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A Wood Called Bourlon

Author: William Moore

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 1989-01-01

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 0850524822

After the great victory in the famous tank battle at Cambrai in 1917 the church bells, having been silent for three years, rang out joyously all over Britain But within ten days triumph turned to disaster. How did this happen and why?William Moore, a distinguished First World War historian, attempts to explain what went wrong. All the advantages gained were thrown away; thousands of British troops were captured and hundreds of guns were lost. Seventy years after these events Mr Moore has studied the evidence (much of it previously unpublished) contained in the inevitable enquiry that followed the disaster and he seeks to answer a number of questions. Was Field-Marshal Haig really as dour as he has been portrayed or was he a reckless gambler and was General Byng, whose troops and guns were captured, really a brilliant planner or a haughty aristocrat dedicated to proving that cavalry still had a place on the battlefield? And why were they both obsessed with capturing Bourlon Ridge on which stood the sinister Bourlon Wood? A Highland Division, a Welsh Brigade, a Yorkshire Division (twice), the Guards, Ulstermen, Lancashire-men, Londoners and Midlanders- all were drawn into the maelstrom in an attempt to consolidate the Cambrai victory They failed. It was left to the Canadians to carry the Bourlon position in one of the finest feats of arms of the Great War. The British are always reputed to take a perverce interest in their own military blunders. This strange episode is one that most people have been happy to forget. All those involved in hight places sought to make excuses; some indulged in a profound exercise of duplicity implying that the soldiers themselves were to blame. Mr Moor's book throws new light on a dark episode in British Military History.

Bourlon Wood

Author: Jack Horsfall

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2008-03-05

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 0850528186

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In 1917 Bourlon Wood on the Western Front was the scene of fierce back-and-forth fighting between the British and the Germans, with British gains on at least one occasion thrown away by lack of proper follow-up. The Wood formed the left flank of the massive British tank attack at Cambrai, the first of its kind, on November 20, 1917. Bourlon Wood once again came into prominence in September 1918 with the attack of the Canadian Corps against the German defenders, an action that rivaled the Canadian assault on Vimy Ridge.

The A to Z of World War I

Author: Ian V. Hogg

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2009-09-28

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 0810870258

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One of the most devastating armed conflicts in history, World War I completely transformed the social and political landscape of the world in four short years. It also marked the appearance of the new modern lifestyle, one that always contained the grim prospect of the possible recurrence of war. Ian V. Hogg's The A to Z of World War I provides a dual approach to the study of this historically significant event. The dictionary has a broad reach, containing brief biographies of commanders and diplomatic leaders, as well as casualty statistics and descriptions of geographical locations. Each entry gives a basic overview of crucial information. It also includes maps and chronologies that provide a visual perspective on the breadth of World War I, and how it truly encompassed and transformed the entire world. Hogg's approach balances contemporary needs for contextualization with precise historical details that gives readers information to supplement their knowledge of the war. Also included is a bibliography, which allows the reader to access other sources of information for further details about World War I.

British Fighting Methods in the Great War

Author: Paddy Griffith

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-07-23

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 113519677X

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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 Hindenburg Line

Author: Peter Oldham

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 1997-01-28

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 1473819393

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The Hindenburg Line, or Siegfriedstellung, achieved almost mythical status in the minds of the British public: the strongest defence system the world had then seen, scientifically designed by fortification experts with only one aim, to keep at bay the British Army. So pleased and delighted were the British that church bells were rung when the Line was pierced at Cambrai in November 1917. The new wonder-weapon, the Tank, had shown itself to be capable of great deeds and British Generals were seen to be capable of showing the Germans what Tommy could do when properly organised. The initial elation was followed by disappointment as the Germans fought back and the Hindenburg defences were retaken when the Germans used "defence-in-depth" and "elastic-defence", both new concepts to the British who were to learn from their mistakes. The British were to witness triumph and joy again, when, towards the end of the Great War, the Hindenburg Line was to be broken by men from the Midlands.This book examines the reasons for the German's decision to fall back to a strong defence line while their Navy starved Britain into submission, and the "burnt earth" policy of devastation in the area evacuated. The design and layout of the Hindenburg Line, and the Battles for its possession in 1917 and 1918, are given: with numerous maps covering different sectors and the struggles for each village and farm, together with the part played by many British Regiments. The maps contain information on how to find all remaining vestiges of both German and British defences in the region, most of which are rarely visited and many of which have not been seen by British eyes for many years.No book since the Great War has examined this area in such detail, nor has any single account contained so much for the battlefield visitor to see. The sites of individual acts of bravery, including the winning of many Victoria Crosses are featured, and existing locations of battle lines, headquarters, artillery observation and machine gun posts are also included, together with an absorbing narrative which also guides the armchair reader.

