The Killing Ground: The British Army, The Western Front & The Emergence of Modern War 1900-1918

by Tim Travers

Overview

This books explains why the British Army fought the way it did in the First World War. It integrates social and military history and the impact of ideas to tell the story of how the army, especially the senior officers, adapted to the new technological warfare and asks: Was the style of warfare on the Western Front inevitable?Using an extensive range of unpublished diaries, letters, memoirs and Cabinet and War Office files, Professor Travers explains how and why the ideas, tactics and strategies emerged. He emphasises the influence of pre-war social and military attitudes, and examines the early life and career of Sir Douglas Haig. The author's analysis of the preparations for the Battles of the Somme and Passchendaele provide new interpretations of the role of Haig and his GHQ, and he explains the reasons for the unexpected British withdrawal in March 1918. An appendix supplies short biographies of senior British officers. In general, historians of the First World War are in two hostile camps: those who see the futility of lions led by donkeys on the one hand and on the other the apologists for Haig and the conduct of the war. Professor Travers' immensely readable book provides a bridge between the two.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473819436
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/31/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	342
File size:	8 MB

Table of Contents

List of Plates xi

List of Maps xii

Acknowledgements xiii

Abbreviations xv

Introduction xvii

Part I Understanding the Edwardian Army

1 The System at Work: Promotions, Dismissals and the Personalized Army 3

2 The Cult of the Offensive and the Psychological Battlefield 37

3 Morale, Fire-power and Technology, c.1900-1918 62

Part II Understanding Command: the Evolution of a Commander-in-Chief

4 Douglas Haig, the Staff College, and the Continuity of Ideas 85

5 The Personality of Douglas Haig and the Role of GHQ 101

Part III A Case Study: the Somme, 1916

6 Preparing the Somme 127

7 Action at the Somme, July-November 1916 152

Part IV Remembrance and Recrimination

8 The Official History, the Somme, and the Planning of Passchendaele 203

9 The German Offensive of March 1918, the Official History and the Problem of Command 220

Epilogue: 1918 and the Franco-German-British Armies in Comparison 250

Maps 265

Appendix I Brigadier General Sandilands's account of the period 25 March 1918 to 28 March 1918 275

Appendix II Biographies of senior officers 281

Select Bibliography 294

Index 304