British Butchers and Bunglers of World War One

Stroud, Gloucestershie: Budding, 1997. A Very Good+ unmarked copy which has some light spots to fore edge and a few pages with gentle creasing to top corner with dustjacket which has a repaired closed tear and is not price clipped. ix + 214 pages. 31 illustrations. A forceful and probing analysis of the British generals' leadership in the First World War. For too long, Dr. John Laffin maintains, the military reputation has not been critically enough examined, and he asks how those responsible for such catastrophic defeats were able to retain their commands. Haig, whose army suffered 60, 000 casualtie on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, was still in command after five months more fighting and another 400,000 casualties. By the war's end the numbers of dead ran into millions - doggedly brave British Empire soldiers who. Dr. Laffin believes, were killed, wounded or broken by commanders who were vain, egocentic or incompetent. But the generals, who blamed the dead and junior in rank, cannot be excused on the grounds that there was 'nothing else that they could do'. Even now, after that 'Great War for Civilization', this book raises questions that are uncomfortable. Dr. Laffin draws on the memories and writings of those who took part and quotes the judgements of other military historians to provide a lucid analysis of just what went wrong in the generals' leadership and how it resulted in such appalling and tragic losses. 21. Hard Cover. Very Good/Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.