Haig At Cambrai: Lessons In Operational Leadership

Author: Todd W. Weston

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2015-11-06

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13: 1786250241

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The dynamic nature of the British operation at Cambrai in 1917, in particular related to the actions of the British CINC Douglas Haig, provides useful insights into the nature of operational leadership for today. This is true in large part because the Cambrai operation came at a time when technology, tactics and strong political pressure came together to exert their combined influence on all levels of war, particularly the operational level. A similar situation exists today. The primary lessons which can be drawn from Haig’s experience as an operational commander at Cambrai include; the need to define and communicate the commander’s intent, an operational commander’s need to avoid involving himself at the tactical level, and the requirement for an operational commander to examine carefully his motives for deciding on a particular course of action.

Murderous Tommies

Author: Julian Putkowski

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2012-09-19

Total Pages: 371

ISBN-13: 1783378522

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Much has been written about the soldiers executed during WW1 for military offenses, all of whom were conditionally pardoned in 2006. However, until now very little attention has been paid to the cases of men who were tried under the Army Act and executed for murder. The British Army has always been reticent about publicizing courts martial and eighty years elapsed before the government was compelled to prematurely declassify the written proceedings of First World War capital courts martial. Even then, public attention tended to concentrate on cases involving soldiers who had been shot at dawn for offenses other than homicide, and virtually nobody was inclined to seek a posthumous pardon or judicial review for the murderous Tommies. This meant neither the victims nor the convicted mens families were able to discover details about the murder cases. Though readily identifiable online via much-visited war cemetery websites, until now there has been no readily accessible, historically reliable and balanced narrative about the activities and courts-martial of all the murderous Tommies of the Western Front. This book provides for a full account of the cases involving the fourteen soldiers and one officer whose homicidal misdeeds were committed in France and Flanders while hostilities were in progress.Drawing on contemporary records, this carefully researched work chronicles the circumstances in which each of these men either slaughtered one of their comrades or an unarmed civilian. It examines the murderers motives and presents a balanced analysis of each case, including a detailed assessment of the extent to which each condemned man was granted a fair hearing by officers who sat in uneasy judgment as well as those involved in confirming the death sentences.

Battle Tactics of the Western Front

Author: Paddy Griffith

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 1996-01-01

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 9780300066630

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Historians have portrayed British participation in World War I as a series of tragic debacles, with lines of men mown down by machine guns, with untried new military technology, and incompetent generals who threw their troops into improvised and unsuccessful attacks. In this book a renowned military historian studies the evolution of British infantry tactics during the war and challenges this interpretation, showing that while the British army's plans and technologies failed persistently during the improvised first half of the war, the army gradually improved its technique, technology, and, eventually, its' self-assurance. By the time of its successful sustained offensive in the fall of 1918, says Paddy Griffith, the British army was demonstrating a battlefield skill and mobility that would rarely be surpassed even during World War II. Evaluating the great gap that exists between theory and practice, between textbook and bullet-swept mudfield, Griffith argues that many battles were carefully planned to exploit advanced tactics and to avoid casualties, but that breakthrough was simply impossible under the conditions of the time. According to Griffith, the British were already masters of "storm troop tactics" by the end of 1916, and in several important respects were further ahead than the Germans would be even in 1918. In fields such as the timing and orchestration of all-arms assaults, predicted artillery fire, "Commando-style" trench raiding, the use of light machine guns, or the barrage fire of heavy machine guns, the British led the world. Although British generals were not military geniuses, says Griffith, they should at least be credited for effectively inventing much of the twentieth-century's art of war.

The Empire on the Western Front

Author: Geoffrey Jackson

Publisher: UBC Press

Published: 2019-04-01

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 0774860170

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When Great Britain and its dominions declared war on Germany in August 1914, they were faced with the formidable challenge of transforming masses of untrained citizen-soldiers at home and abroad into competent, coordinated fighting divisions. The Empire on the Western Front focuses on the development of two units, Britain’s 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division and the Canadian 4th Division, to show how the British Expeditionary Force rose to this challenge. By turning the spotlight on army formation and operations at the divisional level, Jackson calls into question existing accounts that emphasize the differences between the imperial and dominion armies.

Haig: A Re-Appraisal 80 Years On

Author: Brian Bond

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2009-04-20

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 184415887X

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Field Marshal Earl Haig's reputation continues to arouse as much interest and controversy as ever. This volume represents the collaboration of two leading historical societies, The British Commission for Military History and The Douglas Haig Fellowship. Leading historians have produced a comprehensive and fascinating study of the most significant and frequently debated aspects of Haig's momentous career.