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

Trial by FireCommand and the British Expeditionary Force in 1914\nAuthor(s): Nikolas Gardner\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, United States\nImprint: Praeger Publishers Inc\nISBN-13: 9780313324734, 978-0313324734\nSynopsis\nWhile 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 anal.