real effect on the positive performance of the British Army from 1916 onwards.

The Battles of the British Expeditionary Forces, 1914-1915
The Battles of the British Expeditionary Forces, 1914-1915

Author: Fred R. van Hartesveldt

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2005-04-30

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 0313068437

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In this valuable resource, over 1,000 annotated sources from Great Britain, France, and Germany offer a historiographical reference for study of the British army at the beginning and in the first battles of World War I. Unique to this bibliography is the comprehensive coverage of sources, resulting in a more complete picture of the circumstances of activities of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Sources include coverage of the BEF's military role, as well as background information about domestic military considerations and Allied and enemy efforts. This volume will support researchers and students in their efforts to find out what the Expeditionary Force's contributions were in World War I, and for expanding their knowledge of the Great War and British military history. In this valuable resource, over 1,000 annotated sources from Great Britain, France, and Germany offer a historiographical reference for study of the British army at the beginning and in the first battles of World War I. Unique to this bibliography is the comprehensive coverage of sources, and it results in a more complete picture of the circumstances of activities of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Sources include coverage of the BEF's military role, as well as background information about domestic military considerations and Allied and enemy efforts. This volume will support researchers and students in their efforts to find out what the Expeditionary Force's contributions were in World War I, and for expanding their knowledge of the Great War and British military history. The volume includes four chapters of historiographical essays discussings the interpretations and controversies that surround the performance and leadership of the BEF in 1914-1915. The essays direct readers to the major sources that support various ideas and indicate gaps in the historiography of the subject. Following the historiographical essays is an annotated bibliography of more than 1,000 sources that are relevant to the study of the BEF.

Great War Lives
Great War Lives

Author: Paul Reed

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2011-06-13

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 1844686582

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The Great War was a key event of the twentieth century and it is one of the most popular and rewarding areas for historical research—and for family historians. More records than ever are available to researchers whose relatives served during the war, and Paul Reeds new book is the perfect guide to how to locate and understand these sources—and get the most out of them.In fascinating detail he follows the stories of twelve service men who fought and died in the Great War a rifleman, an infantry officer, a tunneller, a gunner, a Royal Marine, a naval rating, an airman, and others. He describes their wartime careers and shows how they fitted into the armed forces. He looks at what they did, at their lives in the front line, in the rear areas, on leave, and at the conditions they endured and the experiences they had. And he demonstrates how the research was done and how the lives of these individuals were reconstructed—the methods that were used, the sources that were consulted.Paul Reeds informative and accessible book will be essential reading and reference for anyone who wants to find out about the Great War and is keen to understand the part an ancestor played in it.

Monchy Le Preux
Monchy Le Preux

Author: Colin Fox

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 1990-12-31

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 0850527384

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As the motorist speeds past Arras on the motorway south to Paris, a look to the east should bring into view the hilltop village of Monchy le Preux. This farming community dominates the ground to the North (as it falls away to the River Scarpe) and to the South ( to the River Coejeul). In the early days of the Battle of Arras in the spring of 1917 the Village fell to British attacks after a stubborn resistance by the German defenders. Therefore the struggle continued to wage just to its east as all attempts to move the line significantly further into the German defences failed. In 1918 the German spring offensive rapidly regained lost ground, but stumbled and faltered on the outskirts of Arras. When it came to the British turn to launch what was to turn put to be the final offensive of the war in this sector; it was the Canadian forces that led the way here. Monchy and the countryside round about has returned, for the most part, to a tranquil, rural spot. Few of the topographical features that loomed so important in 1917 and 1918 have disappeared, so that this is a battlefield where it is easy to follow the action, whilst walking along its tracks shows how significant a vantage point this was to the combatants of 1917 and 1918. There are a few remnants of the war, and mementoes continue to give stark reminders of the bitter struggles of eighty years and more ago. In the spring of 1998 over twenty British soldiers whose bodies had been unexpectedly unearthed in the course of land development were buried in Monchy British cemetery