Trial by Fire: Command and the British Expeditionary Force in 1914

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

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 World War I 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 analyses 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 amongst senior officers on the operations of the army. As a whole, the study aims to add depth to our understanding of command in European armies during World War I.

Reviews

"A perceptive and thoughtful book which makes an excellent read. An important examination of the exercise of command in the BEF up to the end of first Ypres concentrating on command at Corps level and at GHQ. This important work is essential reading in understanding how the BEF operated in 1914."-Stand To! Journal of the Western Front Association
"Gardner's important book adds much to our understanding of the BEF as an army, and of operations in 1914....[a]n interesting, well-argued and original survey which is recommended to those interested in the First World War, or questions of military leadership."-War in History
[A] fresh and original study....[p]rovides some new and thought-provoking insights into the conduct of the BEF's operations from Mons to First Ypres.-Birmingham Univ. Centre for 1st World War Studies
[T]his is an important contribution to the current historiography and Gardner certainly presents the case for the wider re-examination of the French and German archival records in 1914 in the light of his own work on the British Expeditionary Force.-History: The Journal of the Historical Association
A perceptive and thoughtful book which makes an excellent read.-Stand To! Journal of the Western Front Association
Gardner's important book adds much to our understanding of the BEF as an army, and of operations in 1914....[a]n interesting, well-argued and original survey which is recommended to those interested in the First World War, or questions of military leadership.-War in History
"A fresh and original study....provides some new and thought-provoking insights into the conduct of the BEF's operations from Mons to First Ypres."-Birmingham Univ. Centre for 1st World War Studies
"This is an important contribution to the current historiography and Gardner certainly presents the case for the wider re-examination of the French and German archival records in 1914 in the light of his own work on the British Expeditionary Force."-History: The Journal of the Historical Association
"[A] fresh and original study....[p]rovides some new and thought-provoking insights into the conduct of the BEF's operations from Mons to First Ypres."-Birmingham Univ. Centre for 1st World War Studies
"[T]his is an important contribution to the current historiography and Gardner certainly presents the case for the wider re-examination of the French and German archival records in 1914 in the light of his own work on the British Expeditionary Force."-History: The Journal of the Historical Association

Author Bio

NIKOLAS GARDNER is currently lecturer in Military History at the University of Salford, UK.