This book explores the British Army's response on the Western Front to a period of seminal change in warfare. In particular it examines the impact of the pre-war emphasis on worldwide garrison, occupation and policing duties for the Empire's defence of the mindset of the Army's leadership and its lack of preparation for a continental war involving a massive, unplanned increase in men and material.The reasons for the poor performance in the early years of the war, notably professionalism within the British Army, including poor staff work, 'trade unionism', careerism within the high command, and the tendency of an overconfident hierarchy to ignore the need for reform to tackle the tactical stalemate prior to 1916, are analysed. The high command rapidly learnt from the defeats of 1915-16 and performed much better in 1916-18, an especially formative period resulting in the promotion of a younger, more professional leadership and the development of the first truly modern system of tactics which has dominated wars ever since. During 1917-18 the Army's commanders and staff evolved and improved these new methods; developing a doctrine of combined arms to overcome the tactical stalemate bedevilling Allied offensives.

British Generalship on the Western Front 1914-1918: Defeat into Victory (Military History and Policy)

History

Robbins, Simon

Military

Routledge

This book explores how British Army learnt from the pyrrhic victories of 1915-17 and developed the new tactics, leadership and doctrine of combined arms to overcome the tactical stalemate hitherto bedevilling Allied offensives to defeat the

God's General - Cromwell the Soldier

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Sutton Publishing+ltd

The First World War Letters of General Lord Horne

History Press

Twentieth and 21st century conflict is dominated by counterinsurgency operations, where the enemy is almost indistinguishable from innocent civilians. Battles are gunfights in jungles, deserts, and streets, and winning "hearts and minds" is as crucial as winning territory. From struggles in Ireland to Malaya; fighting the Viet Cong in Vietnam; operations in India, Yemen, Kenya, Aden, and Palestine; and of course Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, this book covers the strategy and doctrine of counterinsurgency and how often it has been spectacularly unsuccessful, leaving soldiers embedded in a hostile population, immersed in costly and dangerous nation-building. This book explores not only the British and American experience, but also details operations by France, Israel, Russia, India, and China. Eyewitness accounts from Special Forces reveal what it is like to fight a war in the shadows against an enemy that can disappear as quickly as it is located.

Dirty Wars: A Century of Counterinsurgency

Spellmount

British Generalship during the Great War: The Military Career of Sir Henry Horne (1861–1929) (Routledge Studies in First World War History)

Following the career of one relatively unknown First World War general, Lord Horne, this book adds to the growing literature that challenges long-held assumptions that the First World War was a senseless bloodbath conducted by unimaginative and incompetent generals. Instead it demonstrates that men like Horne developed new tactics and techniques to deal with the novel problems of trench warfare and in so doing seeks to re-establish the image of the British generals and explain the reasons for the failures of 1915-16 and the successes of 1917-18 and how this remarkable change in performance was achieved by a much maligned group of senior officers. Horne's important career and remarkable character sheds light not only on the major battles in which he was involved; the progress of the war; his relationships with his staff and other senior officers; the novel problems of trench warfare; the assimilation of new weapons, tactics and training methods; and the difficulties posed by the German defences, but also on the attitudes and professionalism of a senior British commander serving on the Western Front. Horne's career thus provides a vehicle for studying the performance of the British Army in the first quarter of the Twentieth Century. It also gives an important insight into the attitudes, ethos and professionalism of the officer corps which led that army to victory on the Western Front, exposing not only its flaws but also its many strengths. This study consequently provides a judgment not only on Horne as a personality, innovator and general of great importance but also on his contemporaries who served with the British Armies in South Africa and France during an era which saw a revolution in military affairs giving birth to a Modern Style of Warfare which still prevails to this day.

British Generalship during the Great War (Routledge Studies in First World War History)

Following the career of one relatively unknown First World War general, Lord Horne, this book adds to the growing literature that challenges long-held assumptions that the First World War was a senseless bloodbath conducted by unimaginative and incompetent generals. Instead it demonstrates that men like Horne developed new tactics and techniques to deal with the novel problems of trench warfare and in so doing seeks to re-establish the image of the British generals and explain the reasons for the failures of 1915-16 and the successes of 1917-18 and how this remarkable change in performance was achieved by a much maligned group of senior officers. Horne's important career and remarkable character sheds light not only on the major battles in which he was involved; the progress of the war; his relationships with his staff and other senior officers; the novel problems of trench warfare; the assimilation of new weapons, tactics and training methods; and the difficulties posed by the German defences, but also on the attitudes and professionalism of a senior British commander serving on the Western Front. Horne's career thus provides a vehicle for studying the performance of the British Army in the first quarter of the Twentieth Century. It also gives an important insight into the attitudes, ethos and professionalism of the officer corps which led that army to victory on the Western Front, exposing not only its flaws but also its many strengths. This study consequently provides a judgment not only on Horne as a personality, innovator and general of great importance but also on his contemporaries who served with the British Armies in South Africa and France during an era which saw a revolution in military affairs giving birth to a Modern Style of Warfare which still prevails to this day.

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Books by Robbins, Simon

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Robbins, Simon. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

British Generalship on the Western Front 1914-1918: Defeat into Victory (Military History and Policy)

British Generalship on the Western Front 1914-1918: Defeat into Victory (Military History and Policy)

God's General - Cromwell the Soldier

The First World War Letters of General Lord Horne

Dirty Wars: A Century of Counterinsurgency

British Generalship during the Great War (Routledge Studies in First World War History)

British Generalship during the Great War: The Military Career of Sir Henry Horne (1861–1929) (Routledge Studies in First World War History)